The Stairs

The time had come for me to leave Huehuecoyotl. I woke bright and early Thursday morning - again to the sound of roosters - packed my bag, and set off for Odin´s house to pay my fare and bid him farewell.

On route, I said good morning to Olivier, Florence, and Gabriel - the lovely French family who had spent the night in Odin´s studio. Gabriel, who will be one on Monday, waved to me as I followed Odin to his house. Though I had planned to head to Mexico City early and get a jump on the six hour bus trip to Oaxaca, after discussing my plans with Odin we decided it would be best to take the overnight bus, meaning I didn´t need to arrive in Mexico City till late.

Not really wanting to spend another day at Huehuecoyotl - it´s lovely, but rainy season doesn´t hold much activity - I doodled back towards Odin´s studio. After asking after my plans, Olivier, who was standing out front, invited me to join his family for the day. They planned to spend it in Tepozltan before heading back to Mexico City around 6:30.

It worked out perfectly, I rode with them down to Tepozltan, where we stored our stuff and headed for the market. Olivier, who spoke to his wife in French, talked to me in English, and addressed everyone else in Spanish, walked me through the menu and ordered for us at a "restaurant" that Florence told me was excellent - they had eaten there the day before. I had a quesadilla with cactus - Oh just you wait, throughout the course of the day I also drank cactus, tried crickets, and discovered that I love quesadillas con papa (potatoes) with cheese, cream, and salsa verde.

After lunch we set off to see Tepozltan´s pyramid, which legend has it is often visited by UFOs. Olivier said the trek would take an hour. To be honest, I didn´t think anything of it - I´m young, semi-active - I´d be fine. Lord have Mercy! Sorry to bust out a LOTR reference, but you remember that sceen where Gollum leads Frodo and Sam into Mordor by way of the secret stair? Yeah. I kept waiting for my butter knife to glow blue and Shelob to appear. We climbed 1,800 meters. I reached the top soaked and out of breath - how Olivier did it carrying a baby and a backpack is beyond me.

The pyramid itself is quiet nice - it was very tranquil up in the misty forest - no UFO sightings though. We left for Mexico City that evening and Florence and Olivier graciously let me shower in their hotel room before I caught the night bus. Now, Friday morning, I plan on moving in only the horizontal direction for the rest of the day.