02/21/24 Pyramid and Puebla

February 21, 2024

I saw the pyramid I’d wanted to see, but couldn’t get inside like I’d hoped and popped into Puebla city for a few hours. I’m ready to resume riding my bike again, it’s what I really want to be doing.

The Great Pyramid of Cholula is a series of nested pyramids built over six centuries, and abandoned several centuries before the Spaniards arrived. By then it looked like a hill, as it does today

The Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios was built on top in the late 1500’s using stones from the remnants of the original temple on the top of the pyramid

The sign says no photographs in this room behind the altar. I took one deliberately, as a protest against the practice of building new temples out of old

It’s a steep hike up to the church at the top. This is looking west towards Cholula and Popocatépetl

The northwest view. The large building is the famous San Gabriel Franciscan Convent, which I didn’t visit

Looking east towards Puebla city, right next door. Too big a city for me to get excited about while on a loaded bicycle

Excavations of a complex of buildings on the south side of the pyramid, as seen while walking down from the church

These were also built over several centuries

Pre-conquest, colonial and modern, the history of Mexico in one photo

Now that’s a disappointment, it’s what I’d hoped to do. But not since the pandemic can you walk inside and see the nested pyramids

There were a few signs explaining things. A guide would have been better but I’d run out of cash to hire one

This is the only part of the pyramid itself which is exposed

Not much, but enough to imagine what it must have been like

I took a taxi to the historic center of Puebla, to see a bit of the city. I didn’t have any desire to give it the proper attention a tour of Mexico would demand, I’m on a simple bike ride, not really exploring. I had an expensive soup on a balcony overlooking the Zocalo

Puebla Cathedral, built over 300 years. Mass was being conducted so I only stood inside and watched without photos. But quite impressive

I had my lunch on the balcony with the red awnings

A charcoal store near the bus station. The taxi ride over cost a whopping 250 pesos, I’ve no idea if I was ripped off or if that’s the price, but I asked my driver for a cheaper way back to Cholula and he explained where to catch the 10 peso bus

I spent the remainder of the afternoon people watching in the Cholula zocalo and working out a 5 day route to Oaxaca. The first two days should be easy but day three has a brutal climb that I’m not at all excited about.

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