El Tajin #2

                                            El Tajin was a most interesting place to visit.

 We were there in the morning and escaped many of the crowds that visit this place. We had a fun time walking the grounds and seeing the ruins. One of the main attractions is Los Voladores or The Flyers. These 4 men climb a 80-90 ft pole, wrap their ropes around the pole and then tie the ropes arounds their waists. After they have done this another man, who in ancient times was a priest, climbs the pole and then stands and dances on top of the pole on a little platform while playing his flute! This ritual is hundreds of years old and was originally performed to please the god of fertility Xipe Totec so they would have rain and an abundant harvest.

At the signal of the priest they all lean  back off the platform and slowly spin around the pole 13 times each until they reach the ground. While they are revolving down the priest stays at the top playing a flute. The interesting thing about the men is that at least 2 of the men are probably in their 50's or 60's and the others probably in their 30's or 40's! It took them about 2-3 minutes to swing all the way down.
As usual all of our outings have to have a meal and shopping in them. This was no exception, and we could eat and shop at the same time! As we sat down at this little outdoor cafe we were joined shortly by people selling vanilla, vanilla pods, replicas of the Flyers, scarves, and of course jewelry!

This is how we will always remember Javier and Bonnie Zapata...buying jewelry!He has a fun time with all the people and this young lady was no exception.


 She had a wonderful smile but it was hard to capture as she would always pose. We did finally get one that showed her wonderful dimples and the sparkle in her eyes



An interesting place El Tajin, with the ruins, birds
and jungle all around.Different flowers on these trees..they make for unique decorations!

After we ate we walked through the little shops and visited with the people. The people in this area are a very short and tiny people. As can be seen by the size of the man selling shirts.
There were not many people the day we visited, so we could visit with the people. They are always so nice to us and willing to show what they are making..of course they always are hoping that we are buying too.

El Tajin

March 12th saw us on the road with the Bingham's,  Zapata's and Brother Moroni Gonzaga and his wife to El Tajin, in the state ofVeracruz about 150 miles and 4 hours driving from Mexico City. Again Hermano Moroni was our chauffeur and companion. Like we have mentioned before, it is so refreshing and necessary to get away from the city. To be able to breath clean air, see open spaces, and enjoy the peace and quiet. Now to say hear quiet may sound like a contradiction in terms, and it may be, but it is so nice to be able to hear.  We could actually hear birds singing!

The ruins are quite impressive. Very different from the pyramids by Mexico City. El Tajin was a major civilization that flourished from 600 to 900 bc to the 1500's.  It is a very beautiful place and we were impressed by the cleanliness of the area.  The Mexican government has recently been making new facilities around the area (bathrooms, a small museum etc.) which made it feel comfortable.  It is green and beautiful.  Surrounding the ruins are many small "shops" where the local people sell their goods and Papantla, a nearly city, is famous for its vanilla.  We found many people selling the vanilla pods, and many sizes of vanilla bottles.

Over 120 buildings or so

These pyramids had a very different type of construction than we have seen at several other sites.

Too steep to climb even if they allowed it!
Well, it looks like we will finish this one on a new page....too much fun!