Soaring Over the Pyramids of Teotihuacán

Just outside Mexico City lie the archeological remains of Teotihuacán, an ancient city that pre-dates the Aztecs by many centuries. At its height, it was the largest city in the Americas but collapsed centuries before the arrival of the Aztecs. The remains include the Pyramid of the Sun, Pyramid of the Moon and Avenue of the Dead.  There is also a museum with artifacts found on site, focusing on the history and culture of the civilization that lived here. Visiting Teotihuacán was a priority my first visit to Mexico City. But that was ten years ago. I was debating whether it was time to visit again. To my surprise, my friend, who is game but not as history minded as me, proposed going on a hot air balloon ride over the site.

We chose Flying Pictures for our excursion. We liked that they offered a private option as we didn’t want to be crowded into a balloon basket with strangers. This was supposed to be a sunrise excursion. But we received the absolutely terrible news that due to a pilot issue, we would have go a little later. Oh, darn. Instead of a 4:30 pick up, we were picked up at 6:00. As our balloon was prepared, we warmed ourselves with coffee and cookies. (It was cold this early in the morning.) Flying Pictures photographers took plenty of pictures and even set up a camera inside the balloon. By 8:00, our pilot Jesus lifted us off!  The feeling of leaving the ground was smooth but thrilling.

I think I have the normal amount of respect for heights. I don’t love them, but I’m not paralyzed by them either. As we rose up into the sky, it just felt tranquil. I never felt unsafe or afraid that we might crash. The weather was perfect and the sight of the pyramids as we floated closer and closer was unreal. We came up right over the empty archaeological site. The park was not yet open so there were no people, just the pyramids. We floated around the pyramids and were able to get views from different angles. After about 40 minutes or so, Jesus guided us to a smooth landing in a field on the other side of the site. After my very ungraceful exit from basket, which thankfully there are no pictures of, we were met by enterprising merchants selling obsidian figurines. Of course I bought a cat. We were driven back to the launch site for some celebratory champagne. While there is an option to go to the park, we decided to head back to the city.

Return traffic was much, much worse then outbound, so it took us longer to get back, where we were ready for lunch then a nap. I’m so glad we did this excursion. I loved seeing the pyramids from the sky and the experience of being in the balloon. It did sort of screw up our entire day as we weren’t up for much in the afternoon.

My vacation was winding down, but I have one last outing to share with you in my next post.