Maybe sacrificing players would be something for the FA to consider as well. Otherwise how can you get eleven spoilt overpaid divas, who each are bigger than the game itself, to actually fight for their country in 90 minutes, and all this for free? I think England should book a couple of cricket games against New Zeeland and Pakistan on the dates of the South Africa World Cup just in case. Or a rugby friendly against Samoa Islands. The true great world-sports in which you can kick-ass with tiny developing countries and still be proud of it.
“Maravilla del Mundo Moderno” refers to a recent vote selecting seven ‘modern’ wonders of the world, as opposed to the ancient seven wonders (The Pyramid of Giza, The Colossus of Rhodes, The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, etc, yes you know the story). The Maya city Chichén Itzá in Mexico won the vote together with six other places across the world, including the Machu Picchu in Peru, recently visited by my collegue Tareq Englefield (read here).
Chichén Itzá is one of two impressive (and rivalling) Maya cities, the other being the nearby Uxmal, which I unfortunately didn’t visit during this trip (Tareq, go there!).
Chichén Itzá features its highlight ‘El Castillo’, which is far from the biggest pyramid ever created but it may very well be the most beautiful pyramid in the world. It is excellently preserved/restored and has become the symbol of Mayas and Mayan architecture. However, there are also other goodies in the city as for example the biggest ancient ball court, the observatory, the temple with thousand columns and much more.
El Castillo raises in all its grandeur.It is indeed a very beautiful construction. The pyramid is basically the Mayan calendar formed in stone. Each of the nine levels is divided in two by the staircase, creating 18 platforms representing the 18 months of the Vague year.The four stairways have 91 steps each, add the top platform and the total is 365, the number of days in the year.On each facade of the pyramid are 52 flat panels, representing the 52 years in the Calendar Round.
As if this was not enough, the pyramid is also constructed so that during the spring and autumn equinoxes, light and shadow forms a series of triangles on one of the staircases, which imitate a serpent ascending (March) or descending (September).
The observatory.Due to its form and shape, early archaeologists immediately assumed that this must be a place to observe the stars.However, I overheard a guide speaking about other theories of its use and it may not have been an observatory at all.
The ball court.It is thought that the Mayan played a football-like game with a hard rubber ball, use of hands prohibited.The team who managed to get the ball through one of the stone hoops was declared the winner.There are some evidence that during a period, the loosing teams’ captain (and sometimes his team mates as well) were sacrificed.And some say football is a game about life and death. So wrong, so wrong.It’s all about the money.
Columns.These were holding up a roof of some sort (made of wood) creating an impressive indoor hall.
Nightly sound and light show with the ruins illuminated in different colours.A very popular and beautiful performance but unfortunately it got a bit too dark to take good pictures. I will never forget it though.
From Puebla to Mérida it is around 20h by bus.When I exited the bus terminal in Mérida at about tea time the day after I left, I was of course a little tired from the long journey but it was nothing compared to the massive climate shock. Mérida is a city located on the Yucatán peninsula, two degrees north and eight degrees east of Puebla and enjoys a very hot Caribbean climate. And there I came walking through the city looking for my hostel in boots, warm jeans, shirts and jacket under a gazing sun. That was very very hot and I needed like five showers in a row.
The difference in climate depends on the differences in altitude.Mérida is located a mere 50 m above sea level, which can be compared to Puebla on 2160 m (no I didn’t type it wrong!).How high was that silly Ben Nevis now again? Or Kebnekaiseby all means.
In Mérida there was some kind of a festival going on.Unfortunately, it was not a food festival (in which case I would have stayed there forever or until the food stalls closed) but some crappy music festival.All streets were full of people and it was a hassle to find spare beds in town.There was also a need to regularly move around as some days the rooms were fully booked, which made me lose my patience and I eventually left the city fairly quickly.It was a pity as there are a lot of things to see around Mérida, for example the Maya city Uxmal (and many other ruins) to the south, the gulf beaches 20 minutes to the west and flamingo colonies to the north. Instead I headed east towards Chichén Itzá.
Lot’s of people in the centre, was difficult to walk
There were not many food stalls around Zócalo (centre square) and there were few things I hadn’t tried already
I woke up early to be able to take some pictures without a million people. Here is the Zócalo again
Under this super-massive roof, the excavations of the hilltop ruins Cacaxtla are undertaken. Cacaxtla is located only a couple of hours from Puebla (makes a nice day trip) and was discovered in 1975 when local men dug a tunnel and uncovered a mural.Cacaxtla is an important site as it contains many preserved examples of wall paintings and murals, which scientists are still working on identifying.It includes paintings of a full-size jaguar, soldiers and eagle warriors engaged in battle together with many other inunderstandable things.
The indigenous people decorated their temples with these kinds of murals
I just posted the Puebla-entry but something doesn’t feel quite right. There were no rude comments, no sarcasm and very little to laugh at.I just sincerely thought it was such a great place that I could not think of anything bad to write.I apologise on behalf of the blog. Anyone going to Mexico? Don’t miss Puebla de los Ángeles.
Few Mexican cities preserve the Spanish imprint as well as Puebla de los Angeles with its 70 churches and over 1000 colonial buildings. Historically, Puebla is a catholic stronghold and Puebla's conservative citizens maintained Spanish affinities longer than most Mexicans. In the 19th century and during the Mexican revolution such patrionism was seen as almost suspect and today poblanos (citizen's of Puebla) enjoy a reputation of snobbishness and pretentiousness.
Adding to this a population greater in numbers than Stockholm itself, it does not sound like the small, warm and friendly place to socialise with locals but ironically enough, its centre is quiet, peaceful, shady and welcoming. Furthermore, my best mexican friend (possibly also the sweetest young girl in the country) is from the city of angels. Irony of the fate. Or just a very mis-matching reputation.
So what about the angels then? Puebla was the first city founded by the Spanish not located on top of the ruins of a conquered indoamerican settlement. The location is said to be given to bishop Julián Garcés of nearby Tlaxcala by angels who appeared in one of his dreams (they probably believed him as bishops are not supposed to take drugs). The city was then founded according to the angels' plan in this beautiful valley surrounded by snowtopped volcanoes. The angels did a pretty good job as it became a strategic location halfway between the port of Veracruz and Mexico City. The valley has today grown into the fourth largest metropolitan area in the country.
The shady Zócalo with the baroque Cathedral in the background
The impressive Cathedral itself, which also appear on Mexico’s 500-peso notes, features Mexico’s highest cathedral towers and a striking organ
The half-exciting train museum, located at Puebla’s disused train station, displays a series of trains and coaches that have been rolling on Mexican rails, all from steam engines to modern diesel and electric locomotives. A must-see for a train fanatic but unfortunately, they put little effort in transforming the “train parking lot” into a decent “museum”.
The hill in the background with the little church on top is located in Cholula, a suburb of Puebla, and is much more than just a hill. It is in fact the world’s third largest pyramid (after Cheops in Egypt and Pirámide del Sol in Teotihuacan).The pyramid was once covered by the god-fearing Spanish invaders and symbolically converted to a Christian establishment by the construction of a chapel and its surrounding park.
I was invited to Mariana’s birthday party, which was a superb day starting with family breakfast, tour of Cholula, food and drinks with the doctors at the university campus, dinner with some crazy aunts and finally rounded off with drinks and dance at a Puebla bar. Note my T-shirt, which clearly is the coolest T-shirt in the world.
La Paz – a church on the top of a hill. Nothing like the grandiose Sacre Ceur in Paris, but still a nice place to visit.
Sprawling markets of Puebla. Here you can find almost anything you want (but more likely don’t want).
Fancy a painting? At the “Barrio del Artista” painters exhibit their latest works. Urban motives, flowers, animals, surrealistic or romantic, you name it.
I have now arrived in Puebla, the 4th largest city in the country with a population of around 2,100,000. In order to plan when to go on daytrips outside the city, I logged in to CNN and looked at the local weather forecast. I was everything but amused of what I saw. I hope you are enjoying the summer in Europe boys and girls.
The globetrotter and author Howard Hillman has travelled in more than 100 countries. He once produced a list of the 1000 most important sights worldwide and the 100 first on the list were awarded the "gold medal". Sight no. 24 on the same list is Mexico's Teotihuacan with its sun and moon pyramids, located 50km northeast of Mexico City. Teotihuacan was Mexico's largest pre-hispanic city and the capital of what probably was the largest empire. The city was mainly developed during 150 - 600 AD but due to social, environmental and economical factors, its growth declined and the city eventually collapsed in the 8th century. The site today features many ruins of temples and pyramids and the highlight being the grand "Pirámide del Sol", world's second largest pyramid (only superseded by the Cheops pyramid in Egypt). "Pirámide de la Luna" (pyramid of the moon) is much smaller but its summit reaches almost the same height as it is built on higher ground. Climbing the steps of the magnificent "Pirámide del Sol" is a must-do experience, well worth going to Mexico for.
Approaching "Pirámide del Sol". It truly is massive. I should add that these pyramids were built by the indigenous people, not using slaves and with no access to technical inventions such as the wheel.
Climbing "Pirámide del Sol" can be difficult if you are not a master of steep steps. If there is any consolation, there is a first-aid station at the bottom of the pyramid, just in case someone should fall. If you fall from the top however, you should not put too much faith in the first-aiders to save your life.
Enjoying the view of the "Pirámide de la Luna" from the top of the sun pyramid. The setting is magical.
View from "Pirámide de la Luna" (only allowed to climb halfway up, so lame). Most ruins that today remain are located along the two km long street pictured called "Avenue of the dead". This was one of two main streets in Teotihuacan, dividing the city in half. The Aztecs believed that the gods had sacrificed themselves here to keep the sun moving, thereby its name.
I had some plans of continuing my trip to Querétaro after San Miguel de Allende but as I could not stand more churches, more colonial buildings and more collectivos (small jam-packed vw-vans bumping around on uneven cobblestone streets), I went straight down to Mexico City to encounter skyscrapers, people, places of power and a convenient metro system.
Mexico city is known as the largest hispanic metropolis and also often referred to in relation to crime and danger. Indeed, Mexico city is a large metropolis and with a population of 19 million in the metropolis area, it alone equals the combined population of Norway, Sweden and Finland.
That Mexico city should be dangerous is however somewhat exagerrated. In 2004, Mexico City had only 84 car thefts, 55 muggings and 4 express kidnappings per day. Considering a population of 19 million, one could remain in the city for 147 years and 5 months and it should still be more likely to not be a victim of any of the mentioned crimes.
One would be surprised how safe it feels to walk the streets and ride on the public transport systems. With normal precaucions one can also greatly reduce the risk for being a victim of pickpockets and petty crime.
Mexico City is a bustling creature that never sleeps and its citizens enjoy the the highest cost of living in the whole country. Here are ample choices for entertainment and endless number of food stalls, street vendors and music-makers. One could easily spend months exploring all its museums, plazas, murals, palaces, architecture and parks.
Here is a Mexico City experience in pictures:
5th of May is a regional holiday in Mexico and in most cities nationwide, there are monuments or streets referring to this important date in the history. On the 5th of May 1962, general Ignacio Zaragoza defeated French troops outside the city of Puebla. For a nation that almost lacks any kind of military success (not as bad as Poland though), this event is celebrated amongst Mexicans every year. What everyone seems to have forgot is however that the reinforced French came back one year later, took Puebla and controlled the city for several years.
In the middle of the main square in the historic centre, called the "Zócalo", there is an enourmous Mexican flag. Big flags are not totally uncommon in this country and being a guy with great taste and fantastic sense of design and layout, I always want to throw up when I see something like this. I have asked myself why mexican flags always have to be in such disproportion to their pole and it is seriously indelicate. Back home the length of a flag should be around 1/4 of the length of the pole to look good. Vulgar taste, that is what it is. Yacks!
The cathedral on the east side of the Zócalo is a beauty and well worth a visit. It was built on top of an Aztec temple complex and since construction, it has therefore been sinking unevenly, creating various cracks in the structure. Amongst other things, it features an altar with a black Christ figure. Legend says it obtained its colour by miraculously absorbing a dose of poison through its feet.
Dressed in khaki uniforms, they stand on street corners, in front of theaters and museums, at busy junctions and at any other place they fancy. They represent an evil force who with their creepy harmonic instruments (manufactured in Berlin in late 19th century) pollute the environment with the most obscure, the most horrific, the most indescribable and ghastly melodies ever composed. Unfortunately I lack the ability to describe the sound better. And they still want you to throw a peso in the hat. Yeah, right! (I reckon that the only reason this old man is able to stand so close is that he is probably deaf)
Palacio Bellas Artes is a theatre and concert hall, which also hosts an art centre that contains some important murals. The construction of the building started in 1905 under an italian architect but the revolution intervened and the interior was not completed until 1930s, by an architect who favoured a more modern style. The art centre contains Rivera's famous "The Man at the Crossroads", which was commissioned for the Rockefeller Center in New York. The Rockefellers did however not appreciate its anti-capitalist themes and had the original destroyed. Later Rivera re-created it here.
The fantastic Museum of Antropology in Mexico City may actually be the most stunning museum I have ever visited. It contains an impressive collection of artefacts from different indigenous cultures and everything is brilliantly displayed and explained. In the background is the famous Aztec "sun stone". It was recovered under the Zócalo and was long believed to be a representation of the Aztec calendar. However, nowadays archeologists believe it was used as a sacrifical altar.
At these canals ("floating gardens of Xochimilco") the indigenous people used to grow their food. The gardens were created by piling up mud and vegetation in the shallow water of the lake Xochimilco. Much of the lake was transformed into canals and today around 180km of these waterways remain. Tourists and citizens enjoy this place as a weekend-getaway and on Sundays the canals are crowded with traditional boats containing all from foods, drinks, music bands etc.
Maybe sacrificing players would be something for the FA to consider as well. Otherwise how can you get eleven spoilt overpaid divas, who each are bigger than the game itself, to actually fight for their country in 90 minutes, and all this for free? I think England should book a couple of cricket games against New Zeeland and Pakistan on the dates of the South Africa World Cup just in case. Or a rugby friendly against Samoa Islands. The true great world-sports in which you can kick-ass with tiny developing countries and still be proud of it.
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