Perfect Day at El Tajín

I awoke the next morning in Papantla, truly excited about the day ahead of me. I got up, showered, quickly got ready and walked down the road to the bus station, anxious to get to the site, particularly to get there early before many others were there. After a bit of a run-around trying to truly find the place to catch the bus, I got a cheap, indirect bus to the site, only about 10 miles outside of town. My heart raced as I prepared for what are said to be one of the more picturesque, impressive ruins in Mexico. Also, after having a peaceful, easy-going day in town the day before, I was hoping for more of the same, and it turned out that I'd get that and more. Walking from the bus stop, I passed a group of vendors, selling the same sort of t-shirts, bracelets, rings, keychains, etc that I'd seen in many other places, though many of them were still opening up shop, since I had arrived around 9:30, not long after the archaeological site had opened for the day. I quickly paid the $4.50 entrance fee, and then I was in, ready to be amazed. Sprawling before me was a quiet, green pasture of grass with stone pyramids and temples dotting the landscape, some restored, some being overtaken by the green grass all around. At first glance, the site seemed to be what I was hoping for, and I was anxious to begin exploring.

The site was home to an ancient city of the classic Veracruz civilizations, not those of the Aztecs or Mayas, though it contains somewhat similar stone pyramids and temples. The people here began the city sometime around 600 AD, living here for around 600 years until the site was mostly abandoned around 1200 AD. At the entrance to the site also stands a monument to the voladores of the area, and there are some locals that put on a show for the visitors here, but after having seen two of those last night, I just wanted to move on to some temple hopping. I passed a few lovely pyramids upon which the sun was just beginning to shine, making its way over the surrounding hills, slowly burning off the slight haze and melting away the dew from the grass below. Soon, I saw the centerpiece of the whole site, the Pyramid of the Niches. This nicely shaped temple is made up of seven terraced levels and a small throne probably once stood atop the impressive structure. The name comes from the fact that the pyramid is full of small, square holes (or niches), actually making a total of 365 of them, obviously serving a sort of calendar function/reference. Some historians believe that they were used to help the agricultural society with planting and keeping track of the seasons. At the time of the civilization, the temple was also painted in a brilliant red and black, instead of the drab gray that we all are used to today. Almost pagoda-like in appearance with its terraces, I passed more than a few minutes staring in awe, wondering what it would have been like to be here in its prime. Knowing that I'd come back, I moved on to explore the rest of the site, stretching for kilometers in the area, though only 2 or 3 kilometers have been excavated at the present time. My next stop was one of the large ball courts that are a well-known part of many of these Mesoamerican sites. Almost always shaped like the letter I, with a long center and two perpendicular swaths at the end, the center is defined by two diagonally sloped walls facing each other, perhaps as a place for spectators to sit or, in other cases, just serving to deflect the ball back down into the field of play. High above the court and a few other temples stood another set of buildings, presumably for the leaders. From this perch, they could observe the game and town below without the burden of having to mingle with the local plebeians. I made my way up to the top, overlooking the other ruins below, enjoying a nice snack of donuts from the local supermarket and meeting a nice Mexican family along with a friendly German couple that I had noticed on my bus ride over from Mexico City. After talking for a little while, the Germans had to hurry to their next destination, wishing they had more time, as they claimed this was their favorite of the many ancient sites that they'd seen in the region. Luckily for me, I wasn't in such a hurry, so I made my way back down to the main temples, watching a few more people pour in, following along in some small groups led by local guides or school teachers. One group of well dressed high schoolers were even posing for their class picture, lined up nicely in front of the classic pyramid, kindly forcing other onlookers such as myself out of their memorable shot.

Wandering more around the site, the day progressed, and the bright blue sky began to fill with huge, puffy white clouds, making for an idyllic setting with a fairly nice climate in a place that is supposed to be rather hot. I passed by the Pyramid of the Niches over and over again, simply enjoying the temple from every possible angle and finding new carvings and structures with each passing. At a few points, I was able to mingle in with some of the mini-tour groups, picking up on the Spanish commentary to learn a bit more about the facts and legends of each of the spots. Watching a bit of a demonstration, I also learned more about the Veracruzian form of the ball game. With only three players on each team, they would essentially play a game a bit like soccer, advancing a small wooden ball forward with their shoulders, hips and knees, scoring a goal upon entering the opponents side. There would also be penalty points awarded to the other team for using your feet. At the end of the match, there would indeed be a human sacrifice, but this explanation was different. In this civilization, it would be the captain of the winning team that would be sacrificed. With their strong beliefs, they thought that they were rewarding the winner by bringing them to the world of their gods, which may or may not be true. The sacrifice was also carried out in a way such that the victim would be sitting up, on his knees, leaning back at about 45 degrees. The two teammates would hold him there and one would slice the neck open, and with the angle of the body, blood would spurt from the neck forwards. Gruesome, yes, but the spurting blood was said to take the form of a snake, which was one of their gods, so I believe that they viewed this as them leaving the world and going to that of the gods above. Of course, this creates an interesting situation in which weak believers may not be trying all that hard to win the match and get sacrificed, but who knows...

After another lap or two around the site, I felt like I had seen everything, but the day was just too perfect to leave. The clouds were passing through the clear skies, the sun shone down, the green grass beckoned...I couldn't resist. So, I found a nice clear spot of bright green grass with just a bit of shade from one of the trees high overhead, and I sprawled out on the ground, simply enjoying a wonderful, relaxing day in an ideal setting for me. Laying there flat out with my legs crossed at the ankle, arms behind my head, I couldn't imagine a better setting at the time. Behind me was a nice wooded forest with a small creek, to my side was a huge green field of grass leading to a nice looking stone temple, and just in front of me was another beautiful pyramid, slightly overgrown with bits of grass up the side. In the shade, the temperature was perfect, perhaps around 75 degrees, tiny gusts of wind here and there. Finding a lovely, mostly uncrowded, yet impressive site and a place to simply relax and not worry about where I'd go next or how I'd get there or what I'd do. I did nothing more than watch the clouds go by for a while, embracing the absolute tranquility of the area. I also was able to use my iPod again for the first time in more than a few weeks, and this made the experience even better. Enjoying the incredible offering of the breakthrough album,"So", by Peter Gabriel and his highly-anticipated follow-up six years later, "Us", I remembered what an incredible, lushly-layered style he has, incorporating influences from all around the world and bringing them into the mainstream like no one else (except perhaps Paul Simon on Graceland and Rhythm of the Saints). With bits of Middle Eastern and African flair, both albums provided the perfect background music for my day. I followed up with a bit of Bob Marley, who, in his song "Trenchtown Rock", so insightfully states that "The one good thing about music is when it hits, you feel alright." Just as he said, I had my music back , and I was feeling more than alright. This was truly the perfect day. It was temples, culture, friendly people, good food, bits of (perceived) solitude...everything that I could want in this small part of Mexico. Contentedly, I lay there with a true smile on my face, loving every moment of this.

As the day was wrapping up, laying there with my eyes closed, I heard the nervous laughter of a few people nearby and sensed that they were coming closer. As I opened my eyes, I looked up to find a group of high schoolers literally surrounding me, not far from my face. Apparently they had been amused or intrigued by me laying there in the middle of the grass, so they came up for a closer look. The group of six girls and one guy, all about 16 or 17 years old, began to speak to me, asking my name, where I was from, etc. Then, nervously, giggling, they asked if I'd mind if they took a picture with me. Not happening often, I welcomed the opportunity to have a few admirers and was about to stand up for the shot when they said that they actually wanted it of me laying there as I was, so they gathered around for the pictures, leaving the one guy to take pictures with each of the cameras. Not wanting to miss the chance, I gave him my camera as well to record the event. I guess without too many tourists in the area, I was something different for the girls, and, although it's a bit vain, an ego boost like that never hurts. So, they took their pictures, asked a few more questions and moved along, though they didn't go far. Hearing them still talking about me, they soon returned to bravely ask for my email address, which I gave them, so we'll see if any of them actually venture to send anything further.

Leaving the site, I stopped for a few good tacos at one of the local stands, apparently making me miss the last bus from the site. With a bit of extra time on my hands, I visited a few of the vendors, deciding that a souvenir was in order to commemorate the great day, so I bought a small pyramid keychain from a lady who didn't seem to mind the fact that while she was walking around showing me the merchandise, she was also breastfeeding her small child. I figured that if she was ok with it, I was too, so I kept my eyes closely on the merchandise and moved on. I walked the short road back to the main highway, waited another half an hour with some locals and finally got another bus heading into town, putting me back just in time for another local dinner and night hanging out in the park, accompanied by a great little strawberry ice cream cone for only about $1. Back in town, there was something else going on, though. The stage was being set, and chairs were all around. First, a musical group of about 20 teenagers (and a few a bit younger), all with guitars in hand began to play. They strummed along, singing a few romantic ballads and a few more upbeat, traditional songs which all sounded quite good. A hint of rain came and went, and the seats began to fill up. Next to me, an nice older woman began talking to me, welcoming me to town, wanting to know what I thought of the place, where I'd go next, etc. She even offered me a free place to stay in some surrounding towns with her or her family, but I had to decline, since I'd be going in the opposite direction. Finally, after the musicians finished, the main event began. It was a sort of beauty contest/homecoming queen kind of thing with six young women walking the stage, the announcer telling us a bit about each one and where we could vote for our favorite. The town square was crowded with the seats all full and many more standing behind, cheering for their friends and family to be crowned the queen. Unfortunately, the voting had yet to take place, so I had to leave in suspense, perhaps never knowing who would be this year's winner.

(One of the first temples of the site, with the thick forest in the background.)

(A side view of the big daddy - The Pyramid of the Niches. Note the squares/niches.)

(Me and my beloved pyramid.)

(More of the many temples with bright green grass finding its way in between.)

(Another of my favorite temples...grassy on one side, rocky and temply on the other.)

(The backside of Mr. Niches...I love this thing.)

(The green temple that sat just in front of me as I spent my time in the grass. This was taken from almost the exact spot where I enjoyed most of the afternoon.)

(Me and my new lady friends, hanging out in the grass. Good times.)