Puebla and Cholula

The church of Nuestra Senora de los Remedios (our lady of Remedies Church) is on top of the Cholula pyramid.  The pyramid now looks like a mountain or at least a hill made of dirt but it is actually a pyramid.  There are varying myths of why the pyramid not looks like a mountain.  Some say that it was covered by dirt so it would not be destroyed.  Others say because it was made of adobe bricks that over hundreds of years grass and trees grew from the bricks as they deteriorated.


A model of the Cholula Pyramid as it may have originally looked with the church now on top as well.  Every 50 years or so the pyramid was increased in size  by making it bigger and taller.

artist concept of what the pyramid and town may have looked like





A trip to Puebla 2 hours south of the city to see the largest pyramid in the world. 

The Tenorio's went with us.  They had been there two times before but wanted us to see it.



They make Talavera pottery in Puebla so I bought one dish to take home.  Some missionaries here buy a whole set of plate ware. It is usually blue and white but now other colors are used as well.  Authentic Talavera pottery only comes from the city of Puebla and nearby communities because the quality of the natural clay is good. The tradition of pottery making goes back to the 16th century.


The active  Popocatépetl Volcano just outside Puebla.  It was spewing smoke and  when we were in Puebla

I imagine this volcano was active at the death of Christ.

I like this idea of having groves down the middle of the sidewalk so the blind people are enabled as they walk with their cane to know when the middle is.  

outside of the Pyramid

They wanted to give us a sampl

As we walked to the pyramid we passed street vendors selling fried grasshoppers.

lots of tunnels in the pyramid

inside the tunnels of the pyramid

more tunnels in the pyramid

Just exiting the tunnel Neal Beecher and President Tenorio with the guide.

The large court yard with very old structures still standing

A stone face from hundred of years ago

original murals and painted walls

out of the pyramid tunnels...into the court yard and looking back at the church built on top of the pyramid

 
Marigold fields from a distance as we drove past the pyramid with the church on top.  We were on our way to dinner in the center of Puebla.

The town square where people congregate and visit as see from the touribus

a church as seem from the top of the bus

 
The Turibus.  We were on top.

Tesoros, a nice restaurant.  I had soup

They do soup a little different.  They bring my bowl with a little fresh spring greens and onions and whatever and then a cup of hot chicken broth and pour the broth in on the greens and that is my soup.  This was the case when I had corn soup at a previous location as well.   

 me and my soup

Dennis' dinner some kind of meat with mole sauce

Me, Stan and Janet Call, Neal and Jackie Beecher, Sister and President Tenorio

Tresoros Restaurante in Puebla Mexico.  Lots of murals  on the walls.

The ceiling has a glass retractable roof like the City Creek Mall.

This was the pianist on the second floor playing classical music for the patrons.

 we went up to tip the piano player

Back at the Cholula Pyramid (which was actually before dinner) We climbed as far as we could go on an old pyramid and took this picture of all the churches in Puebla and Cholula.  They say there are supposed to be one for every day of the year but our guide told us that actually there are only 144 churches in the area.   I thought that was a lot.

lots of churches

Dennis at the ruins

This architecture is similar to the Mexico City Temple

After coming out of the pyramid tunnels we had a close up of the church but no one wanted to walk up to the top....so another day (or not).

The serpent motif on this alter is reminiscence of Jesus Christ.  It appears all through out Mexico. 

We frequently see a triumphal arch in the cities.  I think they hearken back to the Spanish colonial time with direct influence from Europe and Spain.  

I climbed to the top of this pyramid and this was the view straight down.  Very steep.  Dennis and the Tenorios are below.

Lots of statues all over Mexico

These ruins used to be at ground level but over the thousand + years since they were build, debris and dirt had buried them.  They have been excavated now and are 20+ feet below ground level.

Colorful Mexico.  All their houses and buildings are made of cement and if they didn't paint them it would be pretty boring.  

Again, colorful Mexico and the city of Puebla as seen from the top of the Turibus.

tile work is common on building fronts

The church atop of the mountain or a least a pyramid that is now all cover with dirt and looks like a mountain.  

It is amazing that a civilization used to live here and then layers of dirt covered it all.

Our guide..he was very knowledgeable

departing testimony meeting and other elders and hermanas

I always enjoy going to the Sunday night testimony of the departing missionaries.  Sister Shumway from our branch said she had come from a home where she never had the opportunity for a priesthood blessing.  She was nervous and scared to go out into the field of her call to Queretaro Mexico but an Elder in her branch Elder Allred the companion to the district leader gave her a priesthood blessing last night and she felt very confident and better about proceeding forth to the next step of her mission.

I wish all missionaries were as obedient and Christlike as 99% of them are here.  The CCM is a transition time for these young men and women to be disciples of God.  Last night Dennis got a call a about midnight from the man at the reception desk where missionaries call if they need help it the night.  Evidently one elder was crying, shaking and having an emotional breakdown of some kind. The golf cart was unavailable so two security men picked up Dennis at the apartment.  He went to the office to get his bag and then they drove to the Elders house.  He finally got the elder off the bed from his hyperventilating, shaking curled up fetal position and they took him without his companion to the office.  (He did not want his companion to go).  Evidently earlier another elder in his zone had been bugging him about his nonmember girlfriend, not being able to learn the Spanish language and  being a wimp.  They had gotten into a shoving match and this, now in tears elder said he had wanted to kill the offending elder.  He said he knew Satan had been there at that time and he was in deep remorse and feeling awful. The elder said he would like to talk to President Call so now past midnight Dennis had President Call come to the clinic.  Actually the security men drove over and picked him up and he came in full suit and tie and talked with the elder and gave him a very long and encouraging blessing.  (all of this comes to me second hand through Dennis who at 1:30 in the morning was wide awake and couldn't sleep)  President Call will also talk with the offending Elder from the zone and encourage him as well.

Then there is Sister Godfrey who went home yesterday after only being here less than a week but had serious emotional problems.  Her boyfriend also left his mission and went home because he felt like he was the only one who could help her since she and he claim that her family is dysfunctional and abusive.

a little more sickness

Well we seem to be having a little outbreak of gastrointestinal problems with the missionaries.  One was sick enough (he kept throwing up and having diarrhea and couldn't eat without stomach cramps) to go to the hospital for two and a half days.  Elder Anderson was even in the hospital on his birthday.  The director here over all the CCM took him some homemade chocolate chip cookies.   I don't know how many cookies he could eat but the thought was very nice. That was a birthday he wont forget.

Puebla

A trip to Puebla 2 hours south of the city to see the largest pyramid in the world.  

The Tenorio's went with us.  They had been there two times before but wanted us to see it.  

They make Talavera pottery in Puebla so I bought one dish to take home.  Some missionaries here buy a whole set of plate ware. It is usually blue and white but now other colors are used as well.  Authentic Talavera pottery only comes from the city of Puebla and nearby communities because the quality of the natural clay is good. The tradition of pottery making goes back to the 16th century. 

The active  Popocatépetl Volcano just outside Puebla.  It was spewing smoke and and when we were in Puebla.  

Zochimilco canals built by the Aztec

We went to Zochimilco with the Calls.  Neal Beecher was sick so they stayed home.  I do hope they will have a chance to visit before they leave.  Zochimilco is a community of Canalas built by the Aztec people hundred of years ago.  I believe the area where that burro is was a shallow lake and they began building islands on it by putting down pilings and hauling in dirt.  They did this until the lake was gone and only canals were left.


Planks along island edge holding dirt on the island.


brightly painted trajineras ...hundreds of them were available to be on the canals






woman selling plants from her boat you could also buy jeweler, baskets, dinner or just about anything else you wanted.

The city is known for the nursery along the canals

We stopped here and Janet bought a a large geranium for $2.50

I loved the trumpet vines that grew along the canal bank.  You can also see the pilings or long logs that they pounded into the ground and then but boards and planks behind them with soil to create the island.  So of the logs began to grow and so there are trees along the island edge also.

I thought this mother had just picked up her daughter from school and they were going home. She was using a broom for a paddle.

This was our boat rower and guide

We stopped to eat at Rosales (at his suggestion)  of course he ate free and we paid for our dinners including his.  He has been working on the canals  since he was 15.  He is a native to the area and claims he is of Aztec decent.  

Actually it was a nice restaurant.  I ordered veggie tacos.  The others ate meat on corn tortillas.

These rolls were drying outside in the sun at the restaurant so they could make bread crumbs to put in some of the dishes they serve.  

This was the open pot at the restaurant where we ate.  It had oil or sauce or both on this little stove and that is where they cooked the pork that the others ate for dinner.

we had many Mariachi bands that wanted to tour with us and serenade us of course for a price.  We hired this group to play a few songs.  

This mother had two children in her boat and what looked to be her mother.

canals went off in different directions

a boat garage with the house near by

a patch of solid water lilies growing in one area of the canal

This little old lady sitting on a chair on the boat was interesting.  That is her means of transportation.  We wanted to go to this area a few weeks ago but the city had torrential rains and we were advised by locals that another time would be better.

We stopped at the San Bernardino Church in the center of Xochimilco

We see a lot of old Volkswagen cars here in Mexico (bugs) but I didn't realize Volkswagen also made bicycle taxis.  

The church doors.  Interesting hands

We walked through the market.  This woman along with a lot of other food stands were selling cactus.  It is prepared in many different ways. I had some the above restaurant that was pickled.

This flower shop was nice.  The lion is made of all flowers.  While we were there a little brother and sister in school uniforms came running to the flower shop and said "Papa we are home from school now".  He was working on another flower creation, a large butterfly, which like the lion was made of flowers.  

These princess costumes were for sale at the market and I though of my little granddaughters.

At the market.  We bought bananas and radishes. Sister Call bought flowers.  

class and earthquake

Dennis taught our English class today.  He does a very nice job.  One driver was missing.

We had an earthquake drill yesterday during lunch.  Although I'm not sure it was a drill.  We actually had an earthquake in Mexico City.  It was a 5.4 but I didn't feel anything.  The night before the community and CCM earthquake drill went off and I didn't know what it was.      

I woke up at 11:50 PM and looked out the window to see if there was a fire or something.  The next day on Wednesday I learned it was a very small earthquake.  Only a few people here at the CCM went knew what was happening and went out to gather in our green earthquake gathering circles.  

valley before school

We see this hill every day and out of our kitchen window also.  It has many transmitting towers on it.  

This is  the same hill with no towers about 50 years earlier.  It is a map of the Benemerito area and the valley the church owned before the school was built.  It was all farmland.  The map is displayed at the temple visitors center.  The government did not want the church to own that much land so the church had to sell much of it.  It then became low cost housing.