Wow. I had not realized until I started the excellent visit prepared by our hosts - that this is the great city I saw as a child, not far from Mexico City, where I climbed giant pyramids that gave views that went on forever and was first introduced to the mighty Aztecs. Reading about the great planned city, with wide avenues, pyramid-shaped housing developments, giant temples with such wonderful names (Pyramid of the Sun, Pyramid of the Moon, the Palace of the Jaguar (with murals of jaguars with feathered headdresses), the Palace of the Quetzal-butterfly (with carved pillars depicting a hybrid bird-butterfly) - how amazing to think this was all rising as Rome's civilization was slowly dying, right up to 650-700 AD - when "something happened." I remember thinking how strange it was that a big city like this could just "die," but apparently it did . .. and I'm not sure anyone knows why!

Thank you so much for bringing back these memories. I particularly remember Quetzalcoatl and how bizarre the names seemed - Tlaloc, the rain god, the Jaguar god, . . . so many Aztec gods!

I highly recommend this tour!