Some of us figured out how to use the cash machine and we looked for an Internet - no luck. The market was quite crowded but had many interesting booths. After climbing back up to the hotel, I decided to skip dinner and have a bit of R&R -- a hot shower and rest became more important than food.

His name is Martin and he started by reciting a poem in Nauhatl (Aztec language); he’s definitely the Aztec nobility type - a shaman for his people. We walked first to the Barrio church for that area - there are eleven barrios in this area and the Spaniards built churches on top of the ancient temples that had been there before. When the natives came to worship at the churches they were actually following their ancient traditions because it was customary to build new temples on top of the old.

Martin stopped at several places along the way and blew his conch shell - it echoed back from the mountains around us. Too cool. He also showed us several of the medicinal plants along the way that have been used by the natives for centuries.

From the edge of the cliff we had a fantastic view of the town and our very blue hotel.

Martin then performed a ceremony on the top of the pyramid - looking very Aztec - which involved blowing the conch shell in four directions. Quite impressive.

We had lunch at an outdoor restaurant, which also had more varieties of butterflies. We even saw White Morphos, which according to Paciano have become quite rare. Lovely.

After lunch we hiked back up a ways to see some caves that were used in many of the ancient ceremonies - but they were blocked off so we couldn’t really get to them. Then back around through town to see some of the other churches and past Martin’s house where his "sweat lodge" also has the painting of the Aztec serpent mouth.

Up again and on the bus to Mexico City for our last night together. First we spent the afternoon at the Museum of Archeology which was something I had looked forward to since my last visit 30 years ago. I always said I could spend a week there, but since they had half of the areas closed for remodeling, I found the afternoon was long enough. They do have some fantastic Aztec artifacts though.

. The seal over the front entrance represents the Aztecs finding of an eagle eating a serpent which was the Aztec symbol of where to settle on Lake Tenochtichlan

The column in the center plaza of the museum is carved to represent historical events in Mexico. The wide top umbrella sometimes "rains" to wet anyone who happens to be standing around.

This jaguar greets visitors to the Aztec section of the museum. It was used to hold hearts of the sacrificial victims. Since the Aztecs/Mechicas/Tenochas (several names refer to the same people) didn’t come to the Mexico City area until 1325 they only had an impact for about 200 years before the Spaniards came and conquered them. The other six areas (three were closed) of the museum show some of the other native cultures of Mexico: Toltecs, Mayas, Oaxacans, etc.

It was not until 1978 while digging for the subway, that the Mexican people realized what archeological treasures were buried under their city. This is a model of what the ancient Aztec city looked like from what they have found so far. There is an intricate diorama of the city market scene in the museum hidden around behind the Sun Stone. The Spaniards purposely buried the entire city to build their own capitol here. The central pyramid is actually seven pyramids built one on top of the other - with two temples on the top to represent the duality of their religion (male/female, birth/death, sun/moon, blue/red, etc.)

The "Stone of the Sun" was discovered in 1790 and was thought to be a calendar because 20 signs of days are circled around the center. However, it is now thought to have been a sacrificial altar. It is a design of the face of Xiuhlecuhtle emerging from the center of the earth, holding a pair of human hearts and showing his tongue which is transformed into a sacrificial knife. He is surrounded by four suns that preceded a fifth sun inscribed in the sequence of 20 day signs framed with figure of the sun with four beams symmetrically accompanied by sacrificial sharp points. The star is surrounded by Xiuhcoatl or "Fire Serpents" which carry it across the heavens

The Aztec "Mother Goddess" was carved in volcanic stone and called "Coatlicue" or "Cihuacoatl" referring to her skirt of serpents and face made up of two serpent heads. There are 13 feathers carved into the back part representing levels of the cosmos. She must be 15 feet tall - very impressive.

Some of the Aztec carving is so detailed and intricate you wonder how it could have been done.

Our last group meeting was that evening after dinner - we sat in a circle and told what we had enjoyed/learned on the trip. Naturally we all were most impressed by the butterflies we had to climb so hard to see. (Ann said she learned to light a match in the bathroom; I said I learned a lot about Canadians. We did enjoy ourselves. )

Early the next morning, Ann & I got checked out, said goodbye to group members again and took a taxi to Hotel Cortez. This was my "extra" day - mainly because I fouled up my airline reservations and was going back a day later than the group activities were scheduled. It didn’t make much difference except I was suffering with a cold and not very good company. Ann was scheduled to stay in Mexico City for five more days so I went with her to her new hotel. We got checked in and decided to walk to the Zocolo (Mexico City’s main plaza) and see some of the sights. We enjoyed wandering through some huge buildings and the main cathedral, but the best part was finding the uncovered Aztec ruins and museum (which hadn’t been there last time I was in Mexico City). They have done a fantastic job opening up areas that they didn’t even know existed 30 years ago - and the museum is four floors of fascinating artifacts. We finally wore out and decided to have a snack and rest at the top of the hotel restaurant facing the plaza. That didn’t work out because you had to buy the whole buffet to sit up there and we weren’t that hungry - so we snacked at McDonalds down the street. Not as good a view but it worked.