Meeting Fires Creative

Traveling back to Mexico was essential for my well-being. The place fills me up with inspiration, happiness and excitement along with pastries, tortillas and fresh fruit by the pound. This time around, it was another inland adventure hitting up some of the places I’d been dreaming about: Mexico City-Puebla-Oaxaca. In between the big smoke (literally) and our next stop in beautiful Puebla, my travel partner Mary and I spent some time in Cholula. Most reactions to that were: where? why? Well, here’s the answer. It’s basically a suburb of Puebla so easy to get to on the way from Mexico City. But why? Well, we didn’t know exactly other than we had two reasons before going, but many more after spending time there.

1. Volcano viewing — Popocatépetl and Iztaccihuatl are on display from any vantage point in town. Is the air clear enough to view it? Will they be shrouded in cloud and mist, at ease and relaxing. Or on a clear day, perhaps smoking and steaming, flexing their eruptive powers for all to see. The former is very active, the latter is dormant. We caught some smoke/steam action on our first day there, from the top of the Great Pyramid of Cholula….leading to reason #2:

2. Tlachihualtepetl (The Great Pyramid of Cholula). The largest man made monument on the planet, the largest pyramid discovered by volume, a tomb and religious centre seen as a threat to the conquistadors who built a church on top in 1594. From anywhere in town, you can see the pyramid but it resembles more of a lumpy hill and with a bright yellow church right on top. One of dozens of grand churches in the immediate area, Cholula may have the lock on churches per capita around here (a feat in itself).

Investigating further, it turns out Cholula is old, practically ancient in fact. It is the oldest still-inhabited city in the Americas, established between 500-200BCE and providing residence in the Valley of Puebla for 2500 years. Construction of the Great Pyramid was started in 3rd century, declining in stature along with Teotihuacan and other pre-Columbian centres centuries later. So much history in one place, it’s no wonder we were drawn here.

We walked from our apartment down through the low-lying buildings, spotting the remnants of carnivals and Semana Santa celebrations along the way. Here’s a tiled church with a midway ride out front. Around the corner, tortillerias pumping out the goods, elderly folk on bikes slowly rolling for errands. A very locals-only kind of place, we were feeling off the tourist path here and discovering some deliciously tiny cafes and restaurants along the way. It was hot, dusty and very windy — all things that would ramp up as we walked to the pyramid.

Approaching the base, you can see the old stepped pyramid partially excavated from the hill. Ascending the path and steps up to the top – itself a challenge when already at 2200m – the view opened up and the we had a 360-degree look at the countryside. Towards Puebla, low buildings punctuated with all those churches – streamers and bunting from Holy Week still flying in the wind. Towards the volcanoes, the town dwindles down to forest, shrub and dusty grassland. At our feet and high above yet, a catholic church where we overheard someone remark – ‘what a coincidence they built the church on this hill, not knowing it was a grand pyramid underneath’. Er, right.

Both reasons for visiting in one scene: being on top of this ancient structure, gazing at the Smoking Mountain. Done! But, Cholula had an irresistible draw – the calm streets and small town feel meant we could saunter and photograph with ease. As the day was drawn out, the shadows and light on the brightly painted buildings made our walk home a slow one, with scene after scene presenting itself to our hungry eyes. Alas, our hungrier bellies sent us to the Oxxo for a dinner ingredient, with a local youth informing us ‘you know, Mexican people don’t buy groceries here at Oxxo’. Haha, thanks kiddo! It was a desperate move that got us the last avocado, a sack of refried beans and tortillas – enough to stave off our hunger before the best breakfast (so far) the following morning. Back at the apartment, the volcanic sunset was the final touch on a visually stunning day.

Cholula – you are known for the pyramid and the volcanoes, and on those you didn’t disappoint. But to us, it was the charming small town feel, the friendly people, the not-on-google / we’ll-make-whatever-you-like restaurants and, likely, that sage advice from a helpful young man. These images will always mark the slow saunter under warm sun and breeze, slowly absorbing sights and sounds of a lesser-visited spot in this heavily-populated part of Mexico. It was a stop well worth making.

Cholula, Mexico
April, 2024

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