La Pirámide de Tepoztlan, México

A day trip to the crunchy granola, new age, supernatural town of Tepoztlan is easily done by taking a half hour colectivo from Cuernavaca. Tepotztlan features a mountain top trek up to a cliff´s edge Aztec-esque pyramid of the Three Alliance (three tribes merging to form a nation in the midst of Spanish colonization).
Believed to be a place vibrating in high supernatural energies, the boutiques are filled with insence, quartz and crystal stone angels, and other artifacts associated with spiritual wellness. There are several spas and massage spots, some "fast service"... fifty pesos for fifteen to twenty minutes of massage. Available are vapor and mineral baths intent on flushing harmful toxins from the body for cleansing physical and spiritual properties. I figured just breathing the insence-laced air would be enough... plus climbing the mountain to the pyramid.
The street and path leading to the base of the hike were lined with boutiques and street booths. I purposely rushed past them, intent on getting on with the task ahead of me.
A Saturday, I shared the stone stepped ascent with several other winded and swetty folks. The hike is not for the weak at heart... yet all ages and sizes were giving it a go. A steady vertical climb, stepping on quasi-steps, only mostly exposed stones, I eventually guided myself into a pace that allowed me to breath without discomfort, not swet too much, and was safe on the choppy footing. I was surpised and entertained by the variety of people hiking and the variety of wardrobes: from barefeet, to heels or leather dress shoes... and every tred and flip-flop inbetween; from shorts and active wear to dresses, sweaters and blouses. Where there is a will, there is a way! Not everyone made it to the top, but the personal journeys and trials count. The final leg of the trek narrowed as the gorge sharply met and flattened into an insurpassable wall whose steps had long since crumbled. Thus, a kiddie-cornered metal ladder clung to it, fastened by deeply seeded spikes. By now, some hour and a half later, you can imagine the remaining strength left in my legs. Stepping off the ladder onto a shelved landing, the remaining exposed wall offered a criss-cross, snake like ascent to the top. Going for not more than a couple hundred yards, however the ledgework of stairs were narrow and steeply unforgiving. I got stuck midway as what seemed like an entire school of teens was desceding all at once! On a bend of the coiling snake, I shuffled out to an edge of stone as the students filed by. They were very appreciative. Exceedingly close and naturally curious, they were finding it difficult to avoid gazes into my uncommon green eyes. In a world of mostly shades of brown skin, hair and eyes, my fair complexion and other European features attract attention in these more remote areas. Bruce equals GRINGO!
The visible portion of the excavated pyramid displayed three levels, the top being a temple which was later transformed into residences. Although the pyramid is small in comparison to those I have visited along the Mayan Trail, and is not accompanied by other outbuildings (at least not as yet having been excavated), the Tepoztlan Pyramid´s bounty lies in the unobstructed views of the Cuernavaca Valley. A lovely spot for lunch and rehydration! A sun drenched, tiered picnic path along the edge of a drop off echoed of the indigenous ones who would have lived and visited here for solitude and to be closer to their dioces (gods). As with so many other Mayan, Aztec, Toltec, Zapotec or other tribals sites, the war that finally swept away this once thriving culture took with it ancient mysteries that are still being uncovered, analyzed and scrutinized by scholars. The ruins of pre-columbian Latin America have a history of warring, but met their final demise with the arrival of Cortéz, the Conquistadors of Spain, and other European forces seeking riches. As I sat atop this speck of ancient earthen treasure, I realized that not much has changed when it comes to warring nations that are threatened by differences and driven by power and corruption.
Has "survival of the fittest" remained a building block in "the evil that men do?" These historically conflicting socio-theo-economic-political patterns are found in most every civilization across the globe, and are often meshed in religious agenda, if not propaganda. Such much so, that after centuries of conflict, people don´t always know why they feel opposed to others outside their clan. What will our world be like when everyone learns to play nice? Perhaps we will never know the ideals of "World Peace", given our genetic pre-dispositions. Yet, somehow my optimistic side favors magnifying other historical patterns and elements of being human that have remained resilient in the face of horrors. We call these: hope, compassion, and faith -- which we have seen exist because of and inspite of the cruel patterns. The Mayans and other ancients had a mystical understanding for this universal balance, as simple as life and death itself... as seen in their reverance given to the Gods of Sunrise and of Sunset.
What awaits you atop the Pyramid of Tepoztlan? Perhaps it is true that her vortex of unusually high supernatural energy provides a place for the unsuspecting traveler to contemplate the ways of the world, or to slip into moments of deeper awakening.