Teuchitlán Frustration

I wrote in an earlier entry about my fruitless search for the archaeological site near the town of Teuchitlán, west of Guadalajara. I had asked an English speaking policeman where the ruins were and he answered that he knew of no ruins nearby. I have now done more research and yes indeed, there are significant ruins there. In fact it is called "The most important archaeological discovery in Western Mexico." It consists of two Pyramids and several other buildings including a Plaza and sport courts. It dates back over two thousand years to Pre-Inca times. It is very well known in archaeological circles and is open to the public. There is also a museum near the site.

I don't know why I could not find it. If I saw a sign, I know enough written Spanish that I would not have missed it. The Policeman I talked to certainly appeared to understand what I was saying when I asked directions to the "ruins - archaeological - ancient civilization". Perhaps if I had said "pyramids - archaeological- ancient civilization", I would have gotten a different answer than, "I know of no ruins near here". Maybe the policeman was simply like me and pretended to understand more than he actually did.

This trip would be so much easier if I had better Spanish. I find occasions like this to be so very frustrating. It is no ones fault other than my own as I took off unprepared and with so little confidence in what I was looking for that I let myself be talked out of looking further by the answer to one obviously misunderstood question.

My next trip to Mexico I will have a small printer so I can have something to show when asking for directions. It would make life so much easier!

Here is a link to some photos of the site: http://www.galenfrysinger.com/teuchitlan_pyramids.htm