We had a very busy time during our holiday in Germany from mid July till mid of September and our schedule was very tough. However we are very pleased that we are still nor forgotten while being 3,5 years on the road. 

One major highlight was the marriage from our son Michael with Eva. It was a great celebration and we wish them all the best for the future. Also we had a big party with our friends on Manfreds 65th birthday. He is now officially retired and looks forward to get all the discounts in the US. We drove more than 4000 km during our stay and shot a number of nice pictures which we want to share with you. Will say, also Europe is worth a trip. 

We made it back to Mexico-City without problems and also our shuttle service from the airport did work as expected. The first days were filled with cleaning and maintenance before we continue our journey.

We have already seen many pyramids from the Native Americans but the one from Teotihuacan is still missing. For most tourists this is a day trip from Mexico-City while they are around. We park our truck at an RV park close by but first we look at the celebrations for the Independence Day. At 16^th of September 1810 the priest Miguel Hidalgo called for armed resistance against the Spanish colonial rule. Every year this day is celebrated throughout the country supported by thousands of fireworks all night long. We have had better nights.

The next Morning we take a taxi from our RV park to the archeological site. The sun and moon pyramids are on a very large area. In former times it was the biggest city of Meso America and was erected in the first century a. C. His heydays were from 250 to 650 a. C. The sun pyramid is the third largest on earth after the Cheops pyramid in Egypt and the one in Cholula/Mexico and a really impressive building. The 248 steps to the top can take your breath away but it`s really worth it and you are rewarded with a wonderful 360 Degrees view. The moon pyramid is it worth either and also gives you a beautiful view over the area. We are happy that we got up early and were around already at 8am. After 10am the compound gets really full and the sun pyramid looks like a busy anthill from far away. 

The next day we move on to Prismas Basalticos. We thought about it as something different i.e. like a nature park in the loneliness but we found a leisure park where Mexicans spend the weekends with their children. We stroll around and look at the nice basalt formations but it`s not really worth it. After overnight close-by we drive to the Grutas Tolantongo which is not mentioned in any of our travel books. The road goes steep down into a narrow gorge from 2100m to 1200m and ends at a warm river with turquoise green water where we can camp directly at the river bank. The area is a large park with some hotels and various warm water pools where you can relax for hours. Behind a waterfall you have also access to a tunnel and a cave for swimming. In case you plan a visit you should avoid weekends when all Mexicans meet there. 

We stay a few days and enjoy the sun and the pleasure to swim in warm water before we go on to Bernal to the third largest Monolith on earth after Ayres Rock and Gibraltar. Bernal is a small village which awakes to life on weekends only when the tourists come from all over to visit the 350m high rock. They say it has magical power and at equinox thousands pilgrimage to this place to touch the rock and benefit from the positive energy. Every weekend there is also a water fountain spectacle with light and music. For those of you who know the Bellagio in Las Vegas, this is similar but smaller…..

Our next stop is the nice colonial town San Miguel de Allende. We can park at an RV park close to the city center from where we can explore everything by foot. We spend wonderful days together with Josh and Brittni from San Diego who travel South with a self-made sprinter van and Stefan and Heike from Switzerland with their two kids and a dog travelling in a motorhome. The town with the cobbled streets invites for long walks and various good restaurants wait to get explored. 

We are really lucky because on the weekend from 30th of September is a big festival in honor to the most important patron saint San Miguel Arcangel. The ceremonies start with a big firework at 4am on Friday night. So we adjust our alarm clock and walk to the main place at the church in the middle of the night. But what we experience there cannot be described in words. The fireworks have no real security fence and the rockets are fired diagonal across the place into the mid of the crowd. The mainly full drunken youngsters seem to have fun with it but we feel like in a war zone and escape right away. Josh made a small video clip about it which can be found here. Video. Saturday and Sunday are parades all day with music and dancing from hundreds of actors in wonderful historic pre-Columbian costumes. We have so many colorful pictures that we decided to publish a "Special Edition" about the parade. Therefore only a very limited selection is shown in this section. See here for: Special edition 

In the next days we will continue our journey zig-zag thru the North of Mexico. But what we experience there is part of the next blog. Until then stay tuned, enjoy reading and watching the pictures and like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram. Until then. Hasta Luego.