'The Magic of Mexico: Pre-Columbian to Contemporary' with Renaissance Tours

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Fri 14 Mar 2014 - Wed 02 Apr 2014

We all want to travel to somewhere! Observe cultures outside of our own. Explore landscapes and sites that you wouldn't really recognise in your own backyard.

If you have a deep interest in mesoamerican civilisations (of the past) such as the Mayans or the Aztecs, then you are in luck!

Chris Carter, a archaeologist who has spent years excavating sites around South America, will be leading a tour in March next year. Sponsored by Renaissance tours, he will lead a group of tourists through many sites and remnants of mesoamerican civilisations.



Upon flying to Mexico City in mid 2014, you will first spend the first few days exploring the lost remnants of Mexico City: a city built on an island on Lake Texocco. The Aztecs thrived here between 1300 and 1500 AD.

To give you a brief overview of who the Aztecs were: its civilisation was synonymous with violence, blood, and urban engineering. The streets of Tenochitlan (where Mexico City lies now.) were laid out in a grid pattern where three major water causeways flowed into the lake and the mainland. Many other civilisations laid their cities out in a similar pattern but many of the buildings in Tenochitlan were built so close to the cusp of the water: many of which led way to 'winky' and sinking architecture.



Tenochitlan became the most powerful city in Mesoamerica: much due to military expansions. In ritual sacrifices, the Aztecs would remove the heart from sacrificial lambs, boil it in a pot and then offer it as a token to the gods.

While on the topic of religion: the next day you will visit the remains of the Templo Mayor: the main temple complex of Tenochitlan where the Aztecs worshipped and participated in rituals to appease the gods.



But of course there is much more to tell you about the Aztecs than just three paragraphs but I'll leave it up to you to do more research if you are interested.

The tour will then take you to Teotihuacan, one of the largest cities in Mesoamerica at its time of the 2nd century BC to 700 AD. Awe is the main reaction that many tourists give when entering the Avenue of the Dead: with remnants of Teotihuacan found on both ends.



Teotihuacan is most noted for its large pyramids; Pyramid of the Sun and Pyramid of the Moon. It must be noted that the Pyramids have been reconstructed due to issues with preserving the natural rocks and stones of the pyramids but it's still a dazzling sight.

The city is indicative of the most spectacular urban planning and civil engineering in the world with grid layouts of the streets, dispersed into individual zones and quarters where both the rich and the poor shared residence.



To spare you with paragraphs of information on the inhabitants, I will summarise in one sentence. The city attracted a vast variety of ethnic groups in mesoamerica where much evidence of war, cannibalism, and sacrifice has been found. .

You can have a look at the brochure on the website to see a day by day description of what you could expect to visit and do on the tour.

The tour will draw you to numerous archaeological sites of many mesoamerican cultures, but what about the Mayans? Well, the tour will explore one of the largest Mayan cities, Chitchen Itza (on the Yucatan peninsula) which is believed to have been occupied between 600-1200 AD. The city itself isn't as large as the first two cities mentioned above mentioned but a visit will give you some insight into Mayan culture.



Most people recently know the Mayans for the December 2012 Hoax where people misinterpreted the ending of a cycle on the Mayan calendar to mean it was the supposed 'end of the world'. In Mesoamerica history; the Mayans were well known for their spectacular art and ceramics, their architectural designs that were cluttered due to small land space, and for their mathematical and astronomical knowledge of the 'equinox' and the movement of the sun.





The tour will conclude in late March with connecting transfer flights back to Sydney. However, if you aren't flustered by the days of touring: you may explore the archaeological sites of other renowned mesoamerican civilisations. Feel free to do the following; visit the Nazcan city of Cuhuachi, explore the Nazca lines and Cu, visit the stones of 'Danzantes' dancers at Monte Alban, visit the ballcourts of El Tajin or most notably pay a visit to the Inca city of Machu Picchu, nestled in the high peaks of the Cusco region. Whatever floats your boat.





The prices may be expensive but it is a chance to immerse yourself in new plateaus of cultural knowledge and to visit ravishing landscapes and archaeological sites that will astonish your eyes.

The final payment deposit will be needed by the 13th of January 2014.

For more information on prices and payments, visit the website

Get in quick or else this opportunity will float away before you know it!

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!date 14/03/2014 -- 02/04/2014
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