After touring the pyramids of Teotihuacan, there was little to keep us in town. Teotihuacan Town is a Pueblo Magico and seems like a nice enough place to spend some time.
But the RV park in town is fairly basic, and with daily downpours and no kids to play with at the moment, we think we’ll take our chances farther south.
Noe’s wanted to plant a garden for years. I didn’t think it would be something we could finagle while living full-time in an RV. Then we happened upon this little starter kit at a supermarket and thought it might be worth a go.
Our Mexico-USA RV Journey 2024-25
We picked it up before our time in Mexico City, but had to wait until we were going to be around the RV on a regular basis to water these things. We’ll see how it goes and report back.
The boys had never had a Shirley Temple before. The kids don’t really drink soda, but we saw it on a menu and thought it was something we couldn’t pass up. The verdict? Overall, I think they liked them, but I don’t think it’s something they’ll ask for anytime soon. Riley wasn’t a fan of the fizziness and Noe said he prefers juice because it’s sweeter.
The Teotihuacan Trailer Park made the Pueblo Magico tourist map. That’s a first!
I will say this about Teotihuacan Trailer Park—it’s one of the most conveniently-located RV parks we’ve stayed at. It’s only about a five minute walk to the center of town, and another five to the plaza. 45 minutes of walking gets you to the pyramids (or a short taxi ride). The Bodega Aurrera is not far and we can get most everything we need in town.
The RV park might not be the most exciting we’ve stayed at, but it does have that going for it. And the steady stream of overlanders from around the world gives it a bit more of a community-feel as well.
Plus, it’s one of the closest places to the Mexico City international airport if you need to securely store your vehicle for a while, which is what it seems most visitors use it for.
Time to head out. So long, Teo!
On to Cholula!
We added two new Mexico states to our list today: Tlaxcala (which we only drove through), and Puebla, where Cholula is located.
Cholula’s been on my radar for a while—not just because of the sauce, but because it’s home to one of the most iconic attractions of the Mexican Highlands: The Great Pyramid of Cholula topped by the striking yellow Our Lady of the Remedies church.
In terms of Cholula, itself, I didn’t know much other than it was also a Pueblo Magico (we find ourselves staying in a lot of Pueblos Magicos on this journey—they seem to be where many of the established RV parks are).
With that said, I certainly didn’t expect this…
When we rolled into town, it was a bit of a madhouse. Fortunately, the RV park here is just a couple of easy turns off the main highway. We didn’t encounter the traffic jam, above, until we made our first walk into town after hooking up the RV. More on that in a moment.
We knew less about Trailer Park Cholula on arrival than any previous RV park so far. There wasn’t a lot of information online and Lori couldn’t get ahold of anyone ahead of time to confirm rates or whether or not it is still functional.
Sometimes in Mexico, you just got to show up and cross your fingers. It took us a few minutes to find someone to let us in. The guard who met us wasn’t terribly helpful with information (it was fairly evident he had been drinking for most of the day).
He was, however, able to give us a general idea of where we can park, which was helpful given that there seemed to be hookups for RV scattered across the entire property.
It bears mentioning here that while they have hookups for RVs, Trailer Park Cholula isn’t an RV park in the traditional sense (but is any RV park in Mexico?).
It’s a gated apartment complex built around a communal green space with a pool and shared facilities. The area around the pool is mostly a large parking lot for the apartment residents and office spaces in the back.
There were two stored RVs hooked up, so we knew we were in the right place. But finding a functional electrical outlet proved a bit of a challenge.
After getting set up, we figured we’d head into town to have a look around.
Unbeknownst to us, our visit happened to coincide with the biggest festival of the year in town: The Feast of the Virgin of the Remedies, where pilgrims come from all over Mexico to pay their respects to the big yellow church on the pyramid.
Think we’ll save visiting the church for another day.
After shimmying our way through endless crowds for an hour, we ended up at an oasis of calm: Cerveceria Cholula.
After sharing a flight of beer and a glass of pulque (and letting the boys run around the grounds with some new friends), we were ready to head back out into the packed streets.
Cholula is not one, but TWO towns—San Pedro Cholula and San Andres Cholula—which made things a bit confusing at first. Each town has it’s own distinct feel, community, and schedule of events (something we found out the hard way a few days later during Mexican Independence Day).
We’d slated a full self-guided walking tour of Cholula for later in our visit. Today’s main objective was to get to the dinner joint we had eagerly been anticipating for a week or so: Jazatlan Jazz Club.
The boys don’t get to hear much live music these days (apart from mariachi, that is), so this place was a treat. I wouldn’t exactly call what we heard on this particular night “jazz”, but the group was pretty good.
The food, on the other hand, was VERY good. Some unique offerings from the usual fare we’re used to. And local mezcal.
After festivities subsided a few days later, we made our long-awaited visit to the Cholula Pyramid and big yellow church.
I want to say that the place is amazing and a must-see. But after seeing so much of Mexico and so many historic attractions, the experience was a bit underwhelming.
That’s certainly not due to its size. The Great Pyramid of Cholula is, by volume, the largest known pyramid on the planet. It is, no doubt, a monumental feat of engineering.
But…you can’t exactly see most it, as the pyramid is entirely covered in vegetation, save for a small portion that has been excavated.
The biggest bummer, however is that you can no longer go inside the pyramid, which used to be the main draw. Some say it has to do with preservation, others say politics. Regardless, you can’t do it.
And the big yellow church at the top? Well, after touring so many massive 16th and 17th century churches in Mexico, it seemed pretty small and modern by comparison.
With all that said, it’s a Mexico icon and we’re glad we got to see it. We’re also glad it’s not Cholula’s sole attraction.
The views of Puebla City from the top are worth the climb, alone. We’ll be heading there in a few days to have a look around.
A couple of blocks from the pyramid, Convento de San Gabriel Arcángel is another one of the city’s major attractions.
Colorful markets and stalls abound in Cholula.
