Ex - Hacienda Chapultepec

The Ex Hacienda Chapultepec are ruins of what was an ammunition and safe place during the Mexican Revolution. The ruins are located  in Chapultepec is a village in the municipality of Tehuacan with 59 inhabitants, in the State of Puebla near the town of San Diego which itself is home to Mayan Ruins that are still not open to the public. Locals batting for control of the Combi routes is the rumor. Yes sir, forget about opening the ruins to the public until you can see who will make the most money. Greed is a rampant world wide problem to say the least.

This was going to be an easy hike heading away from Cerro Colorado towards San Diego with the usual suspects on the trail. Eric has been this route a few times so along with his girlfriend Wendy he was going to lead the way. There would be simple twist to start the day as we did  not have to start as early as usual. We were going to meet near the Purisima market and it's bustling market neighbourhood and start our day with warm Atole and Tamales.

  I was unsure of Atole knowing it was a warm corn based drink but let me tell you that when in Mexico find a corner market that sells proper Pulke and you will not be disappointed. Sipping this while eating a hot tamale, yes I said hot tamale, is a fantastic way to start a hike. It kicks oatmeal and granolas collective asses. I honestly forget at times that there are other options for food in a country I am in and I can not explain it aside from routine. Not a big concern but this simple breakfast awakened the need to get out of my nutrition comfort zone.

With the messa of Cerro Colorado to our left the trail was surrouned by gorgeous fields of vegtables and flowers. The flowers were in full bloom and it only took a moment to realize that they were going to be harvested and sold for the Day of The Dead celebrations that were a few weeks away. This is a holiday that is taken very seriously in Mexico and we are going to have the opportunity to see it in all its glory on Nov 2nd in a town called Chilac. More on that later.

The ruins themselves are no so much dramatic as they are historical. Most of my students have no idea they exist let alone their historical significance.On the other hand I am a history and ruins nerd and was somewhat awed by it because of its historical significance during the revolution. Mexican history is unbelievably interesting and naturally we Canadians know nothing of it. We are spoon fed Canadian and American history because outside of that our education systems realize that nothing else is important....IDIOTS.

The ruins themselves are closed to the public with a large fence surrounding the compound. One look at the unstable rock and mason work explains it. I did have a thought of climbing under the fence and getting inside to have a look around but my better judgment prevailed (which is odd) when Wendy told me that the locals on the hills above are community gatekeeper's that keep watch all day and night. They are quick to call the police who show up even quicker which can lead to any sort of confrontation that always ends up with pesos leaving your pocket and magically transferring into theirs. The view from outside the fence was just fine.

 Wandering the fence line gave us great views and photo angles and at the back was a small church that was in great shape, almost like it did not belong. Whether it did or not did not matter as it provided a great resting and vantage point over the ruins and the surrounding countryside. With the mountains to our left and the city to our right this little gem was worth the gentle effort to find it.


We started to head back and found a combi that would take us back to the Purisima neighbourhood. I was pretty hungry and know that a half BBQ chicken was to be easily found for about $2. The combi was just being given a thorough cleaning when we happened upon it so the only thing dirty inside was us. We went through San Diego which gave me a good reading as to where we were and within 15 minutes I was face first into a platter of chicken and tortillas with Lucy and Dan.