We pulled ourselves together and made it to the ruins of Teotihuacan some 3 km from our campsite. An Uber taxi bought us there so we had enough energy to walk around the large Temple of the Sun (third largest in the world at 70 m high) and over the long wide road to the Temple of the moon. The large complex was competed in AD 150 but the city/state collapsed in the 8th century most likely due to internal conflicts. Because the complex is so large (500 x 1500 m) with wide cobbled stone roads it does not feel busy. Also, in the complex itself there is no sale of food and water, just many locals selling trinkets on a mat in front of them. They are not aggressive sellers like you often have in other tourist sites. You are no longer allowed to climb the 248 steps to the top of the pyramid. That was fine with us, we did not have the energy anyway. The coughing of the last 3 -7 days had reduced our lung capacity and taken its toll. In the end only Jamaliah went into the museum. We will do a better tour when we come back in February to pick up the camper.

The rest of the day and the morning of Sunday 18/12 was reserved for mothballing the camper and packing the stuff we wanted to take with us home. Fortunately, the campsite owner gave us a suitcase which another guest had left behind. Packing all the souvenirs took more space than we (=Rudy) thought.  

The suburb is some 47 km away from the airport. The ordered Uber taxi came in time and brought us to the airport without problems. It feels like the airport is in the middle of the city but at one point it must have been outside. The final of the World cup soccer was going on between France and Argentina. We only saw glimpse of it while standing in the check-in line. Pity because it sounded like an interesting match. The Delta plane to Atlanta departed more or less on time (13:45) and we arrived in Atlanta with 1.5 hrs transit time. This worked out to be just enough. We had to go through American immigrations even though we were not entering the US. Then came another hand baggage and body check. Also, here they have a severe shortage of staff so there were only 2 checkpoints open of the many that were there. In the end we had to run from one terminal to the other and caught the plane just in time. Actually, it was a bit delayed waiting from extra luggage and maybe also passengers. The flight was uneventful (little sleep and lots of movies). In Amsterdam most of the passengers were in transit to another European destination. Pity that we sacrifice our highly populated and polluted environment for the profits of Schiphol. I do not think transit passengers are of much value to the country.

The luggage arrived quick and when we came out of the gate Anton and Bernard were waiting for us! What a surprise. They had taken a day off to pick us up (by train). We had a Burger King breakfast and went back to Assen by train. Pity we were in a “Silent” compartment so we could not tell the tales of the travels. We had ample time for that in Assen because the boys stayed till after dinner (delivered) to take the train back to their apartments in Hengelo (Anton) and Heerenveen (Bernard). They had to work the next day. It is good to be back home and see the family again. Kamariah, one of Jamaliah’s sisters was also in the country. 

The idea is to come to rest and recharge the batteries and digest the experience of the last 6 ½ month on the road in Canada, Alaska, USA, and Mexico. Rudy has already started that process. Jamaliah has been busy with the X-mas diner in The Hague and taking care of everybody. I hope she also gets some rest.