You can climb to the top of a distant civilization in Tecoh, a tiny Yucatán town whose contemporary roots are never far from the past.

Tecoh is about an hour southeast of Mérida, just beyond the ancient walled city of Mayapan. Its massive fortress church of Asunción Tecoh sits atop the base of a pre-1500s Mayan pyramid, built by a god-fearing society that didn’t fear the same God the conquering Spaniards did. Thus the Mayans’ pagan temple was dismantled in mid-1550s to make way for the Franciscans’ vision. By the 17th century, honor was suitably paid to their Virgin, with the grand Virgin de la Asunción church atop the former pyramid.

The pyramid’s base leads dramatically to the church plaza and its heavy wood doors. A barefoot boy on a bike, like a Mayan messenger, flies along the threshold of his roots and his future. ♣

Journey along with me to Mission: Mexico here and here.