Hello from Cuernavaca - Arrival and First Impressions

This morning, on our last day in Mexico City, we had one more relaxing breakfast with “hot cakes” (the Mexican version of pancakes) and around noon Vanessa had to leave for the airport to go back to Toronto. Her dad and sister drove her while her mom and I were going to go to Cuernavaca, the city where I was going to spend the next two weeks.

Our driver arrived a little late (not an unusual occurrence in Mexico), and we headed off towards Cuernavaca. Instead of taking the faster 4-lane toll highway, we took the old winding country road across the mountains. Mexico City is located in a valley surrounded on all sides by mountains and so we climbed up the mountain range. Near the highest point is a village called Las Tres Marias, and you can see very basic homes, with people sitting in front selling various types of merchandise.

Statue in front of the Palacio de Cortés in Cuernavaca

The road is very winding, and narrow in parts, and we had a close encounter with a car in front of us that suddenly stopped to turn left. Of course, none of the break lights were working and the indicator wasn’t on either so we had to swerve off to the right to avoid hitting this vehicle. Fortunately there was no one beside us, so we ended up okay. But traffic on Mexican streets can certainly be an adventure in itself.

The remaining ride through the mountainous forested area was pleasant and our driver asked his way through to the address of Vanessa’s aunt. We entered a beautiful residential neighbourhood full of bougainvilleas and tropical plants and spent an enjoyable afternoon with Vanessa’s aunt, her cousin, his wife and their little 5 year old daughter. Vanessa’s cousin works for Mexicana Airlines and also teaches technical courses at a local university. One of his hobbies is mountain climbing, and among other mountains he has climbed the Pico de Orizaba, Mexico’s highest mountain, as well as Mount Aconcagua in Argentina, the highest peak in the Western Hemisphere at 6960 m.

One of the side chapels next to Cuernavaca's cathedral

We had a wonderful dinner with roasted chicken, rice and salad and then the whole family dropped me off at my home for the next 2 days: Villa San Marcos, a bed and breakfast located south of Cuernavaca’s center, where I am about to catch some much-needed rest for my first day of language studies.

Useful Books:

Related Articles:
Mexico 2006 - My cultural immersion experiment
Hello from Mexico City - First impressions
Hello from Mexico City - A skyscraper, a little horse and a government pawn shop
Hello from Mexico City - The Zócalo, the Cathedral, a healing ritual and a university dedicated to a 16th century female poet
Hello from Mexico City - A relaxing evening in Coyoacán
Hello from Mexico City - Exploring the Paseo de la Reforma, de Bosque de Chapúltepec and a nice evening in San Angel
Hello from Cuernavaca - Arrival and first impressions
Hello from Cuernavaca - Getting to know my B&B hostess Marta Elena: A true riches to rags story
Hello from Cuernavaca - My first day learning Spanish and two local icons: the Robert Brady Museum and the Jardín Borda
Hello from Cuernavaca - A lovely dinner in a garden paradise
Hello from Cuernavaca - An excursion to Las Estacas, checking out orchids and a meeting at El Cafecito
Hello from Cuernavaca - An excursion to Lake Tequesquitengo and a visit to the doctor
Hello from Cuernavaca - A conversation with Andy Grater, local B&B owner and President of the Newcomers Club
Hello from Cuernavaca - A presentation about ecology at the Newcomers Club Meeting
Hello from Cuernavaca - Opening of a South African photo exhibition and a visit to the Palacio de Cortés
Hello from Taxco - The city that silver built
Hello from Taxco during Semana Santa - The famous Palm Sunday Procession
Hello from Cuernavaca - A new language school, visiting 'Casa Vamos' and an evening with a very sad ending
Hello from Cuernavaca - My most intense day: more language studies, 3 interviews, a guided eco-hike and dinner at the Marco Polo
Hello from Cuernavaca - A day outing to the enchanting mythical village of Tepoztlan
Hello from Cuernavaca - My last day of school and a visit to Cuernavaca's Spring Fair
Hello from Taxco - An eerie experience: Visiting Taxco's famous Good Friday procession
Hello from Taxco and Cuernavaca - Interviewing one of the penitentes and enjoying my last day in Mexico

Related Interviews:
Presenting: Ruben Córtes from Morelos Trails - Local adventure sports and cultural guided tour operator, expert on Morelos and Cuernavaca
Presenting: Pablo Buitrón from Fundacion Comunidad, helping local women empower themselves
Presenting: Jorge Torres from the Cetlalic Alternative Language School - Learning Spanish with cultural, social and political awareness
Presenting: Hermilo Brito from the Ideal Language School - Making Spanish learning fun

Helpful links:
Mexico Tourism Information
State of Morelos Tourism Organization
Official website of the City of Cuernavaca tourism