Colors of Cuernavaca

Wednesday, 30 de marzo

Today was bittersweet for Kevin and for me.  It's my daughter Ellie's 18th birthday. She chose to stay in the States rather than come on this trip.  Through text and email, we are kept in touch throughout the day.  Both Kevin and I missed being a part of her celebration.  It made for an evening of homesickness for all of us!  However, the day was full of lots of things, so here is a recap.

Breakfast with Marilu

We began our day around 8am with a lovely breakfast prepared by Marilu, our house mom.  She made us scrambled eggs with onion and potatoes, bananas, yogurt and bread.  The coffee here, even though it is just from the grocery store, tastes so much better than anything we can buy back home.  Kevin and I want to get some before we leave to bring back with us.  The beans are actually grown in the Veracruz area of Mexico (about 4 hours from here).  After breakfast, we walked to the center of town.  It's about 2.2 miles from our house (all uphill).

Walking to el Centro

Along the way, there is so much to see (and smell).  Cuernavaca is a large town.  There is a lot of traffic, trash and graffiti.  There are also beautiful gardens with flowers of all colors blooming year round.  It's hot here this week (about 90 degrees each day).  We stopped along the way to take pictures in front of colorful houses.  Here is one of me in front of a restaurante and one of Anna in front of another restaurant.  

Tour of Cathedral

Our first stop was the Cuernavaca Cathedral.  The newly restored facade is gorgeous.  When I was here in June, there were workers and tarps covering the entire front.  It looks great! We took a couple of pictures inside as well, but did not go to mass as they do not have a daily mass on Wednesdays.

This is one of the smaller chapels outside of the cathedral.

Museo Morelense de Arte Popular

I love, love, love this place.  It is a free art museum close to the cathedral where there are different folk art displays from around the state of Morelos.  The art on display today was different from what we saw in June.  This is made from tissue paper and the one below is made from wax.  I picked up some artisan beads (6 feet long) to bring back home to decorate my new "yellow room" in my house.  I think I paid $6.00 for these!

Starbucks

Well, we had to stop at the brand new Starbucks at the zocalo (main plaza)!  It was probably the most beautiful Starbucks I've ever seen. It included local artwork and three floors (the top was an outdoor terrace with five separate lounging areas).  The view from the terrace was amazing as we could watch everything that was going on in the zocalo from above.  What a cool place!

Palacio de Cortés

I took the kids to see the Diego Rivera mural at Cortez's Palace.  It was fun to walk through and see the different artifacts from the time period when Cortez would come to Cuernavaca and stay at his palace (when not obliterating the Aztecs).  

Protest

While sitting in one of the balconies of the Palace, we were able to watch a protest happening below around the zocalo.  Cuernavaca has protests on a daily basis.  We aren't even sure what this group was protesting, but we did hear the words campesino (rural farmer) often.  Last summer, the teachers' union staged protests every day that closed down major highways.  It's definitely a politically charged part of the country.  It's the largest city in the state of Morelos (think Columbus or Indianapolis), so things happen here a lot!  It definitely gave the kids something to think about on our walk home!

Shopping in artesan market

We did some shopping in the artesan market of Cuernavaca centro.  I purchased a few huichol paintings along with a couple of yarn stitched wall hangings.  At the stall where I bought my wall hangings, the owner gave Anna a free ring.  It was so cute!

Grocery store 

On our way home from the center of town, we stopped at the grocery store to check things out.  We bought a few snacks and drinks.  Again, we were amazed at how cheap everything is here.  Three full sized water bottles for less than a $1.00.  

Meal with Marilu

We returned home to have ground beef with potatoes, bread, salad and cactus salad for dinner.  I don't think it was the kids' favorite, but they politely ate it.  We agreed to go back to the grocery store after our siesta to get some snacks for the evening.

Rest and walk

While the kids rested after comida, I took a walk.  Four miles to and from the zocalo was not enough for me so I walked around our neighborhood a few times.  I snapped a few photos of some of the more colorful houses in our gated community.  There's no such thing as neutral design here in Mexico. I've always loved the colors here. Nothing matches, yet it all goes together.

Grocery store

When I returned from my walk, the kids and I walked back to the Soriana (aka Mexican Kroger) to pick up snacks (botanas).  We got some crackers, some cheese, mangos, nuts and a couple of Mexican beers for me.  By the time we got home, it was super dark.  We wanted to sit by the pool, but couldn't find a light or a match to light candles.  Marilu was at a late meeting, so we couldn't ask her.  We set up shop in Anna's room and had a little part while watching Friends on Netflix.  It was a really fun way to end the day!

Market, Museum, Mass, Meal and Mall

So we have a lizard in our room. He comes and goes and it is starting to freak me out. I keep waiting for it to jump out of my suitcase or my toiletry bag. In spite of this, we all managed to sleep well last night. After breakfast, the lizard made a return appearance on the wall next to my bed. The bugs that are all around don't bother me. They are typical for a tropical environment, but lizards in my room? That is NOT something I like. I do have to give a shout out for a product called Natrapel. I did a lot of reading about mosquito repellents and Zika before making this trip. This company uses Picaridin and not DEET in their product and they offer wipes (easier to get through airport security than aerosol). I have wiped myself from head to toe each night in Cuernavaca and haven't had one bite yet. I purchased a bunch for my Costa Rica trip and plan to use them daily. Bug bites are no fun!

After breakfast, we walked to the school where I studied last summer to drop off a care package from the States.  Then, we hailed a taxi to the Cuernavaca market.  Unfortunately, I didn't take many pictures there.  I was more concerned with keeping the kids close to me and with not getting lost.  It's huge, dark, crowded and dirty.  Kevin was appalled by the meat areas.  We saw dead chickens being dropped on the floor, every part imaginable of cows and pigs.  It was eye-opening (and nose-plugging) for both kids to see that much of the world gets food from local markets like these.  We just don't have anything like it in the US. While Findlay Market in Cincinnati is fun, it doesn't even come close to the conditions that we saw at the market today.  

After the market, we took another taxi to the Robert Brady Museum.  Robert Brady was an eccentric American art collector who lived in Cuernavaca from 1960 until his death in 1986. His home was kept in the exact condition as it was in when he died and is now a museum with art from around Mexico and the world.  It is an ecclectic, mismatched, yet amazingly beautiful home that we all enjoyed visiting.  Many of you know that I just painted our den a bright yellow color.  When you look at the images of this home, you will see what I was going for in re-designing my own home.  I love the look of handmade arts and crafts mixed with masks and traditional art.  

The pool in the courtyard looked very refreshing!

Frida's famous Autoretrato is on display in the Sala Amarilla (yellow room) at the museum.

My dream kitchen.  Well, I guess I would prefer a more modern set of appliances, but the tiles are awesome!

The yellow room.  Love the mix of things in this room.

The pea soup green walls in here mixed with the off-white arch insets and symmetry are visually stunning in this sitting room.

The gardens at the museum were beautiful as well.  The museum backs up to the Cuernavaca Cathedral so one can see the church dome from every part of the courtyard.  It's a lovely place. And I rarely use the word lovely!

After our tour of the museum, we went to the cafe at the Cathedral to sit outside and have a drink.  The kids had smoothies and I had a water.  I decided that I wanted to go to the noon mass while the kids decided that they wanted to wander around.  We agreed to meet an hour later.  By this time, it was 1pm and the temperature was about 90 degrees.  We walked home (2 miles) and took a quick swim before our main meal at 3pm.  Marilu outdid herself today.  We had carne asada (thin beef slices) with black beans, Mexican rice, fresh corn tortillas, hard-boiled eggs, nopal salad and homemade guacamole. I thought it was delicious!  The kids seemed to like it too!

After dinner, we rested again for a bit.  When there is no A/C, it's hard to want to do much in the middle of the afternoon other than sit or swim.  After our siesta, Marilu drove us to Las Galerias, the Cuernavaca mall.  We strolled the mall for an hour or so and then had ice cream at "Haagans" as Marilu called it.  Today was 3 scoops for the price of 2.  We couldn't resist having a sweet treat.  Since we only eat two meals a day here, dessert makes a lot of sense.  

A mall is a mall is a mall.  

The kids playing with iPhones at the mall.

Hanging out with Marilu while watching people at the mall.

For me, it was rum raisin, Baileys and banana chocolate brownie.  Yum!  

Our Day of Ubering

Tuesday, 29 de marzo

Today was a transition day.  We planned to wake up in a leisurely fashion, eat breakfast, explore a little and then head to the bus station around noon to make our trip to Cuernavaca.  That happened for two of us.  And by two of us, I mean Anna and Kevin.  For someone who gets up at 4:30am every day, imagine how much harder it is to sleep in when there is a two hour time difference.  Needless to say, I watched 4 episodes of Mad Men on my iPad from 3:00-7:00 when I finally woke the kids up to start our day.  They were thrilled.  I always feel so alive on vacation, especially when I'm in a city.  I can truly get up at dawn and go all day.  However, by 8pm, I'm toast.  Transtioning back to a school schedule next week will be rough!

Breakfast today was chicken and/or cheese enchiladas. I just wasn't feeling it.  Kevin had two portions again plus fruit, juice, churros and bread.  I had fruit and cereal and lots of coffee.  We weren't sure if we were going to be able to leave the hotel early or not because they still had our laundry.  For $10.00 they will wash, dry and fold your laundry. Knowing that doing laundry in Cuernavaca is challenging (takes up to three days to get back), I wanted to make sure we had enough clean clothes to last the rest of the trip.  Moms always have to think about these things.

I really wanted to make sure that the kids had a chance to see at least one of Diego Rivera's murals in Mexico City before leaving town.  The best ones are at the National Palace which was packed when we walked by on Easter Sunday.  Today, I ordered a car through Cabify and after leaving all of our luggage with the concierge at the Red Tree House, we made our way back to the Zocalo.  Victor, our concierge, told us that we should consider going to the Ministry of Education building rather than the National Palace because there are several Rivera works there and there are never any crowds.  Great advice Victor!!!  We walked right in and spent about an hour looking at some of his amazing art.  Kevin and Anna have developed a bit of an interest in the history and politics of Mexico.  Yeah!

After the murals, we walked through the Zocalo.  The baseball diamond from Sunday was completely gone. The huge Mexican flag was back in its place (it really bothered me not to see it there on Sunday).  We took some panoramic shots and then made our way to the Torre Latinoamerica.

On the way, we stopped at the famous bakery, La Ideal.  This is huge, crazy busy place where you just walk around and pick up whatever you want, put it on a metal platter and take it to the cashier to pay.  I think we got 7 different pastries and our total was $2.00. Sadly, we carried them around in the bag too long and they melted.  We had to throw them away.  This might have been the saddest moment of our trip thus far.  Kevin may never get over it.

While not nearly the height of some skyscrapers in the US, this is the building to visit if you want views of all of the Mexico City area.  For 90 pesos ($5.00), you can go to the outdoor observatory for a 360 degree view.  It was a very clear day and seeing the entire city like that really helped Kevin and Anna to gain perspective on how massive this place really is!

We Ubered back to the hotel.  We were getting hungry so we went to a cafe called Ojo de Agua.  Known for their fresh juices, salads and sandwiches, we figured we could grab something to go and then eat on the bus to Cuernavaca.  When we got to the cafe, we decided to go ahead and eat there.  What a place!  For about $15, Kevin and I each had a freshly squeezed juice.  Mine was carrot and apple, his was yogurt with fresh pineapple.  I had a chicken with chipotle mango chutney sandwich. Kevin had a four cheese with guanabana spread (jam) sandwich.  Both sandwiches came with fresh salad greens topped with half an avocado, tomatoes, cucumbers and prailine sesame seeds.  Amazing!
Anna had a salmon salad that she said was her second favorite meal here.  There is a location for this restaurant close to Chapultepec Park, so we are thinking of grabbing a picnic on Saturday before exploring the outdoors.  SO much fun!

After lunch, we Ubered to the Mexico Bus station south aka Taxquena.  It was quite a seedy place.  Another teachable moment.  This was where I told the kids to be very aware of their surroundings and to stay close to me at all times.  Our Uber driver pulled up to the curb and was immediately approached by security.  He was told to move the car.  Within seconds, we were surrounded by at least 6 security guards who were yelling at our driver.  The driver told me that he was going to pull over to the other side of the road to drop off us, but I told the kids to get out of the car immediately and wait on the opposite side of the street.  We ran across the street only to turn and see the security guards yelling at our driver (using expletives that I won't say in English or in Spanish). Then, to our amazement, one of the guards kicked the back of the Uber vehicle really hard.  Our driver still had all of our suitcases in his trunk so he quickly pulled over to where we were standing and we grabbed our things, ran across the street into the station and waved goodbye.  The kids were a little unnerved by the experience.  I explained to them that there is a lot of tension in Mexico City between the taxi driver's union and Uber (and now Uber's competitor Cabify).  When I was here last summer, the tension was so high that tourists were warned not to use either Uber or Cabify for fear of being in the middle of a retaliation attack like we saw today.  However, in late July last year, the city came to an agreement with both Uber and the taxi union that made it permissible and encouraged for app-cabs like Uber and Cabify to continue growing their businesses here in Mexico City. I researched the topic quite a bit before coming here and spoke to many people who were very happy using Uber in the city.  I love the convenience of not needing cash and being able to track cab expenses via credit card.  We didn't have any trouble using either service in the city.  Today, however, was different.  For future reference, I would say that using Uber is a great idea in Mexico City, but to be a little cautious when using it to/from major ports of entry such as the airport or large bus terminals.  After all, these areas are the bread and butter for most taxi drivers.  I'm sure they resent the heck out of Uber.  Now that we can look back on this experience, I'm glad the kids got to see it.  I never felt we were in danger, but I did want to get out of there quickly!

We purchased three luxury bus tickets to Cuernavaca and we were thrilled to find out that our bus was leaving immediately.  At 2:20pm, we left on what we thought might be a 3 hour drive to Cuernavca (with traffic). However, the highway was clear and we made it in about 90 minutes.  We grabbed a taxi at the bus terminal (no Uber here) and made our way to the Colonia Quintana Roo where Marilu and her dog Koalie live.  Kevin went for a quick dip in the pool while I got caught up on emails, texts and this blog.  

Kevin and I are sharing a room while Anna gets a place of her own.  The sounds of the birds chirping are so relaxing here.  We are weary and exhausted,but looking forward to a nice meal with Marilu tonight followed by some exploring tomorrow.