Two-Stop Day Trip: Stop 1: Cuernavaca

The palace of Hernán Cortés, conquistador of museum. Now repurposed as a museum

What a day for a daytrip.

I booked a daytrip at the hotel. The price was so cheap (800 pesos, which is only about $40 U.S.) that I assume that it was going to be in a huge transit van with a dozen and a half of my fellow turistas. No. It was me, a couple from the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, and the driver/tour guide in a Toyota. I do not understand how such a full-day tour (with a large number of tolls on toll roads) is economically viable, but I'm not complaining.

The first stop was Cuernavaca, a resort town south of Mexico City. Our first stop was supposed to be the beautiful Catedral de Cuernavaca.

Unfortunately, the cathedral grounds were packed -- elbow-to-elbow packed -- with some sort of religious revival celebration singalong thing. I know. Who ever would have though of using cathedral grounds from such sort of religious function.

So on we continued to the historic core of Cuernavaca.

Interesting fun fact about Cuernavaca. Even though "cuerna" is Spanish for horn. And "vaca" means cow. "Cuernavaca" does not mean "cow horn," or "bull horn" even, which would be more accurate. Apparently the name is derived from some word in Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs. Or so I was told. I choose not to believe. I still think it means "cow horn."

The palace of Hernán Cortés now serves as the Museo Regional de los Pueblos de Morelos.

Cuernavaca is in the state of Morelos.  Morelos is this man.

Well, that is a statue of José María Morelos, an important figure in the war for independence from Spain.

Let's have a closer look:

The thing I like about this statue of Morelos is that it looks like it was sculpted by Botero. In case the reference is a big obscure, Botero is the famous Colombian artist known for depicting everything and everyone as morbidly obese. People. Dogs. Cats. Vegetables. Christ on the Cross. Everything. Morelos looks perfect for the Botero treatment.

On the grounds of the former Cortés palace are some archaeologically significant rocks:

They date back to a time period when rocks could be archaeologically significant.

This is my tour group:

We only had about 20 minutes of "on our own" time in Cuernavaca. If I had more time -- and, more importantly, if I had known what was inside the museum -- I would have paid the 90 pesos admission cost. Apparently they have Diego Rivera murals inside. Yes. There is no shortage of Diego Rivera murals in Mexico City. But why not see the ones in Cuernavaca? I can't see those back in Mexico City.

Instead, I wandered the Plaza de Armas area and then the shopping stalls behind the Morelos statue.

I'm a terrible tourist because I never buy anything from these people who are -- truth be told -- dependent on rich tourists, often gringos, to eke out a living. And I provide no help.

But I am polite about it.

And here are the obligatory letters:

Every city in Latin America bigger than a dozen souls has their letters out there, just waiting for an instagram photo. I don't instagram. I blog. So the "Cuernavaca" letters will have to make do with a blog rather than an instagramming.

So it is time to flee Cuernavaca for the next stop on the two-stop daytrip. Cuernavaca was just a throw-in. The real reason for booking this tour was the second stop.