Cuernavaca & Taxco  by Subscriber Larry Jones

I have traveled little in Mexico. This was my first trip in about 14 years and the first south of Guaymas, Son., so my impressions are those of a neophyte. Cuernavaca attracted me as a possible retirement spot because of its spring-like climate. I was not disappointed and I was there in December.

Apartments

I spent the first few days looking at apartments. My budget was US$400/month. I saw places in the higher, cooler elevations with excellent views and also in the lower, warmer areas – one in Colonia Delicias an area that reminded me a little of the United States with broader residential streets. There was even an Episcopal church containing a small English language library. This neighborhood is popular with Americans but my impression was that the American community is far from a closed one. A good resource is the Newcomers Club, www.clickoncuernavaca.com/newcomers, which is how I found the library.

The apartments I looked at were furnished, some with utilities included. They varied in size, bedrooms(1 or 2). There was no standard, so you need to look at as many places as possible to get an idea. I did a Google search on "Cuernavaca apartments" to get most of my contacts. Freeman Real Estate, www.freeman-realestate.com, staffed by American retirees, is a good contact. My impression was that I could live there fairly comfortably. Someone told me that the website www.cuernavacacommunity.com is good for apartment hunting as well.

Hotel

I stayed in an interesting little hotel. Called Antigua Posada, it was in none of the guidebooks because it is only two years old (as of December 2003). They are looking for business (www.antiguaposada.lookscool.com) and the staff is eager to please. Their English is limited, so knowledge of some Spanish is helpful. This was generally the case in Cuernavaca, which is not a big tourist destination.

The room rate was 700 pesos with a 10% discount for a stay of more than three nights. This included a delightful continental breakfast of sweet rolls, fruit or yogurt, orange juice and coffee. They served me on the terrace outside my room to avoid the street noise next to the restaurant (open for breakfast only). The only negative about the hotel may be the noise from surrounding buildings at night (dogs mainly) but my earplugs, essential for Latin American travel, solved that problem. The room was nice and clean with cable TV, hot water (warm, at least, if you let it run for awhile). They say hotels in Cuernavaca are expensive for what you get and I would agree, but I thoroughly enjoyed Antigua Posada and would recommend it, although I have nothing to compare it with.

Sights

There are some interesting places to see such as Cortes’ Palace, built in the 1530s from the rubble of an Aztec pyramid. Cortes lived there before retiring in Spain. I wanted to see Casa Maxmiliano on the edge of town, but I couldn’t find it. The bus route in my guidebook was evidently out of date. I ended up with an alternative, taking a bus to Salto de San Antón, the high waterfall emptying into a barranca.

At the bus stop, I asked a lady about which bus to take and she said that’s where she was going, so I followed her. She told me where to get off – she stayed on the bus. I was in a strange street on the edge of town, so I asked a shopkeeper where the waterfall was. She told me I had a very long walk. Stopping now and then to get fresh directions, I finally found it. My walk of nearly a mile took me through remote barrios, poor sections that I would tend to shy away from, but I felt perfectly safe and comfortable. The waterfall itself was disappointing. Visually spectacular and refreshing, it had a sewery odor. I took a taxi back to the hotel.

After a few days in Cuernavaca, I felt quite at home walking the streets completely at ease, even at night. In el centro, the streets are well-lit and full of people out on the town. Although at 60 years old, my legs just about gave out.

An incident worthy of note: one night after dinner I was watching a mariachi band perform in the zócalo when a young fellow approached me and said he was interviewing foreigners for his homework. While alert to the possibility that this could be a distraction as someone else picked my pockets, I answered his benign questions until his tape recorder malfunctioned. He suggested we continue the interview elsewhere, but I politely declined in favor of staying and listening to the band. He could’ve been legit, but you never know.

Money

If you have traveler’s checks, be sure to cash them during the week when the banks are open. The hotels didn’t cash them, but accepted credit cards. The larger restaurants accepted credit cards as well. There are ATMs around, but, to avoid fees, I didn’t try them. The lines at the banks were long, so I used exchange agents that look like banks, but just change money. Their rates were good.

Shopping

Supermarkets, malls, large discount "box" stores like you are used to in the United States are in Cuernavaca. I visited one supermarket and found the prices to be comparable to those in the United States.

Taxco

About 50 miles south of Cuernavaca is the small silver-mining town of Taxco about 6,000 ft. in the mountains. It is popular with tourists and buyers of silver. I spent a weekend here for pleasure only. I would not think it a satisfactory place to live because its steep, narrow streets of cobblestone or adoquines would be hard to navigate and the town seems to lack the amenities one might require.

Taxco is a fascinating place to visit. I found it absolutely incredible, like an alpine village or a fairy-tale movie set. It was unreal. Although I had read about it and seen a travelogue on it, it surpassed my expectations.

I stayed at the Hotel Agua Escondida right on the zócalo (Plaza Borda). This hotel at about US$45/night is worth the visit in itself www.aguaescondida.com. With its rabbit warren passageways it meanders endlessly over a hillside. Just try and find the pool….you travel through a maze. This hotel was one of the most fun places I’ve been in a long time. Breakfast is not included in the room rate, but they have an excellent breakfast buffet spread on Sundays.

As for restaurants, there are plenty on the zócolo, but I did not enjoy my meal at Sr. Costilla’s. On the opposite side, I had a good, reasonably priced meal at Paco’s on the corner of Calle Cuauhtémoc. On Saturday night, the traffic through el centro became so congested that the exhaust fumes made it difficult to breathe. This bad air filtered into the bars and restaurants, so I was forced to retreat to my hotel room a little early. It was a long holiday weekend (Virgin of Guadalupe) with spectacular fireworks.

The earlier section on money applies even more here. The hotel doesn’t accept traveler’s checks and its exchange rate for cash is below market. Fortunately, Banco Internacional (Bital) on the zócolo was open Saturday, but with a long line. The other banks and exchange agents were closed for the weekend. If you are going to spend the weekend in Taxco, bring enough cash to last until Monday.