MEXICO 2024 "Cuernavaca and Solo CDMX

Solo Mexico 2024
CUERNAVACA & CIUDAD de MEXICO

Mural by Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo to left of the skeleton

Visiting Lupita:

Five years ago, my brother Jon and I went to Cuernavaca, Mexico and spent a week living with a family and attended a Spanish language school. My teacher, Lupita mentioned she also taught on Skype, but not until the pandemic did my brother, myself and many of our friends begin taking private classes online. After seeing Lupita online every week for the past couple of years, I went to visit her and stayed in her house in Cuernavaca for the first segment of my trip to Mexico. At Saturday lunch there were 10 family members and “Muchacho” the dog. They were all so welcoming, “amable” (friendly) and VERY patient with my Spanish. Hopefully I did not embarrass myself. Sunday we went to the “Tsianques” or flea market. There were food stalls and trinkets, and cascading mountains of mostly new, mostly American brands. I bought a beautiful dress, mx$50 pesos, US$3.00. It’s label: “Dress Barn”. I learned some market technique from Lupita. When you are not interested, you simply say “gracias” which to us would be “no gracias”. Also, Lupita calls everyone “joven” (which means youngster) to get someone’s attention, even though they were not always very “joven”. Ms, Mrs, señoras, señorita, maybe everyone should just be “Amigo(a)”.

Off to Mexico City:

On Monday, Lupita’s sister kindly took me to the bus station for the hour and a half ride to Mexico City. With my trepidations of solo travel, I booked a charming small hotel for a full week by myself. As I have been to Mexico City before, my intention was to have a different kind of experience. I did not re-visit the Anthropology Museum, the Palacio Nacional, the pyramids of Teotihuácan or the inside of Frida Kahlo’s house, as amazing as these places are. I did revisit the Palacio of Bellas Artes and listened to a guide in Spanish talk about the Diego Rivera murals. Since this is something I already know a lot about, I was able to understand a lot. I had many interesting conversations in Spanish (as was my intention) with uber drivers and marketplace vendors and new tango dancing friends. Car traffic in Mexico is crazy busy, but the Mexicans have made many new environmental accommodations. People with older cars have to have them inspected several times a year. The buses in the entire city are in their own lanes, apart from the cars and are the faster way to go. Subways have a separate car for women and children, including a separate waiting part of the platform.

I tried to take a bus, but figuring it out was too much for me, so Uber it was. Even walking places, I have a hard time following the Google map. When it said 6 minutes to the ATM , I ended up getting there in 30 minutes.

New to me on this trip was Soumayo Museum, Castillo Chapultapec, and very long day trip to Las Grutas Tolantango.

Tolantango is a hot springs and a cave and tunnel complex, I don’t have words to describe. The color of the water is the brightest turquoise, the rock is marble white, formed by minerals and sulfur. It does not smell like eggs. We (the small group I went with) bathed in the 78 pools, explored the cave with headlamps and then bathed in the river.

I eat lots of street food, never knowing exactly if it’s a taco or gordita, enchilada or tlacoyo, barbacoa or ojaldras, or if the meat is chicken, beef, pork or goat, but always delicious. A tortilla is always involved. I point a lot. Mangos are in season in March. No fancy high end restaurants for me (of which there are many), that is the one thing I don’t enjoy by myself.

Mexico City has more parks than anywhere I know. They plant trees everywhere. Purple jacarandas are blooming all over the city. My hotel was right across the street from Parque Mexico. I would go for a walk and some exercise in the morning. Someone would be teaching a yoga class, a dance class, martial arts, roller blading, Kangoo jumping (google it), weight training, boxing. I joined in a few of these, including Sunday night Tango in the park.

Most of you know my hobby is dancing Argentine Tango. One of the nights I arrived early to a tango event, but to my surprise, right next to it was a club with a 9 piece orchestra playing Cuban music. I am not kidding you, on weekends Mexicans of all generations are out dancing in parks and clubs.

I started my solo adventure with trepidations and ended it dancing tango under a full moon with a handsome stranger.