north america → united mexican states → morelos → cuernavaca
mexico is the only place i’ve ever been where english is not widely spoken. but still, i find mexicans very kind that most of them will try to help you in finding your way. it’s a bit awkward when i try to ask my direction in broken spanish plus point to my map, and they would answer eloquently in full details while the only spanish words i can make is donde (where), izquierda (left), derecha (right), derecho (straight ahead), and quadra (blocks). occasionally, i met younger crowd who speaks english, and proved to be very very helpful in tough situation.
cuernavaca, the capital city of the state morelos, is about 85 km south of mexico city. from my research, the ride would only take a bit more than an hour on a well developed highway. i went to the bus station after breakfast with 2 belgian traveller i met from the hostel. they’re heading acapulco via taxco, and it should be the same bus terminal for cuernavaca. bus station (pullman de morelos) is in taxquena metro station (2 pesos to get there, the metro would take you anywhere in its destination for 2 pesos), and the bus ride from the capital to cuernavaca is 30 pesos. that is, because i asked for a segunda clase ticket. what i didn’t realize is that second class buses make use of different route, much longer, with a lot more stops, and much scary! the whole ride took more than 2 hours, close to 3 hours including a scary almost-slide-down-the-cliff incident. that was so bad that everyone woke up in the bus. i didn’t dare sleeping at all to begin with!
at last reaching cuernavaca centro at well past noon, i searched my way to zocalo, and had something to eat. i didn’t feel like eating much and i’m not certain if it’s because of the scary bus ride, or the nausea i had from all the curves along the mountain. after getting 3 pieces quesadilla (delicious btw), and an orange-like fruit drink, i went in search for a hostel (posada morelos). using of course my very efficient notes for the address, some mumbling spanish, and provenly effective body gesture, i made my way to the hostel to be greeted by a rabid dog. the hostel is in an alley a few steps away from the street so it’s quiet. the attendant, however, barely communicates in english so we had to go as basic as possible. un noche. dormitorio. por favor. gracias.
cuernavaca is the only zocalo in mexico that doesn’t have a cathedral. in the middle is a small victorian gazebo designed by gustave eiffel, its base occupied by small juice vendors, and surrounded by litter. nearby are old government structures as the palacio de gobierno, and palacio de armas, with rally going on. i could only infer that they are teachers protesting some rights. in the vicinity as well is palacio de cortes, built in 1532 and now a historical museum. it has murals by famed diego rivera depicting conquest of mexico, some mammoth fossils, and historical artifacts. it’s a shame however, that the section with diego rivera’s mural is closed for renovation.
an important thing i noticed in mexico’s museums and exhibits is its phobia of camera. a lot prohibits taking pictures whether flashed or not. i don’t understand this.
a few distance from the center is jardin borda, an aged garden built in the 18th century by jose de la borda, a frenchman silver miner from the town of taxco. the park, which undergone several restorations, has a small exhibit in the east, garden carvings, colonial patios, manmade pond with ducks and rent boats, an outdoor theater, and lots of fountains and pools.
trying the food. pozole. a hodgepodge of chicken, overgrown corn?, lemon, avocado, chili, uncooked onion, and oregano. it’s a hearty heavy soup meal traditionally made in this region. ‘had it for dinner from a local pozoleria a few blocks away from the hostel. i had the big bowl version of it (gigante), its very tasty, and the profusion of involved ingredients makes its taste unclear. deliciously indistinct.
churches. cuernavaca’s cathedral is situated a few blocks from the zocalo, along hidalgo and morelos streets. the construction of the church was during hernan cortez’s time (a conquistador). recently discovered are japanese-style frescos depicting felipe de Jesus (philip of jesus), mexico’s first martyr and saint who was crucified in 1596, along with 26 other friars, by a japanese emperor.
salto de san anton. although i tried very hard to find this falls, and a very nice lady even drew a map for me how to reach the place. i wasn’t able to see it. 
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