Summer 2003
Abby's Trip to Mexico
I just got back from a fun-filled vacation in Mexico. I spent two weeks at the Spanish Language Institute in Cuernavaca, Morelos (where I lived with a Mexican family) and about four days with a friend in Los Barriles, Baja California. I learned a lot, visited many places, and am looking forward to more travel in Mexico next summer. Most of my pictures are included in my virtual photo album below. Enjoy!
Cuernavaca
The City of Eternal Spring
This is the central square of Cuernavaca. You can see the cathedral in the background. More pictures of the Cathedral are below.
Not a very pretty cathedral, but it sure is massive.
Cuernavaca is where Hernán Cortés built his palace. The top two pictures were taken from the balcony of The Palacio de Cortés which is on one side of the main square, the Plaza de Armas.
The palace is now a historical museum. It also has several Diego Rivera murals painted on the walls of the balcony. Below is part of the Jardín Borda, a local attraction.
Another local attraction is the world famous restraunt, Las Mañanitas. We had a very nice dinner here one evening. Mmmmm . . . mole poblano, it just melted in my mouth. There were peacocks running around the garden too.
This evening eventually ended in a storm complete with thunder and lightning. Fortunately, the umbrellas protected us very well. It rained every day in Cuernavaca and that's just part of the climate. However, it always stayed warm and the weather never prevented us from doing anything we planned.
"We" is my "familia mexicana." Pictured are me, Lisa (a teenager from Modesto, CA who was staying for a month), Carol (my traveling companion from San Diego who I met last summer in a local Spanish Class - we coincidentally signed up for the same 2 weeks and the same flight, so we decided to be roommates), Kathy (an elementary school teacher from Colorado), and our mamá, Rosie. Rosie was a fantastic host. She only conversed with us in Spanish and she was a fabulous cook. I ate much more than I had planned, but fortunately (as you'll see in later photos) there were plenty of opportunities for exercise.
This
is the room that I shared with Carol. It was simple, but it worked well. With
Lisa and Kathy in the room next door, it felt a little like dorm life again.
No, that's not our house, that's the school. My best guess is that there were about 75 students total during the time I was there. Students ranged in age from 15 to 80. Most of the adult students were teachers, but many other professions were represented as well. Nearly everyone was from los Estados Unidos.
For
getting around town we mostly used the local busses. They were safe, cheap
(approx. $0.35 U.S.), and usually much more crowded. Our
last night in Cuernavaca was spent at one of the local clubs. They had a
performance of traditional dances for the Spanish language students in the city.
The guys in the masks and hats represent the local influence from Chile which includes influence from the Moors. All of the decorations on the hats are made with teeny tiny beads. And, yes, that is me dancing with Carol above.
Taxco
The Silver Capital of the World
We spent our first day on a school excursion to Taxco and we spent a lot of money. Taxco is famous for silver mines and silver craftmanship. Throughout the entire Plaza Borda (pictured) and down every side street you could find more silver shops and jewelry stores than you could count.
Below is the main alter of the cathedral in Taxco. It was built by Don Jose de la Borda who became rich after discovering silver in the area. The alter, done in Spanish Baroque style, is covered with gold.. Taxco is a very pretty colonial town. There is nothing around for miles and the city looks like sparkling frosting spread over the hillside.
El Distrito Federal
Mexico City, Mexico
This huge flag flies in the center of the Zócalo, the second largest central plaza in the world. On one side of the square, the Cathedral stands (well, actually it is sinking since the area that is now Mexico City was a lake when the Aztecs built their city, Tenochtitlán, here approx. 1325). The cathedral (below) was built by the Spaniards about 500 years ago on top of the destroyed Aztec pyramids. Some of the remains of the primary Aztec pyramid (el Templo Mayor) are excavated. (pictured with me above). Here we also saw the extensive murals inside the government palace by Diego Rivera depicting the history of Mexico.
These next pictures were taken at the Museo Nacional de
Antropología,
the
"Smithsonian of Mexico." The three stone pieces are from Teotihuacán
(more info later), the pink item,
found only about 5 years ago, is decorative armor made entirely from shells (Toltec?), and the one with me is the famous Piedra
del Sol.
