Saturday 7 August

Saturday 7 August

I got up around 7 because Pepe said to be ready by 8:30. We didn’t leave until after 9:30. Traffic was pretty bad coming out of the city. It went by really fast. I didn’t realize that we were going to stay with some of Pepe and Olga’s friends.

To get to cuernavaca you have to go into the mountain. So right above Cuernavaca we were in the clouds. You could not see very far and occasionally where there was a break you could see above the clouds. It was an incredible view. Then all of a sudden, you come down the really steep hill and just keep going down and down. Apparently it goes down hill all the way until Acapulco. So we got lost coming into the city and it took a while and many stops to ask people to find the area where their friends lived.

Pepe and Jose were in the engineering school together at UNAM. Both of them and another guy were inseparable when they were in school. So we went to the house and I was starving. They talked for a while then we went to downtown. We went to the cathedral and a wedding was going on. It was a Zoo. It was full! So we snuck in and watched the newly weds walk down the isle. I think they must have been famous or well to do or something because they had some crazy paparazzi. As they walked down, a mob of people was in front of them just taking pictures. And with the heavy duty good cameras too!

Then we walked through downtown and made our way to a castle where they had a museum. We were in there for at least an hour and a half. My allergies were set off like crazy. The sun was really strong and I was burning. I really liked the museum though. They had a really cool collection of the pictures from the Mexican revolution a century ago.

Then we drove to the restaurant where Rosalia and Jose’s daughter and husband met us. I got a cocacola do drink because I saw they had the glass bottles. They got tostadas with cheese for the appetizer. None for me though. I got enfrijoladas with chicken. They were really plain but I was starving. I finished every last bit. I also tried agua de guayaba. I liked the flavor better than that of the guayabana.

Then we made a quick stop at the house. We made our way for a tour of Cuernavaca. A few months ago, the narcos put a message online saying that there was going to be a fight between the different drug lords and the military in Cuernavaca on a certain day and it was better if everyone stayed inside their houses. The whole city shut down and no one was on the streets. Rosalia and Jose showed us the upscale side of town where two major drug lords lived right behind a senator!

Then we went back to downtown. There was a big market and mariachi festival. Pepe bought me one of those bracelets that has my name on it. I was really grateful for that. Now I have that bracelet on that hand and the esclava on the other. If anyone saw that, they might think I forget my name often!

That was really cool to see all these people in their mariachi outfits. Then there was this little square where there was people dancing a Danzon. It was soo cute because they were mostly old couples. Then there was a group of women dancing folk dances. Right by there, there was a huge stand selling bread. It smelled intoxicating.

Then there was a group of people performing this indigenous ceremony with incense and all. I really enjoyed it. I felt at ease. We stopped by a restaurant next to the danzon outside called Los Arcos. I got a limonada with agua mineral.

The wind was blowing and my allergies were driving me insane, then my face was itching really bad, but I was really trying not to touch my face. So by the end I was really restless. (Probably a long conversation about the various insects residing in Cuernavaca did not help either). We went back to the house and I stayed in an extra room that had a bunch of storage. The first thing I see is an enormous spider on the wall in the corner. I asked Jose to kill it. Then in the bathroom I found 3 spiders. I just did my business quick and got out! I decided not to let it bug me (no pun intended). And I went to sleep. It started to rain and it seemed extremely loud to me.