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View the photos from Part I of my trip.

 

Photos from Part II are a few days away from being available.

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Sunday, I took an organized tour to a couple of distant places south of México City.

Besides the two towns that we visited, what was really cool is that there were only three of us tourists, along with a driver and a guide. We drove in a large van and each of us tourists had a bench seat to ourselves--but that's not the cool part. The cool part was that the guide asked if he should narrate in Spanish or English. The other tourists consisted of a guy from Argentina, who spoke some English, and a guy who now lives in Miami, but is also originally from Argentina and is fluent in both languages. The language decision basically came down to me, so I asked the guide to speak in Spanish and if I was unclear on some things, if he could he clarify in English. He was more than happy to do that. I figured this is a great way to learn more Spanish. And it was. It was very educational!

The two places we were visiting are Taxco and Cuernavaca. Taxco is two states away (halfway between México City and Acapulco, on the coast). It takes about two hours or so to drive there and is 3,000 meters (almost 10,000 feet) in elevation. It is in the Mexican state of Guerrero.

On the way to Taxco, the guide spoke about a few famous "haciendas" (large residential compounds). He pointed out John Wayne's former hacienda as we passed by it, although there was really nothing to see since it is surrounded by high concrete walls, as are most of the haciendas. The guide also pointed toward an area in the middle of sugar cane fields, where one of the Rambo movies (with Sylvester Stallone) was filmed. The guide was proud to say that it wasn't filmed in Viet Nam, but in México!

Back to Taxco. Taxco was settled in the early 1500s. Silver was discovered by the Spaniards and Taxco became the world's largest producer of silver. Today, silver is still produced, but certainly not at the levels originally seen. Taxco is known as the "Silver City".

Our first stop in Taxco was for a ten minute "technical" presentation. This was to educate us on how to buy silver in Taxco. How to tell real silver from fake silver from plated silver. We learned the the government controls the silver sales and if a store/vendor does not have proper certificates, etc, then it is probably not a good idea to buy from them. And that we should also get receipts for all silver purchases. That way, if it is not the real thing, you can report the store to the government and they can try to do something about it. As with all "technical" presentations (just like last time on my Pyramids tour), they all end with a shot of Mezcal! This particular presentation began with a taste of a "Bertha Cocktail", a shot of agua fresca with a few drops of tequilla. This drink was popular in the peak silver mining days given to weary travelers that had made the long trek from México City.

 

The town of Taxco is built into the side of a mountain, so most of the streets in the city center are very narrow and very steep. There is barely enough room to walk when cars drive by. Walking along these winding and zig-zagging cobblestone roads, you see that every structure is white and has the red clay roof tiles (Spanish Tiles). This is a city ordinance--buildings are to be white with the red tiles, and that all signs have to be written in black letters on a white background. This is to preserve the original Spanish look and feel.

 

The only flat place in Taxco's city center is at the Plaza Borda, which has ancient laurel trees producing plenty of shade. This plaza is directly in front of the main attraction in town (besides the silver industry), the Iglesia Santa Prisca. This 18th century church was built by the private funds of rich silver miner, José del la Borda. There are twelve hand-carved wood alters inside, each with a 22-caret gold leaf covering.

After leaving Taxco, we made our way to the state of Morelos, to the capital city of Cuernavaca. Cuernavaca is 700 meters (2,300 feet) lower in elevation than México City. Many wealthy residents of México City have vacation homes in this city. It is known as the "Eternal Spring City" because of a constant balmy temperature year-round at around 27C (80F). I noticed many palm trees that I've only seen in south Florida and the Caribbean, such as the Royal Palm.

In Cuernavaca, we visited the "Catedral del la Asunción", dating back to 1529. This was a very old structure, but is still in operation today. In fact, mass was about to start when we were there. Part of the cathedral includes an enclosed courtyard surrounded by two stories of rooms where classes for children were once held. Today, they contain offices and are used for community activity meeting rooms. Above the main entrance to the cathedral, there is a sculpture of a skull and crossbones. Inside there is a Japanese-style painting of the martyring in Japan of Mexico's first saint, missionary San Felipe de Jesús. This painting was discovered in the 1950s when a remodeling project was underway.

 

Remember how I mentioned that us three tourists each had our own bench seat in this tour van? Well, they came in very handy as we all fell asleep on the trip back to the big city. Even the guide couldn't stay awake in the front seat. Lucky for us, the driver was fine.