Cuernavaca - City of Perpetual Spring
Cuernavaca is a charming Colonial City. Its year-round temperate climate makes it known locally as the "land of the eternal spring". There is a lot of history in Cuernavaca: the Spanish conquistador Cortez retired here (his palace is now a museum) and Emperor Maximilian and Empress Carlotta had a home built here (with a separate house on the grounds for Maximilian's mistress, "La India Bonita"). We happened to stay in Maximilian's house when visiting Cuernavaca…it's now a hotel.
Cuernavaca's central zocalo is centered around a central gazebo designed by tower specialist Gustave Eiffel. Central Mexico's oldest church, started in 1529 and completed in 1552, is in Cuernavaca. 18th century Taxco silver magnate, José de la Borda, built a lavish home and garden, which were later a retreat for Maximilian and Carlota. We spent an afternoon in "Jardin Borda".
On the edge of Cuernavaca is Salto de San Anton, a small village (suburb?) hosting a magnificent waterfall you can walk behind. To the south of Cuernavaca is Xochicalco, an area of ancient ruins developed from 800 to 900 A.D., between the destruction of the great Aztec pyramids at Teotihuacan and the beginning of the Toltec period. Xochicalco was not only the oldest known fortress in Middle America, but also a religious center. The observatory on this site is actually a cave with a small hole in the ceiling that was drilled on such an angle as to flood the entire cave with light only on the spring and fall equinoxes.
Cortez's Palace & the Zocalo
The Cathedrals
Around the Zocalo
Jardin Borda
Salto de San Anton
Dinner at Las Mananitas where peacocks wander the grounds
Old Children's Costumes
