A visit to Cuernavaca

My daughter, Cate, and her daughter, Frances, and I arrived at Mexico City (aka México, D.F.) in the evening and chose to stay right in Benito Juarez International Airport’s Terminal 1 at the Courtyard Mexico City Airport — Marriott (phone +52 55 4631 4000).

If you happen to arrive in Terminal 2, which is a 10-minute drive from Terminal 1, you’ll find that many hotels have offices in the main area and will swiftly shuttle you in their vans.

At the Marriott, the cost for two guests was $200. (On our way back home, we stayed at the Hilton México City Airport hotel for about the same price, but the Marriott was the better of the two by far.)

The next day we headed to Cuernavaca in the state of Morelos, a 1½-hour bus trip away (June ’15, pg 34). The bus leaves every 40 minutes from Terminal 2, and the hotel will shuttle you there. The ride gave us a good view of the countryside, with green mountains overlooking villages.

Our accommodations in Cuernavaca could not have been better: Your Host Inn Cuernavaca B&B (Copalhuacan 4, Amatitlán, 62410 Cuernavaca, Morelos, México; phone +52 777 318 0631, www.yourhostinncuernavaca.com). 

While the façade had a door with metal grates flush with concrete walls, the interior’s design included colorful tile. The owner, Bill Cummins, is from Arizona and has been building the inn since 1982, adding his personal touches. He is a collector of rare plants, so the courtyard was loaded with greenery and flowers. The rooftop patio offered city views.

The inn has only four guest rooms. Each cost $95 per night plus $25 for an extra person. The rate included all taxes and ample daily gourmet breakfasts.

From the inn, it was only a 15-minute walk downtown, but the cabs were so plentiful, we simply gave a small wave with our hand to get one to stop for us. The fare was about $3.

As with all travels, the most interesting part of the trip was getting a feel for the local lifestyle. 

Every block seemed to have a few very small restaurants, with doors wide open to the street due to the mild weather. During our visit in November 2014, it was around 70°F during the day, with no rain. They call Cuernavaca the “city of continual spring” because the climate is the same all year. It’s a big attraction for Mexico City residents.

For lunch, a typical meal of pozole (a soup or stew) or mole and rice plus a local beer cost about $6 per person. It was the same with dinner. We had no stomach troubles. 

I was impressed with the strong family life I observed among the locals, and the children were adorable! We found the people to be respectful, and we felt very safe.

MARILYN MALONEY

Minnetonka, MN