When we decided to spend one month in Mexico City, we knew that there would be many places we wanted to explore, both within the city, and within a short drive of the city. Our plans were to take some day trips to close places, and schedule some overnight stays in places that were a bit further away.
Today is our first day trip to the city of Cuernavaca. This is the capital of the state of Morelos, and is about a 1 1/2 hour drive from Mexico City. We got up early, hopped in an Uber, and headed to the Mexico City Terminal Central de Sur. Our bus was scheduled to depart at 8:30a, and we arrived with enough time to purchase our tickets and grab a quick bite from a panaderia.
We boarded the bus and were immediately impressed. The seats were large, comfy, tons of leg room, and even had fold down leg/foot rests. The bus driver had a glass door partition to separate him from us, and they even had drop down televisions to show movies (unfortunately, ours was the end of the Peanuts movie, followed by an episode of Super Girl, all in Spanish).
The boarding process was easy, and despite heavy traffic in the city, we were soon on the outskirts, heading south to Cuernavaca. On arrival, we immediately noticed that the Cuernavaca main bus terminal was not nearly as nice as our departure terminal, but we weren't planning on hanging out. We headed out to the street to find a coffee shop and get our bearings.
There are quite a few things to do in Cuernavaca, but we were limited with time. We had until our 4:40p departing bus to enjoy this city.
We walked around the main square and around the palace, which was unfortunately closed to due earthquake damage. We really wanted to see it as it has a Diego Rivera mural, but alas, not today.
Walking down a side street, we came across a fun (and free) local museum - the Museo Morelense de Arte Popular. They had a great collection of some local folk art, and it was a great visit.
Further up the same street, we came to the Catedral de Cuernavaca. This is a walled compound, with three or four churches. They were very old and very beautiful. We loved the architecture, and in the main cathedral, the famous murals and stained glass windows were incredible.
Even a cursory search of what to do in Cuernava always brings back the same results: the Robert Brady Museum. Who is Robert Brady? We have no idea? What is the museum? No clue.
So, we headed over to a side street not far from the Catedral, and a rather non-descript entrance. We paid an inexpensive entry fee, and walked into an art overload. Robert Brady, himself an accomplished artist, was an amazing collector of important art from around the world. His travels were displayed with some amazing pieces. And his great taste can be seen in some of the masterpieces on display. He had some Diego Rivera paintings, and a very important Frida Kahlo painting.
It is the combination of this amazing house, as an urban escape, combined with the seemingly endless works of art decorating this unique place. I still don't really know who Robert Brady is, but there is no denying he was an amazing collector and based on his home, probably a very eccentric man.
After this absolutely amazing museum visit, we headed back towards the cathedral to a local cafe for a relaxed lunch.
We grabbed an Uber in the hopes of finding some ancient ruins, but we got really lost, so we ended up directing our driver to the local park. The Chapultepec Park is a great urban park, with loads of water features, tons of trees and lush grounds, and a paved path right down the middle. This is obviously a very popular park on the weekends, but today we had this almost to ourselves. It turned into a warm day, and the tree cover of the park offered great relief. We really enjoyed walking through the park, taking in a bit of nature, and relaxing a bit before we had to head to the bus station for our ride back to Mexico City.
One word of advise for the bus station. Do not wait for your bus to be called. Our bus was scheduled to depart at 4:40p. We arrived to the station about 20 minutes early. At 4:38p, I walked to the attendant at the door to ask about our bus departure. He nodded, and pointed to an already full bus. We rushed over, sat in our reserved seats, and within the next minute, we were off. Had I not asked, we may still be in Cuernavaca . . .
First day trip done and dusted. It was really good fun, and a very different experience outside of Mexico City.
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