The Drive Back

By eleven o'clock on Sunday morning we had checked out of the hotel, the Hacienda San Antonio el Puente, and started the drive back to Mexico City.

We drove through the little town of Xochitepec where the hotel is located.

Soon we were on the toll road that would take us through Cuernavaca and all the way to Mexico City.

Cuernavaca has long been a fashionable weekend getaway for the wealthy of Mexico City. Sitting at a lower elevation, it has a warmer climate and is nicknamed "The City of Eternal Spring".  However, it has grown into a fairly big city (with a population of around 370,000), and has big city problems such as congested streets, air pollution and crime.  From the highway, the city does not look particularly attractive.

Looming in the background are the mountains which we will cross to get to Mexico City.

Built in 1952, the toll road between Mexico City and Cuernavaca was one of the first in the country.

As we climb in elevation, we come to the infamous hairpin curve known as "La Pera" (The Pear).  

You can see from this photo that I took from Google Maps how this curve got its name.  It is the scene of many fatalities, especially of motorcyclists who take the curve at high speeds.

The highway climbs to an elevation of over 8800 feet.  The forested mountains with pines the predominant tree are not the typical landscape that most people imagine of Mexico.

Just as we reached the border between the state of Morelos and Mexico City, the camera said that the memory card was full!  (When we got back to the apartment I downloaded all the photos onto my laptop and emptied the memory card.)  It's a shame, because there were some impressive views as we descended in Mexico City's valley.  The air pollution was not too bad and at one point I was even able to make out the outline of the volcanoes Popo and Izta. 

From Google Maps street view, I took this picture of the gate which marks the city limits of Mexico City which is located more or less at the highway's highest point.

Along the mountainous flank on the southern border it is surprising how much forest and farmland is actually within the city limits.

Yes, this is Mexico City, the largest city in North America.  Again, I took this from Google Maps.

Unfortunately, Google Maps could not offer the view that we had of Mexico City spread below us in the valley.  On that Sunday, the traffic into the city fortunately was relatively light.  The entire return trip from the hotel back to my apartment took us approximately ninety minutes.  The previous Friday night traffic was so snarled that it took us that long just to get out of the city.