The pre-hispanic name of what is now Cuernavaca was the nahuatl word Cuauhnahuac which meaning is aproximately "near the forest". The spaniards were unable to pronounce the name Cuauhnahuac and they started to call the place "Cuernavaca" which is a strange word composed by cuerno (horn) and vaca (cow) which has nothing to do with the original meaning.

Cuernavaca, 80 kilometres south of Mexico City is also known as the City of Eternal Spring. It is located in a valley of warm climate and exhuberant vegetation, and has been used as a summering site since pre-Hispanic times. It is almost always sunny and warm, with flowers all year round. There are oustanding precolombian ruins and spas with thermal waters nearby.

The Instituto de Matemáticas, Unidad Cuernavaca is located on the north side of Cuernavaca, wich has the highest altitude and therefore the climate is template. In January it can get cool, and since all the activities are either in our palapas or outside, we strongly recomend you bring some warm clothes. You can check the weather of Cuernavaca here.

Most public telephones in Mexico now work with telephone cards (in Spanish, Tarjeta Telefonica) called TARJETAS LADATEL. We recommend that you purchase one right at the airport. They are available in different amounts, ranging between 30, 50 and 100 pesos. They are available in places that have signs that say:

such as drugstores (Farmacias), some stationary stores (Papelerias), OXOs or Sanborns stores, and in newsstands. To call Cuernavaca from the airport, you need to dial the area code 01-777, and then the local number in Cuernavaca.

Telephone numbers in Cuernavaca have seven digits and in Mexico City eight digits.

Within Mexico, national long distance numbers have to be preceded by the code 01 + the local area code, which is 55 for Mexico City and 777 for Cuernavaca.

To call to the Instituto de Matematicas in Cuernavaca from Mexico City, you would dial as: 01-777-329-1721.

If you are calling Mexico from outside the country, the code 01 is replaced by the number 52 (which is the international number for Mexico). So, to call the Instituto de Matematicas in Cuernavaca from outside the country, you would dial: 52-777-329-1721.

Therefore, to phone Cuernavaca from outside the country please dial (52) followed by (777) then the local seven-digit number in Cuernavaca. To phone Mexico City from outside the country, please dial (52) followed by (55) then the local eight digit Mexico City number. To phone Cuernavaca from Mexico City dial (01) then (777) then the local Cuernavaca number. To phone Mexico City from Cuernavaca please dial (01) then (55) then the local Mexico City number.

The currency in Mexico is the peso, and the symbol is $.The exchange rate for the dollar is US$1.00 = MXN$11.00. Most establishments accept Visa, Mastercard, Carte Bleue, and other main credit cards, as well as recognized travellers cheques in American dollars and even dollars in cash. The automated teller machines/debit machines/guichet automatique (in Spanish, Cajero Automatico) accept all of the above-mentioned cards in order to get instant cash. The exchange rate is good at these machines.

We recommend that as soon as you arrive you exchange around US$100.00 right at the airport in order to cover your initial expenses (bus, food, etc.)

It is not advisable that you buy food from street vendors, as hygiene is not necessarily the best. Make sure that the water you drink is bottled. You can drink water from the tap only if you boil it for more than 15 minutes (due to the altitude, water boils at a lower temperature). When you are in restaurants, it is advisable not to ask for ice in your drinks, unless it is the "official" ice which has been purified. These cubes have a hole through the middle. In fancier restaurants you can safely assume that the water and the ice are purified.