ecatepec: where the air is thin and the streets are endless
ecatepec de morelos. that's where i've been for the past few days, trying to catch my breath. literally. the elevation here? 2,274 meters above sea level. which means if you're coming from anywhere flat, your lungs might throw a tantrum. i just checked and it's 18.8 degrees celsius right now, feels like 17.75. hope you like that kind of thing. the pressure's at 1017, which apparently matters to someone, but mostly it just makes the air taste funny.
this place is... big. like, 1.8 million people big. someone told me it's one of mexico's most crowded municipalities. which, walking around, you believe it. buildings everywhere, all stacked on top of each other. the streets are narrow and the noise never stops. it's like a concrete jungle where the trees are losing.
the weather's weird. right now it's comfortable, but someone told me that in winter it drops to 6 degrees. and in summer? 26. so basically, it's never truly terrible, but always a little off. the rain's the real problem though. from may to october, it just pours. july to september is the worst. bring good shoes.
if you get bored, which you probably will, otumba's 31 km away. emiliano zapata's 33 km. ixtapaluca's 36 km. and if you really need to escape, metepec's 71 km and tenango del valley's 80 km. short drives, they say. but with traffic here? good luck.
the food? nothing special. someone told me it's basically just mexico city's leftovers. no local dishes or anything. and the attractions? forget it. no landmarks, no famous spots. just houses and more houses. the history? it's named after some independence dude, josé maría morelos. that's about it.
the vibe? tired. chaotic. like the city's been running on too much coffee for a decade. the air quality's probably not great, but i haven't seen any official reports. just a lot of dust and exhaust fumes. and someone mentioned climate change severity is getting worse. like, 57 out of 100 bad. so maybe don't plan to stay forever.
so yeah. ecatepec. it's not pretty. it's not exciting. but it's real. and real is messy. which i guess is why i'm still here. probably just too lazy to leave.
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