surviving guatemala city’s spring-like chaos and volcano views
guatemala city tried to kill me with altitude and existential dread. i’m writing this while sitting on a sidewalk that smells vaguely of diesel and fresh tortillas, staring at volcán de agua looming in the distance like a judgmental parent. here’s what happened.
first off, the whole 'eternal spring' thing? sure, if your idea of spring involves forgetting whether you need a jacket or sunblock every 20 minutes. i just checked and it's 12°C there right now (feels like 11.77°C because humidity’s at 93% - hope you like that kind of thing). march/april hits 29°C though, which explains why everyone looked at me like i was insane for wearing jeans.
the city’s wedged in this valley surrounded by 33 volcanoes like some kind of geological cage match. someone told me the rainy season turns streets into rivers, but right now it’s dry season and i’m still finding mud in places mud shouldn’t be. also, climate change is apparently making everything worse - floods, droughts, the works. thanks, capitalism.
if you get bored, retalhuleu or escuintla are just a short drive away. or mixco, which i’m prettyve absorbed into the metropolis through urban sprawl magic. the whole place feels like it’s trying to swallow neighboring towns whole - half the country’s urban population lives here, and you can FEEL it in the traffic.
pack a sweater if you come november-february unless you enjoy shivering at 1,500 meters. the wind here has a personal vendetta against happiness. someone told me there’s great hiking, but i almost got lost in the "rugged highlands" trying to find a coffee shop gps swore was there. lies.
it’s beautiful in a chaotic way. like if a mountain range and a diesel bus had a baby. would i come back? maybe. after my knees recover from all the uphill walks.
You might also be interested in:
- https://topiclo.com/post/baghdad-a-tired-messy-vent
- https://topiclo.com/post/brazzaville-sweat-history-and-that-river-smell
- https://topiclo.com/post/busan-is-a-dump-but-kinda-cool-if-you-like-chaos-and-hot-springs
- https://topiclo.com/post/luanda-hot-dusty-and-kinda-falling-apart
- https://topiclo.com/post/chengdu-pandas-fog-and-my-brain-currently-leaking