Gunnar Wolf

People who know me also know that, although it seems impossible due to the generalized opinion, I love living in Mexico City. I love the city, I love its chaos — And I love its beauty. I truly love the two paradigmatic volcanos that lie across the valley, South-East from us, Popocatépetl (in Náhuatl, «smoking mountain») and Iztaccíhuatl (in Náhuatl, «white lady», often called «sleeping lady» as its profile reminds of a dreamy princess). I never avoid mentioning to my friends when, on a clear day, I get to see them.

Yesterday was one such day, most beautifully... Sadly this image does not reflect the awe. I was leaving my Institute, hurried as rain was starting to fall, and the thunders towards the Ajusco (South) pronosticated a long, heavy rain. They were not mistaken.

Less than 100m away from my Institute's door, I had to hit the breaks on my bike, and stood stunned at this image. A dark, almost black, layer of clouds. You can see the streetlights are already on, it was quite dark already. But there was a clean air corridor towards the East - And there we had Izta and Popo greeting us, covered in snow, golden due to the sun setting behind my back.

…This is just a crappy cellphone photo. But... It was so beautiful I had to share it, not just with the people I met later that day, but with whoever stumbles upon this blog.