A guitar is tuning up in the square when you step off the bus, and the smell of grilled corn reaches you before anyone speaks. A vendor hands you a paper cup of fruit dusted with chili. Nearby, a grandmother talks in an Indigenous language while her grandson answers in Spanish. Then drums start up around the corner, and a neighbourhood party is already underway.
Where you stand decides the weather. The north runs dry and hot, the south turns green and tropical, and the high country stays cool at night. A Local Friend turns a list of places into a day that makes sense.
