When we arrived in Mexico at the beginning of November 2017, artefacts of the former Day of the Dead were literally to be found everywhere. The bookshops had tiny skulls hidden behind books, the showrooms for designer clothing had their trendy dresses on skeleton-like mannequins. The museum exhibitions were devoted to the Day of the Dead – one of the most important holidays in Central and Southern Mexico.

...When we left Moscow at the end of August, it was burning hot. The city was glowing. Just 450 km north - or a one-night-long drive away - the temperature fell to 12 degrees and the sky was rainy and grey. But with every degree off the thermostat, the landscape around was getting more and more beautiful. The burned yellowish meadows turned to ankle-high wet green grass. Deep dark forests, lakes, swamps and seldom villages built of wood appeared behind the car's window.