Today Daniel and I went to Piñas to buy groceries. This is the second time we have done so, and I believe it is an adventure worth telling.
At times the reserve here feels secluded - surrounded by forest, birds, and other critters with a rare unfamiliar face. In reality, we are not that far from civilization as the highway is close enough to hear cars go by sometimes. Today, was a lesson in how far we really are here. To get groceries, we left the reserve walking down the hill into the river gorge. The river is small but swift - not big enough to get a kayak down unless maybe after a torrential downpour - but big enough to need a bridge (log) to cross. The walk to the river is a casual 15 minute downhill mudskate. After crossing the river, that's when the fun begins - at times the hike up the other side of the gorge is the equivalent of a 5.7 solo climb except with gaucho boots instead of climbing shoes and mud instead of chalk. When we got to the top, after 45 minutes of slipping and sliding and climbing sections of the trail 2 or 3 times, we both changed our shirts and our shoes, only to soak the second shirt with sweat almost as quickly. Then we waited. We waited for 30 minutes or so for a bus to pass so that we could get a ride into Piñas. Once in Piñas, we had a list of groceries to buy, but there are no grocery stores in Piñas, only tents with fruit, tents with vegetables, stores with unidentifiable meat products lining the walls, and then the occasional quick-stop type store with chips, rice, milk, soap, etc. So Daniel and I, with our list of 2 weeks worth of groceries began wandering up and down the street bargaining with people in various tents for fruits and veggies. With our backpacks full and our arms fuller, we each had an ice cream before finding a camioneta to take us back to the reserve in order to avoid the morning's adventure in reverse.
Dinner is going to be good tonight :)
