aguas agrias

11/02/04

Aguas Agrias is the name of the river and also the name of the small agricultural cooperative that lives by it. My guide is 21. She is already married with a 15 month old baby. She explains to me that the community consists of 16 families - about 100 people. She has lived here most of her life. She leaves the community very rarely and the furthest she has been is 2 hours away. No computers. No TV. No education beyond primary school. She appears very contented.

It is an idyllic spot. The river meanders thru the forest. There is an area where water bubbles up from a spring below. This is where I swim while she waits patiently on the shore. The water has a slightly sour taste, thus the name. Until they got piped in water from another cooperative a few miles away, this was their only water source. After many years of drinking it, they recognized that it was hard on the kidneys, I presume because of the high mineral content.

To get here, I took a local bus, then a motorcycle taxi down a long tortuous road. Along the way, different farms and the occasional little shacks. Around them, children play on the packed dirt. People sit on chairs and stools and watch as I go by.