Three hours hike from the road, and about eight river crossings from the nearest big shop, this is Graciela, cooking up an impromptu lunch for a dozen people. This part of the Sierra Nevada was once plagued by what they call the “marihuana bonanza”, but since the guerilla left things are been looking up. We were served mango straight off the tree, milky coffee, and yucca with salty cheese. Their water comes from the river, their food, largely, from the farm. The hob is a bit like a make-shift aga, hot all day with a special spot for coffee.

–Laura Dixon