I went for a run in the woods yesterday. Nature where I'm from is actually quite pretty - no Canada or Finland, but there's green. So I was running along, looking like I knew what I was doing, when this middle aged couple crossed my path. She stopped me and went "What's the best way to get up to the Bismarck tower from here?" That tower is one of the more common tourist destinations in our remote corner of the region, for the few tourists that ever make it here. So I explained, and then continued on my way.
Half an hour, a steep mountain climb, a rain shower and several muddy puddles later, I was in the middle of an avalanche-like descent on an overgrown rocky footpath. Suddenly I noticed what looked like a woman with her pants down by her ankles further down the hill, with someone else looking on from the bottom of the path. I was like "wooow, there is a naked woman there, I wonder what these guys are doing, maybe I better bolt into the forest...", but it was a bit too late for veering from my trajectory. So I approached, and ran by the nude lady, realizing it was the tourist on her afternoon walk that I had met earlier, taking a leak on what she thought was safe territory. Her husband was waiting for her on the road. I yelled "Hello again" and zipped by, chuckling a bit to myself.
But the best part was that, rather than being embarrassed, the two cheerfully said hi, and somehow managed to stop me and engage me in a conversation about my toe shoes. As we were talking, she pulled up her pants and bundled up again for the way home. Somehow I can't imagine anything like that happening in most other places I've ever lived.
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