Horseback Riding!

On the road again, this time to Manuel Antonio-Quepos which is the last new place we are visiting on the tour. And...I´m happy to say that I´ve already finished the bookcrossing book I found a couple of days ago. On our right is the Pacific Ocean, we can finally say it...VAMOS A LA PLAYA!

I´m a couple of days behind now so I´m going to backtrack and talk about horseback riding that we did...two day ago I think. It was completely different from most of the riding I´ve done. First because we were actually riding ot get somewhere instead of around in a dinky small more or less circular trail, secondly because the countryside was gorgeous, and thirdly because...well...our guides had us bend the waiver a little bit. It was supposed to be a walking train, but those of us at the front started to trot and then full out cantered and galloped! All we could do was to hold on for dear life and try to move with the horse to minimize butt trauma. Pretty crazy for most of us who hadn´t done much riding!

They had us stand in a semicircle in order of experience. I was more on the experienced side since I´ve done walking trails 3 or 4 times before. My horse, Nello, seemed docile enough at first, but about an hour in (we were up at the front by that point), he started to get testy. Clearly not the pacifist of the group, he started nipping at some of the other horses, and then he actually bucked and nearly threw me off. I´m sure my staying power looked spectacular if you were watching, but it was definitely a heartwrenching moment. Poor Lee got kicked in the ankle yet again (ironically, the horse who did it the first time was ridden by Sarah, his wife) and I felt sooo bad! Suzanne, one of the most experienced riders definitely had the worst of it, her horse Tequila was crazy aggressive and insisted on leading the pack. She did absolutely brilliantly in controlling him though. We decided that all horses named Tequila were crazy, after Laura told us a similar story about another Tequila she rode in Cuba.

All in all, the horses (and especially galloping at really high speeds) were amazing, but I think I was a bit glad when it was over and I didn´t have to worry about keeping Nello away from all the horses he seemed to dislike.

Happy, and now sore all over, we were glad that the rest of the day would be more laid back. We arrived in Monteverde around 3:30, booked tours for tomorrow, and explored the town for a few hours before dinner and then, thankfully, bed.


On the road to Monteverde.