Picture an afternoon in the green, rocky hills on a tropical island....a perfect mix of sun and a refreshing breeze. You and a few others set off to a horse farm where able guides will match you with a gentle animal for an afternoon of horse-back riding, hiking along hilltops where tortoises roam free, and viewing breath-taking vistas of the island, coastline, and ocean.
Now you almost have a complete picture of what we did on the afternoon of New Year's Eve. The weather was perfect; not too hot, cooler than the port town where we live, and the rain had ceased after steady nighttime showers. The mosquitos and flies had been enlivened by the recent rains, but we had put on long pants, sleeves, and substantial repellant. Our group included the two German volunteers from our house, Kassandra and Isabel, Magdalena, Luisa and me. The guides were attentive and skilled with the horses, hiking along with us (leading the horses of Magdalena and Luisa), up and over rocky, verdant hills until we reached the plateau where they own another piece of land. There we left our horses tied, and while they rested we hiked together, stopping to take it the views.
Cloud cover came and went as we picked out sights we now recognize: the grand Leon Dormido (the large rocks where Kent went with a group for deep-water snorkeling); the lovely, little Sea Lion Island where all of us had visited (and snorkeled) on our boat trip a few months ago; the port and town which we've called home for nearly 4 months; picturesque sandy and rocky beaches, some we've visited and some not; and Frigate Hill that we've enjoyed hiking many times. From this point we could easily identify where the rains fall more and less often by the colors of vegetation. We could also easily see the covering of invasive guava trees just below the plateau.
Our guide, and farm owner, explained that the area where we were standing had also been taken over by introduced guava trees and raspberry bushes. When he bought the land from the parks department it was with the understanding that he would undertake a reforestation project, like that of the park property nearby. This farmer, along with a crew of international volunteers, has cleared this plateau of guava and raspberries, and has re-planted thousands of young scalesia trees. Some are already four feet tall, now growing quickly in the rainy season. Because of the reforestation project, this area is a perfect habitat for the native tortoises to thrive, and we spotted two of them (approximately 7 & 20 yrs old) resting in the afternoon sun.
The only part of the idyllic picture I painted in the first paragraph that didn't happen was the hope for a gentle animal to ride. Well, several of us had a gentle horses to carry them up and down the hills. But my horse and Luisa's horse weren't! They actually were nervous, rowdy, or just full macho horses. I don't know the correct term since, as we told the guides at the start, only Isabel was a knowledgeable and experienced horse-rider; the rest of us were not. They put Luisa on hers because of it's smaller stature. I'm not sure how I lucked out with mine! When the horses were in line and walking along one by one, we did alright. But when my horse was too close to any other, or saw other male horses in the pasture along the road, he made quite a fuss, even rearing up, and scaring the crap out of me several times! When we all reached the top of the hill, and Luisa's horse came near to mine, they both went nuts, nearly throwing us from their backs, and knocking over the younger of our two guides. The owner soon got them under control, and Luisa and I dismounted safely, though we were certainly shaken.
When it was time to mount our horses again, I first asked what other tips they could give us for handling our horses. They reiterated what they had told us on the way up, but didn't give me much comfort for my return trip. The one guide did give me some comfort by escorting Luisa's horse again on the way down. My horse probably sensed my nervousness, because on the return trip he didn't want to go! I had to repeatedly put my heels in his sides ("harder!" the guides told me) to keep him moving at all. And the owner (trying to help?) repeatedly commented on what a "fun" ("divertido" in spanish) horse I had. He also said my horse was tired of carrying too much weight. Was he really commenting on my weight? Was this comment appropriate, in any culture?! I just really wanted to get back to our starting point and get back on my own two feet! I considered dismounting and leading the horse rather than riding, but who knows what this crazy horse would've done with me in front of him!
Finally, as we neared the starting point, I could breath a sigh of relief. And just then, I heard Magdalena and Luisa both let out a holler. Magdalena's horse (Luisa watching from behind) got spooked by something and reared up, nearing tossing Magdalena. She stayed on, and again, the guide got the horse under control quickly. But, at that point we were all ready to dismount and put this experience behind us. Who's idea had this been anyhow, for all of us with no or very little experience with horses, to take this trek?! We all managed to to dismount with no more problems, to say "thank you", and pay what we owned our guides. With nerves on edge we returned to the safety of a taxi, and headed back to town.
But there was more adventure to be had before we reached home. At the edge of town, two young men, dressed up as women in black mourning clothes and carrying baby dolls, ran into the road, blocking our taxi from passing. These "viudas" (widows) are a common tradition here on New Year's Eve, which we had heard about but not yet witnessed. Now we had! They were quite a sight, but also quite playful as they danced around and hollered until someone from the car would give them a few coins, then they would allow up to pass. We were all laughing by the time we reached our house; nearly forgetting our earlier brushes with danger, we were ready for the festivities of the evening and night to come. A wild and crazy New Year's Eve, and it was only 5pm..... a bit too much excitement for me!!
No comments:
Post a Comment