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Published: February 10th 2010
Nikki has been writing in a journal each night, she captures the activities from the day that were most memorable to her. Here is her entry for this particular day:
Sunday 2-7-10
“We woke up and my dad brought me to the barn. I milked the cow and collected chiken and turkey eggs. I went to the restaurant and dropped off the eggs. Then we went to breakfast. Then we went on a horse ride. My horse was Hittanna. We went over hills and down hills. Then we swam in a waterfall my grandma slipped on a rock, and was hanging from her bathing suit. We all laughed. On our way back I found snake skin it was cool! I got to steer the horse back. Then we saw a three toed sloth. We went back and played 5 games of uno.”
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In a word, UNBELIEVABLE!
Our most amazing
Cinco Sala's en caballos!
Mom: The horse whisperer. She and “Mr. Big” found a mutual respect for one another and developed a very comfortable relationship.
Dad: A very patient and peaceful rider. He tried quite hard to get some giddy-up out of his tender horse, but instead kept even and steady at the back of the pack with the pacer because of the donkey like personality the horse had.
Jeff : Full on John Wayne. He also used his therapy skills to massage his horse into complete submission.
Shae: Looks as though she’s ridden horses all of her life. She has no fear and a drive to ride the fastest and climb the steepest hills (does this come as any surprise?)!
Nikki: Insists on riding her own horse next time. While slightly cautious at first, she later found great exhilaration steering the horse for ¾ of the trip.
day yet! It began just before 7am when Jeff and Nikki ventured down to the barn to meet up with Carlos, the farmer. It was there at the barn where Nikki experienced life as a farm girl; gathering eggs, feeding chickens, milking cows and more. She enjoyed it immensely, though she did draw the line at washing the pig : ) Once done with her farming duties, she delivered her egg collection to the restaurant staff so that they could be used for our breakfast about an hour later. She marched with pride back to our cabin after this delivery; she couldn't wait for us to enjoy the fruits of her labor! Of course the Eggs Benedict was the best we'd ever had!
At about 9am we moseyed off to the horse barn to begin our first recreational adventure; horseback riding. We met Enrique and Chito who were to be our guides for the day. Enrique spoke English fluently and was our humorist, naturalist, and photographer along the journey, while Chito was a very silent and kind-hearted guide who brought up the rear with Nikki atop Hittanna (as she mentioned in her journal entry); Nikki and Hittana became dear
Wow...look at her go! ! !
Mom is crossing the creek! friends instantly, as you might guess.
While we were all rather excited about the adventure, there was certainly a varied degree of anxiety in each of us; not one of us has ridden a horse outside of the state/county fair as a child! ! ! After a brief safety lesson, an introduction to our respective horse and a few words about how to direct our new BFF, we were on our way! Surprisingly, we were all riding as naturals (well, in our minds we were) in a short 30 minutes or so. We moseyed along the gravel road for about that long before we were off the beaten path riding through the thick of the rain forest. Along the way we stopped at various points so that Enrique could point out to us a unique Costa Rican fact or explain the history behind a native plant or animal to the Country. We learned about Poison Dart Frogs (though thankfully didn't encounter one), Howler Monkeys, Leaf Cutter Ants, and Sloths. We were also educated on local farming practice, the regional economy, and nationally, the history that was in the making that very day in Costa Rica, as it was presidential
election day and it was quite likely that the first female president was going to be elected (sure enough she was - Laura Chinchilla! ! ! http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0716657220100208)
What a gift these two guides were to us on our adventure this day. Together, they created the most memorable experience we could have ever imagined.
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debbie
non-member comment
hello
Howdy guys! It looks like you are all having a wonderful time! How I wish I was there with you all! Love and miss you guys