Panama Transit 4

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January 21 Nicaragua



Today is all about horses. After a short ride we arrive at Cortijo El Rosario a large ranch owned by the Coen family, one of the wealthiest in the county. Among other things they breed Spanish and Lusitania horses. Our show features the training of horses and riders in dressage.



First off there was flamenco between horse and rider and a woman. How lovely they worked together. Then three mares were paraded. The white one in the middle was not liking it. Her ears were back and she was whipping the outside horses with her tail. Then came the stallions. How handsome and graceful they were. Four horses performed a square dance like routine. A stallion showed the moves required of a horse in a bull ring. Each display showed the discipline requires by horse and rider alike.



The finale had horses drawing all sorts of carts from a little sulky to a covered wagon. It was a great show and we saw the horses up close.



The rest of the day was an anticlimax. A visit to a clinic where equestrian therapy is offered to special needs patients and the obligatory visit to a souvenir shop. The good thing about that stop was watching the horses exercise. They would run like the wind a stop just before their noses hit the glass.



After lunch and a dance presentation we headed back but our final treat was riding in one of the carts. We chose a four seater pulled by my very favorite horse. He was white and the only one with feathered hooves. I called him fuzzy foot.



We saw a bit of the countryside on the return to port and learned quite a lot about Nicaraguan history and politics.

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