Day 95 - Sore Bottoms

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Today we tried out horse riding for the first time (well, since we were toddlers riding ponies at fairs) and what a great location for it - the valley of the volcanoes (Corazon, Illinizas and Ruminahui to name a few). We had a brief "lesson" with our horses (mine Martin and Chris's Rosillo) at the hacienda, where Martin and Rosillo spent most of their time licking a salt cube, before we began our 4 hour horse ride. Chris's horse however, refused to move and had to be led by the guide (Elan) on a rope. Elan let go of the rope a couple of times, which in resulted in Rosillo stopping dead still. My horse on the other hand was as good as gold, and always wanted to be up at the front, as did Jamie's and Noel's. Robin trailed way behind us, his horse stopping to eat every few metres. What was interesting was that you never felt 100% in control, or even 50%! Whilst you could steer the horses left and right and slow them down if they decided to go for a run, their real master was each other. If one ran, they all ran. If one stopped, they all stopped. And try as I might to bring Martin to a halt in order to wait for Chris, he would not stop and let the others get head. So we rode apart for a while and I chatted to the guide in SPanish, as his ENglish was minimal. The scenery was beautiful, and I wish we could have been let loose to gallop across the fields just to see what it was like, but we mostly walked.

After breaking for lunch I discovered my horse suffered from split personality disorder. We were suddenly at the back of the group, as he stopped to eat every few minutes. But still with his competitive streak, he galloped to catch up with the group after every mouthful, which was fun for me until he stoppd so suddenly he nearly threw me over his head, so he could satisfy his appetite. Chris's horse had also had a change of heart, and decided to walk unaided, but was still the slowest. With Robin's horse being led up at the front, Chris and I had some time riding together (or as close as ROsillo would get to Martin - about 3 or 4 metres!) Martin continued to run, eat, run, eat, run for about hald an hour until I got rather sick of his antics and our guide decided it was bes to guide me with the rope. I was not too keen on being attached to his horse, as he seemed a little wild, and Martin began to antagonize him but biting his bum! He also kicked out at Robin's horse a few times and generally misbehaved. I felt sorry for them having to walk for so long when all they wanted was to run free.

Back at the ranch our bottoms were already sore (although this was nothing compared to the back pain suffered for the next couple of days) and we were looking forward to the jacuzi. To our disappointment it was being cleaned and would not be ready until after dinner, so after a wonder around the grounds and our failed attempts to teach the puppy to play "fetch" we settled in on the sofa, in front of the fire, to watch Batman; the Dark Knight. A hearty dinner and a glass of wine and we fell asleep quickly!

Chris's Corner

My horse Rosillo was unbeilievably lazy, it only found itself at the front of the group once and I'm pretty sure it was by accident. I had to take a photo to prove it before everyone strolled past me. Only in the afternoon did Rosillo really wake up and no longer needed guiding. I think he realised if he didn't walk he wouldn't get home. Rosillo was still intent on being at the back, about 4m behind Sophie, only running if falling further behind than that... extra impact on my bony but.

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