Advertisement
Published: August 4th 2008
Hola todos!
This weekend was absolutely amazing. I´m sorry if this entry is a book but I have so much to write about! Early Friday morning we left for our first group excursion. Our destination was Uruapan, which is in a different state - Michoacán. It was about a 4 1/2 hour drive but it seemed to go by fast. Our first destination was Tzararacua (don´t worry I have trouble pronouncing it too!). We had to go down hundreds of steps to get to it, but it was definitely worth it. It is a huge waterfall, the biggest I have ever seen, and it is absolutely gorgeous because it is surrounded by woods and lots of greenery. Absolutely amazing - it´s hard to describe. From there we had to hike to the second water fall - Tzararacuita. It was a pretty tough hike, lots of hills and such, but again definitely worth it. This is another waterfall, smaller but just as beautiful. We got to swim in this one! This was awesome! The water was pretty cold at first but after a while it felt amazing. The waterfall itself was pretty forceful but we tried our best to stand under it at least long enough for someone to snap a couple pictures. It was so amazing just being in the middle of nowhere and experiencing such natural beauty. So much fun. Afterwards I kept thinking, this is one of the coolest things I have ever done! After this we hiked back, spent some time at the first waterfall again, and then headed back to the city - Uruapan - where we spent the night in a very nice hotel. We were able to walk around and eat out, so that was also fun. We were pretty much all very exhausted from all of the hiking, so after eating we were all ready for bed.
The next day we headed to our next destination - the Paricutín Volcano - where we would have to horseback ride to in order to reach it. We arrived in a very tiny village, where the women still wear traditional dress, and most people use horses for transportation. When we arrived, there were lots of horses and their owners waiting for us. When I saw this, I started to get pretty nervous. I don´t really have any experience with horses. I´ve maybe been on one a few times many many years ago, but not that I could remember very well. We were all sent off with a horse owner and introduced to our horse. Mine was beautiful - a very pretty brown with a white spot on its nose. He was a very calm horse and was so good the entire time! I really felt like we bonded, and at the end I was sad to say goodbye 😞 So we got on our horses and were on our way. Things went really well and I started to relax. We rode for about 45 minutes and then stopped because we had to walk/hike. We went to the Parangaricutimicuaro church ruins. This was another amazing site. It is now ruins because years and years ago (I don{t remember how many, but lets just say a VERY long time ago) the Paricutïn Volcano errupted. So this church is surrounded by...rocks of lava? I don´t know what to call it. But you basically have to climb everywhere over the hardened lava. It was incredible and the church was gorgeous. (I promise I´ll figure out how to post pictures soon)
After spending time here it was time to get back on our horses and ride to the volcano. This took probably 3 hours, but it was really fun! For the most part my horse just walked but sometimes he would trot if the other horses around me would. It was hard to get him to trot, he would do it for about 2 steps and then decide he wanted to walk. It was only when other horses started, he would join in. He did not like to be in the back.
When we got to the volcano we had the option of climbing it, which I did. And let me just say that this was one of the physically hardest things I´ve ever done. This is because we were climbing on soot. So we would take a step but at the same time fall back a little. And it was extremely steep. Definitely not one of the most fun things I´ve ever done, so I was extremely proud of myself once I got to the top, probably after at least 45 minutes. It was pretty cool to see the huge crater, and even though it is inactive, when you touched the ground or dug up rocks, it was very warm. It was also very cool to be up in the clouds. Going down the volcano was also very interesting. This time the soot was even deeper so you would step and be knee deep in soot. If you went quickly it was kind of like skiing down a hill, or what we thought would be like moon bouncing. Sometimes it was hard to control your speed, and I did tumble once, and of course landed on a rock and scraped up my arm a bit. But no worries! The worst was yet to come...
When we made it to the bottom, it started to pour. We were warned that this would probably happen, so we were prepared. Now I´ve been debating whether or not to write about this part, but I decided I have to because it was part of the experience, and an experience it was. I just don´t want anyone to worry because everyone is just fine. What we were not prepared for was that in about 5 minutes it started storming out of nowhere. We got on our horses as quick as we possibly could (which still took about 10 minutes because there were about 60 or so people on horses, as we were also with the summer students that are here) and started to leave. What happened next was probably one of the most terrifying things I have ever experienced. We were surrounded by this storm, in fact it was right above us. There was lighting all around and some of the loudest thunder I have ever heard. Think of the loudest thunder you´ve ever heard, and then multiply that by 100. I´m serious, it was extremely loud. Probably because I´ve never really been outside, in the middle of nowhere when it´s storming. Thankfully my horse didn´t seem to be too worried. He only was frightened a few times by the lighting. Then it started to hail, as if things couldn´t get much worse. Thankfully it was very tiny and never got any bigger. It was extremely frightening to be in the middle of nowhere, on horses, and in the middle of a thunderstorm. Almost everyone agreed that they have never been so scared for their lives before. It may not seem like that big of a deal, it´s just a storm, but I can not describe how scary it was to be in the middle of it. Everyone said they prayed the entire time that no one would be hurt. There were definitely a few close calls. Lighting striked a bush right next to one girl, and her horse of course was spooked and threw her off. Thankfully she was just fine, only frightened of course. After what seemed like forever running through this storm, it finally stopped and just sprinkled the rest of the way back. Through the storm, my horse did not have any problem going very quickly. We never walked. I think I was told it´s called cantering. It´s a step past trotting but still not as fast as galloping. For one of my first times on a horse, let´s just say it was quite an experience. But I found cantering to be easier on the body than trotting was. It was a lot smoother and I actually enjoyed it (minus the storm of course). Again, no one was injured. We were all fine, just very very very wet. Thankfully I remembered a change of clothes, because not many people did. I do have some bad sores on the insides of my legs, which I´m guessing is from the saddle and whatever the thing is called that you put your feet in. What I didn´t realize was that because my jeans were so wet and we were going so fast, they rode up my legs and so my skin was exposed for almost the entire ride. So the insides of my ankles/legs are pretty sore and not very pretty looking to say the least. Even though the weather took a turn for the worst, I would say it was all worth it. The views were amazing - I have never seen such beautiful places before. The day after I wasn´t too sore. My back was definitely the worst, and my legs/butt hurt a little. Today I am already feeling better, even though I wish I were home so Jenna could give me one of her massages!
On Sunday, even though everyone was sore and exhausted, we headed to a national park. It is actually the only National Park in Mexico. It was very beautiful, lots of little waterfalls, rivers, plants, trees, flowers, etc. Some of it looked man made, so after seeing all of the natural beauty the days before, this didn´t really compare. But it was still pretty neat to see. From there we headed to Patzcuaro, which is a little city where we could do lots of shopping and eating. There were also many religious monuments to see. But everyone was pretty exhausted so we only spent a couple hours there and we were completely fine with that.
Finally we headed back home. I was so happy to get there, shower, and rest. My house is starting to feel more like home as I get used to it. I am starting to really bond with Fátima. She is such a sweet lady. When I showed her my wounds from the horses, she says, "Ay, mi hija" Meaning "Oh, my daughter" She really does treat me like I´m her daughter. So that´s going great.
This week we pretty much have off. It has been a frustrating process trying to figure out my schedule, but looks like I will have one class this Friday at the actual university with Mexican students. I just have to talk to a professor at the language school, to make sure it is okay that I miss her class every Friday. I am told it will not be a problem. The class this Friday is the one I need so that I will be able to graduate on time. Pray it all works out! Our other classes start next week. So this week we just have some fun things going on, and lots of free time.
Well I think I´ve written enough! Hope you are all doing well! Adios!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.077s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 10; qc: 31; dbt: 0.0453s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 2;
; mem: 1mb
Chelsey
non-member comment
Hey sara! wow this trip sounds like one you will never forget! that storm sounds crazy, Im so glad you got out of it safely! i remember going horseback riding in costa rica and my host parents laughed that night because i had to sit on a pillow during dinner :) your host mom sounds so sweet. i hope you get to know the other family members better too. i think of you pretty much every day and wonder what you are up to and exactly how you are feeling. miss you and cant wait to read the next entry!