We survived riding los caballos!

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I'd like to preface this blog entry with an apology if everything seems to be written in cliches or superlatives. It's hard to describe anyways, besides the fact that we're paying for internet time. So, if you're thinking in your head that I should'nt have graduated with an English degree, please forgive me.

Yesterday was the horseback ride in Urubamba which is in the Sacred Valley about an hour away. We chose to pay for a private taxi set up by the ranch, which I am very glad for since the turns were sickening. At the same time, it was nice to watch the scenery and not have some stranger breathe on you. Either way, I think both Tyler and I would've been happier had the driver been going 20 miles slower.

Seeing the countryside was a much different experience, as well as driving through very small towns. Almost all of the animals, donkeys, horses, pigs, sheep, cows were tethered in random places with thin cotton rope throughout the towns and countryside. The patchwork of fields was really pretty especially in contrast with the huge mountains behind.

Getting to the ranch itself was quite a hike, off dirt and rock roads. The Peruvian Pasos we got to ride were a lot of fun, they have different gaits than most horses and were very small and sturdy. I made the mistake, perhaps, of saying I had experience and was given a very fiesty chestnut who I spent most of the ride cajoling or holding back. Still, it was a challenge, even if the guide's horse was so easy he didn't even use the reins most of the time. Tyler did really well and possibly even enjoyed it. Although, his horse definitely sweated a little more from carrying him. All of the Peruvian people are very short and relatively thin, so they definitely weren't used to Tyler's size 😊

The ride itself was amazing, we did a huge loop along the Rio Urubamba river, through little towns, and alongside the bases of mountains. We saw lots of farmers completing seemingly impossible tasks, like using cows to plow fields on vertical mountains and tossing cabbage around like tennis balls. Something I thought was neat was the use of cactus along the top of fences like natural barbed wire. Cactus was everywhere there, which made it much scarier when my horse spooked!

A lot of little kids seemingly antagonized us, by ordering their little dogs to attack us or screaming when we rode by. Some people just smiled and waved. There were aqueducts everywhere as well, which was kind of neat. An insanely fancy hotel was being built somewhere in the middle with golf carts and fountains which was a little out of place.

If you'd like to see the ranch that set it up and see their horses you can go here:
http://www.perolchico.com/english/index.html

I would love to do one of their longer rides sometime, but Tyler would not. The Hacienda where we ended our ride was ridiculously beautiful and fancy, we're not entirely sure if it is a hotel, restaurant, or rich guy's house, but it was really amazing.

We are both sore today! On the ride back we got to see a rainbow in the mountains, which was very picturesque although we couldn't get any good pictures out the window of our race-car taxi ride.

Today we've had some troubles trying to get our train tickets for tomorrow morning. We rode in a taxi successfully without being kidnapped, but then met our match with the gatekeeper at the train station. He didn't speak English, We didn't speak Spanish, and he wasn't about to let us in. Sooo hopefully tomorrow we can get our tickets before the train ride itself, or hitchhike on the train. We've done a little shopping today and are trying to relax before Machu Picchu the day after tomorrow! We'll be staying in the town Aguas Calientes tomorrow night so then we can get to Machu Picchu at 5 am before tourist buses show up. We leave for Puerto Maldonado the morning after Mchu Picchu, so if you don't see any more blog posts or emails; we didn't get a chance before we left.

If you're interested in what we'll be doing on our jungle tour, you can see it here: http://mondove.com/classic_ptambopata3.html

or google search pictures of the Tambopata Research Lodge!

Hopefully we'll get to Machu Picchu as intended and have a great last few days in the Cusco region. Adios! Tyler & Steff

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