Horse Riding

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This Sunday, myself and Anna had booked to go Horse Riding, with a chap from Ollantay known as 'Mario'. A guide (not Mario) turned up at our house in the morning with two horses. After resolving some initial complications (the guide not speaking English, us not speaking much Spanish, and both of us being slightly concerned that the guide didn´t appear to have a horse- were we going alone?) we mounted our horses. Our trip was to visit the Inca Quarry, up a mountain-side near Ollantay.

The horses seemed reasonably well behaved to start with. I didn´t really have a clue have to control it... although Anna was able to explain the basics that she had learnt on her last trip. We left Ollantay and joined a rocky mountain track leading up the hillside. My horse kept trying to overtake Anna´s, which really wasn´t that sensible, on a track barley a meter wide, with a steep drop to the side. It didn´t help that the guide kept smacking it in the backside and saying 'vamos!'. At one point my horse decided it couldn´t be doing with up-hill and turned around to try and go back down, a very unnerving experience! I´m pretty sure in the Uk, on your first go, they dress you up in military grade armour and lead you around a flat field, and here I was sat on a Peruvian horse, with my sun hat for head protection, climbing a mountain track! The horses also had this really worrying habit of walking as close to the dangerous edge of the path as possible. The guide had opted to walk!

The horses really struggled to carry us lumps up the last steep bit. Mine kept stopping to eat. Despite all my anxiety, it was enjoyable and well worth it when we got up there! Awesome views, and the scale of the stone work in the quarry was also very impressive. The guide was fairly knowledgeable about it all, which was useful. We lead our horses back down the steep bits.

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Comments

[Grannie]

envy
Hi Tom, Hope you are feeling better. It looks really interesting. I want to come over too. Byee

[Alice]

Hi Bro!
Hi Tom Hope you are having a great time! That horse ride looked a bit hairy! Hope you have fun in Machu Picchu tomorow. see you soon! Love Feech xxxxx p.s. Brong me back a hat!!!!!!!!!!!!! (PLEEEEEEEAAAAAAASSSSEEE!)