We are back in Long Beach after our cruise through the Panama Canal. It was an enjoyable trip, warmed up by the Caribbean sun, rounded out belly by the menus of a 6-star cruise line with a Cordon Bleu restaurant aboard.
Truthfully, while I fully took advantage of our time away, at the bottom of my heart, I didn't want to be away from the ranch. I can't say I have ever experienced a vacation like that. I have always wanted to go some place else.
Well, that aside...one of our ports was Puntarenas in Costa Rica. We opted to go horseback riding. Big shocker there. Larry obliged me. They described this excursion as a ride for beginners as well as experienced riders, "no galloping."
We all felt comfortable in saying that this ride was not for beginners. Actually, the horses, Criollos, were so good and so accustomed to the terrain, and we had 4 Costa Rican cowboys and a paramedic along with us, that unless a beginner fell off the horse, they were going to get through the ride no problem. But, perhaps they may not feel very confident about that.
Only one other time had I been on a ride similar to this. By comparison, that other ride was just a warm up to this ride. We rode about an hour out, descending, ascending, descending to eventually reach a river in the canyon. There were times where the trail was hardly identifiable. We rode through crevices no more than a foot wide full of rocks and loose soil. We cut through all kinds of tropical brush, stopped to see a two-toed sloth in a tree, a Baltimore Oriole (didn't know they traveled so far), an orange colored squirrel the size of a large raccoon, a herd of cows crossing our trail, and kept an eye out for swinging monkeys.
The coolest part of this ride was actually riding. Fosforro, a gray gelding, was assigned to me. While we were waiting for everyone to saddle up, I gave him all sorts of loving. At first, he wasn't sure if he was into it, and then I felt his energy shift. It confirmed we would be good friends for this ride.
The horses I have ridden prior to Fosforro were horses I knew. Aside from two rides out at the reservoir, my riding has been around the ranches (I no longer include simple trail rides at vacation spots on my list of actual riding.) So, with Fosforro I was able to really test my knowledge, skills and comfort level. I established with him from the get-go that I was in charge and we would be riding as a team.
It was great! I maneuvered around the other 18 riders, changing our position on the trail. We went alongside the trail and on the trail. We went around the other side of trees. We stopped on a dime and started just as promptly. As we rode along the very tricky parts, working our way down and then climbing back up, I concentrated on using my body and balance to make his job easier and I sensed his appreciation. Even my Spanish skills were put into play.
There was one point where I wanted to go on one side of a brush and he insisted we go along the other side. I learned from Leighsa that in riding you trust each other to know what is safe and sometimes, you have to trust that the horse knows better than you. Fosforro's suggestion to go along the other side didn't feel like him challenging me; it felt like he was letting me know this was best for both of us. I yielded to him, again sensing his appreciation, and we were back on track.
Despite the "no galloping" posted on our tickets, I tested that skill too. Ha! How freeing it was. I would give him time to eat a few leaves here and there and at other times keep him away from what he preferred to be his own 6-star feeding frenzy.
Even on the return to the estancia, I kept control of Fosforro. We eased back, again changing our speed, our direction, our place in the pack. For all of you who have done trail rides, you know that once the horse knows he is heading back to the barn, good luck!
After dismounting, one of the caballeros took Fosforro and tied him off to the rail. "It's not over yet, my friend," I thought. I went over to give Fosforro praise, loves and thanks for a great ride. I looked up and I was the only person standing there with the horses. Everyone else had jumped down and walked off. That was just as well, I was happy in my little spot amongst the Criollos.
Very cool.
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