Time for our morning horseback ride. This was sold as an excursion that would allow for beginners and experts to go together and break up over some long stretches. Seemed perfect for us.
Unfortunately, with a group of 8 people of mixed skills and one guide and one gaucho, we weren’t getting far in two groups. We walked a lot. There was a brief moment where they let us trot and canter but I had no idea how to stay stable so I was hanging on for fear of falling out of the saddle. GG was a bit dismayed as well since the expert break off ride never happened (probably because of me and my scarily limited skills). For the moments where I wasn't focused on how to survive the ride, I looked around and reflected. It truly was amazing to be riding this beautiful Arabian horse around a surreal desert. Unfortunately, those moments were fleeting as reality set back in and I had to not fall off my horse. Tough morning.
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| I look much more in command than i actually was... |
Our afternoons were lovely – plenty of time to swim, nap, eat lunch, email, etc as the afternoon excursions don’t go out until 5p at earliest. Any earlier and the desert heat, sun, and wind would ruin us.
That afternoon, we did the “Cactus” hike – it was special as we would be hiking along the one main valley that has a supply of Andean water and therefore has green bushes, trees, and, unsurprisingly, many cacti.
