March 22nd 2009 - A different kind of trek

We went horse-riding again this morning and so, deciding I would try and be more like a cowboy, I stuck on Mia’s tank top and set out with style. I would severely regret it later on. I was given a horse called Medianoche (Midnight), who was big and black and just a bit of a beast really! Today’s ride was not for the more faint-hearted or inexperienced riders and so some people didn’t fancy coming or gave up very quickly, but I loved it!

We raced to a river crossing and then the hard work began for the horses. Uphill or downhill they carried their heavy loads on unstable ground, some slipping and mine almost falling to its knees at one point. However, as I kept telling Midnight, the scenery was immense and he liked me really as he let me give him hugs and a kiss. One of my favourite moments though was when seeing two butterflies dance like Wall-e and Eve, the little things still impressing in amongst the incredible landscape.

After a light lunch we were offered a long walk or short walk with the prize fro me, Tara and Edgar being a trip through a river to a lovely waterfall, well it was lovely to look at but hard against the skin! In the afternoon it started to rain and it was an experience I won’t forget in a hurry – sitting on a horse in a tank top, rain dripping off me, the countryside fading in the weather with just the outlines of the mountains visible.

Mia and Josefine had decided to walk most of the way down so Hilde and I waited at the bottom for them as the others headed home. They didn’t take too long and it allowed us to properly gallop home – enormous fun except for the moment I almost fell off with no helmet on…that could have been dangerous!

We got back caked in mud and so washed and headed out for a lovely dinner of garlic mushrooms, Churrasco at La Terresca before getting a Cornetto for the walk home. We watched ‘The Orphange’ in the evening (the scariest bits were the screams of the girls when some random knocking was happening outside) before some of us then watched the decidedly less scary ‘A Lot Like Love’. It was only when I tried to go to bed that I realised just how bad my sun burn was. It’s not going to be a good night…