Great Start to 2008

Spent the first day of 2008 doing my favourite thing (horse riding) with my favourite person (Mr EG) in a beautiful setting.

We left "base camp" about 10am with our guide and our trusty steads Mora and Corral. The first adventure was crossing a big river and then the trail rose gradually through ancient woods where the trees literally dripped with hairy moss until we reached our lunch stop by another river.

After lunch the trail got way more interesting - very steep with huge boulders, loose rocks, and deep muddy sections, riding through deep trenches, where your feet scraped the sides. The chileans ride with wooden enclosed stirrups and you could see why when we saw these trails. No-one in their right mind back home would take a horse up there, but these horses were fantastic and so sure footed - in places it was a bit like rock climbing on a horse and definately a new experience for me.

About 4pm we reached a log cabin in the valley enclosed by vast snowcapped peaks. Unfortunately none of my pics of the mountains came out very well - I only took my wee camera. We went for a litte hike up through the trees to a beautiful gushing waterfall before the most delicious dinner - home grown lamb stew. We got through about 6 bottles of wine and sat up talking with the other guests Peter and Martha, a retired couple who have a farm in North Carolina and who have travelled so much and Ian, a very loud and funny Kiwi and our guide Jana. The cabin was just idyllic - heated by a wood burning stove and lit by candles. I could´ve stayed there forever.