I rode a horse for the first time today. We left the hotel in La Fortuna and made our way around to the other side of the volcano to the lake side. We got on yet another boat – this time a very pink Desafio boat. We had beautiful views of the relatively undeveloped countryside. There were more shades of green on one hillside than I had ever seen anywhere else – it was exactly as I imagined Costa Rica to be.
We landed and Mere and I bid each other adieu for a while. She had a bad experience on a horse in Montana. The moment she read in the itinerary about the horseback ride, she was trying to figure out how she could skip it. Thankfully, she was able to ride on the boat to where the posse would arrive later. Gina and Shiralee stayed behind too and they all played cards while waiting for us.
Before donning our helmets and climbing onto our horses, we all made sure to use what Zaida referred to as the “ecological toilets”. My horse’s name was Dorado. He was reddish brown, with black hair. I know no other way to describe a horse. It became obvious from the moment I climbed into the saddle that I was not at all in control of where Dorado went. Once the line started moving, Dorado started moving.
Most of the trail was too rocky and steep to get going too fast. Staying on the horse required me to keep every muscle in my leg tensed, which I really felt when I had to get off the horse. Additionally, my full bladder didn’t like it when we started bouncing up and down in a trot. I had to use the ecological toilet pretty bad by the time we took a break for refreshments.
After the break, we actually broke into a gallop a couple of times. I don’t think Dorado liked me too much. When everybody else was steadily galloping along, Dorado would start going and quit after a few seconds. I imagine my 230 pounds isn’t very comfortable for a horse to carry around.
We made it to a local soda after about two and a half hours of riding, where Mere, Gina, and Shiralee were waiting for the Rough Riders and playing with the owner’s daughter. After a stop for ice cream, we boarded a couple of tour buses to start the climb up to Monteverde on the unpaved roads.
The girls on our bus – Marcie, Melissa, Autumn, and Mere immediately started singing 80’s songs. Our bus driver had to suffer through an entire rendition of “Part of Your World” from the Little Mermaid (I have to admit I joined in on that one). Kevin and Anthony casually ignored this and watched TV shows on Anthony’s Ipod. Dave sat up front with the driver and practiced his Spanish.
After an hour and a half (about 15 km) of driving up the windy mountain roads through La Florida community, we stopped for lunch at a place called El Bambu. They had an extensive menu, but the food was not impressive and it took over an hour to get our food. After lunch, we traveled for another hour or so, skirting around hillside coffee plantations to the cool village Santa Elena.
We arrived at Las Cabinas del Sol y Luna, which looked very nice from the outside, with just enough daylight to walk back into town. We ate some very cheap and tasty Monteverde ice cream, and brought sandwich stuff back to our cabin. Our cabin was very large but just not very comfortable. There were mosquitoes and spiders, and a stale, sewer-like smell. I was afraid I would be electrocuted by the electric showerhead, which I don’t think worked anyway.
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