Ride In A Horse Drawn Carriage

I know horse drawn carriage rides are supposed to be "romantic" but I did meet someone on my carriage ride.   This is the story of the man that got away. 

When I visited an estancia in Argentina they gave their guests 2 options, either go horseback riding, or ride in a horse drawn carriage.  I chose riding in a horse drawn carriage cause 1) I had never done it before, 2) I knew it was on my life list...and how awesome to knock something off your list unexpectedly, and 3) because it was too soon for me to hop back onto a horse after my experience horseback riding in Peru.

I climbed a rinky dink old ladder and took a seat in the front.  It was a pleasant ride around the estancia, but the carriage was simply moments from collapsing and breaking into a million pieces. 

Next to me in the carriage was a nice man from Texas who was traveling through Argentina.  His name was Erik. We talked the entire ride, and when we got off we decided to hang out for the rest of our time on the estancia.  We had lunch (and met an awesome South African couple during the process), went to the rodeo, and got drunk on Mendoza wine together.  

On the ride back to Buenos Aires we sat together along with the South African couple.  I was planning on meeting with friends on Florida Street, so I knew exactly where I needed to get off the bus, Erik on the otherhand had no idea where he wanted to stop as he had no additional plans for the rest of the day.

When we reached my stop, I said goodbye to Erik and the South African couple, as I was exiting I heard Erik behind me, "I think I'll check out the street too if you don't mind."  So we hung out for a few more hours, and talked, laughed and walked along the street while doing so.  He was awesome.

We found out that our planes left only an hour from each other so we planned to meet at the airport while we waited for our flights.  His flight was an hour after mine.  I told him my flight was a United flight headed to Houston.

I found a phone and was able to finally reach my friends that were staying on Florida Street.  They were about to head off to dinner so I needed to make a mad dash to their hotel.  I told Erik goodbye, but that I would see him at the airport.

Once I got to the airport, I immediately searched for his flight.  He had gotten the info wrong and he was actually leaving an hour and a half earlier than he thought!   Then my flight didn't say it was going to Houston, but it said it was going to Newark!  Oh no!  Why didn't I get his contact info!?

His gate was right next to mine, but he was nowhere in sight, totally discouraged I approached my gate to board.  I was one of the last ones to board, and his flight had almost finished boarding.

I handed my ticket,  took a few steps, turned around, and saw him RUNNING to his gate!   We made eye contact and he smiled.  I waved at him, and then was barked by security to keep walking.  I sadly had to turn around and walk towards my plane to board.  From my window I could see his plane, and I muttered to myself, "So close, yet so far!"

Perhaps one day my horse drawn carriage ride will have a happily ever after.

Date Accomplished:  October 26th, 2009

Ride A Horse

While in Cusco, Peru, I had the opportunity to go horseback riding to visit some Inca Ruins.  I thought it would be a unique way to see the ruins, but was a tad hesitant since I had never rode a horse before.

When we got to the horse stable they asked us if anyone had any experience riding horses.  One person was very comfortable, while a few others had done it once or twice.  I was one of the last ones to hop on a horse, and my horse's name was Lightning.  Contrary to his name, he was from being fast, and we spent most of the time in the back of the pack.  He was also the most stubborn and constantly veered off the path, and because of this I had to have one of the stable boys alongside me for most of the ride.  

A few minutes into our ride I saw one of my friends go FLYING off her horse.  Luckily all she suffered was a large bruise, but it was the last thing I wanted to see at the beginning of my horseback riding experience.

We went up and down very narrow hills, and at one point, Lightning decided to go down a hill while everyone was going up.  I was screaming, and one of the stable boys had to run after us to get us back on track.  This happened quite a few more times.  Our path was not flat, and consisted of several steep hills.  Have you ever rode a horse going downhill?  It hurts like a mofo!  Midway through we got off our horses to visit some ruins.  It was such a nice break for my thighs.  At this point, I was used to my horse being deliberately uncooperative so I began to just laugh anytime he cruised over to a different direction than everyone else.

My friend, Patsy was not used to an uncooperative horse, so when her horse began to do similar things she became very frantic and angry at her horse.  My favorite part of the ride was going through a Forest with tall trees.  My horse thought it would be funny to get real close to the trees so that my legs would jam into the tree trunk, despite the brief spouts of pain it was still beautiful.

When we passed the Forest, we were at our final stretch of our journey before reaching the stable.  We were confronted with the steepest hill of the day,  and the most uneven and rocky.  It was SO PAINFUL!  At this point, my friend, Patsy and I were on the verge of tears so we decided to get off our horses and just walk the rest of the way down to the stable.  It was the best decision we made that day.

Remind me that if I ever decide to go horseback riding again to make sure the entire path is FLAT!

Date Accomplished:  October 5th, 2009