This morning I got to go on an excursion with about nine other passengers from the ship. It turned out to be quite an adventure! We took a 16-passenger bus from the port about 45 miles inland to a ranch in the thick of the jungle. They had a small menagerie of animals there, including turtles, chickens, a boa constrictor,
and a toucan! (And no, he was not eating Froot Loops….)
Then we were each assigned to horses that were ‘suited to our personality.’ Interestingly, my horse’s name was Pajarito (which means “little bird.”) I think it’s interesting because my first name, when pronounced in Spanish means “little wing.” Cool, huh?
Once we got acquainted with our horses and got a little orientation on how to drive them, we set out in single file into the jungle. We traveled about forty minutes through some pretty beautiful trees, and we got to sample some of the natural jungle fruits. At some places, the mud got very sticky and sloppy, and the element of danger only heightened the excitement of the tour. Pajarito was an old pro and took great care of me! When we got through it, honestly I was probably the one person of the whole group who had been the least splashed with mud.
A view from the saddle…
Then, close to the end of the trail we turned onto a straightaway. Now, we’d already discovered that the horses were a little bit energetic, since they hadn’t been out on a tour since Friday. But here’s where they got really excited. The group was divided into those who wanted to canter and those who wanted to walk. Well, everybody ended up cantering – you might as well get the full experience, right? The cantering was a bit bumpy, so I took it up a notch and led Pajarito into a full run. It was amazing! I mean, he only ran for about ten seconds before we ran out of track, but it was still pretty intense!
Yes, the next day I was a little bit sore, but only in my knees. I think something with the stirrups must have been turned wrong, and my legs were twisted in this weird position for just a little too long. And I had one small bruise on the side of my right wrist, where I had bumped it on the horn while running. Other than that, the mosquito bites hurt worse – six of them in all. I can honestly say, Mexican mosquitoes are some of the smallest and most vicious insects I’ve ever met. But not one of the other passengers got bit! Maybe Mexican mosquitoes have a preference for Mexican blood…
But the excitement didn’t even end there! We all piled back into the bus to head back to the pier. It’s amazing how much just sitting and riding can take out of you, and half of us were nodding off as we ploughed down the Mexican highway. But then I heard this strange sound and felt the van jolt softly… putt, putt, putt… putt, putt… putt….. coasssssssssst. Um…..?
The van had run out of gas. Clearly this was poor planning on the part of the driver. And we were still ten miles away from the port. It was only about 1 in the afternoon, and the ship wasn’t due to leave until sunset. But I had to be at rehearsal at 2! Luckily, our tour operator, Ramon, was able to radio down to the port to send another van to collect us. Meantime, we all piled out and waited there. Ten Americans in the middle of the desert on the Mayan Coast.
Well, we made it home, and I was happy to report that all of us returned safely. I even had time to grab a Coke Zero and my favorite cookie, Doraditas, before getting back to the ship just in time for rehearsal. What an adventure!
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