El Bolson pt 2

So yes, from the posters about eastern religions, the mountain views from town, and the homemade beer selections El Bolson is a lot like Boulder (except no major university to be had).  Although despite the large amounts of people who chose not to wash their hair here I haven't seen any frisbees about town.  So if they are hippies they're not the types of hippies Mike likes to hang around.

Today we had booked a horseback riding trip.  The night before it rained quite a bit and snowed up in the mountains.  The horseback riding trip began normally enough until the driver taking us to the horses just stops and gets out of the car for about 20 minutes talking to another driver.  He comes back and tells us that there is a lot of water so we'll wait and see.  So we wait and then are told that it is okay.  So we arrive at the camp and others are already mounted on their horses.  Mike and I put on our rain pants, fleeces, hats, and coats to prepare for the wet ride.  The other two people who came with us  decided that they would come back tomorrow (we're leaving here tomorrow  so this was not an option).  Then once we're on our horses the other five people also decide that they'd rather come back tomorrow.  We ask if getting a refund is an option.  However, there is no refund option- just today or tomorrow.  So our tour of two plus our guide, Eduardo commences.

The first big difference we notice between this and similar tours is that we're not required to sign a waiver indicating that our free will allows us to embark on this potentially hazardous adventure.  The second thing that is different is that there is no extended lesson on what to do or discussions of the horses names, etc.  We just start going.  My horse seems to like going fast so I ask about the best way to slow him down (since I didn't think I had given him any signal to encourage faster movement).  With my reins ever slightly choked up on we continued our adventure.  I feel like I'm getting the hang of riding a horse again just in time for our first river crossing.  My horse is hesitant (for the first time) and needs to be led into the freezing four feet deep water.  There is some unsteadiness with the variety of rocks underfoot but we make it across the water.  Step by step across the river we go.  At this point Mike is now in the lead since his horse walked straight across.  However, this is not a problem.  Mike is now leading the tour.  Eduardo, the guide, is continually whistling which seems to calm both the horses and me.  The closer we are to the whistling the slower Pedro, my horse, wants to move.  Therefore the new focus is staying close to the guide.  The rain is getting progressively worse as we continue our journey.  Nothing much is said due to the language barrier removing the need for pointless small talk.  We just keep following Mike and our guide just asks us if we're okay every once in awhile which we are.  There are no buildings to be seen- just us and the path climbing alongside the river.  I pondered questions about how long we would be riding and whether or not we should be especially careful of anything due to the conditions.  But we never stop riding.  I feel like on most other horse tours I've been on it is like follow the leader with continual stops to make sure the line is up to standard.  This was not that kind of trip.  At some points the guide is in the lead, then Pedro my horse and I have a go, and Mike is in the front as well.  Sometimes we ride side by side making quick comments about seeing a little sun or about how we wish it would stop raining.  

At last we pull up to a refugio (where backpackers can stay for the night or you can get something to eat).  Damp and cold we both appreciate the tea and opportunity to eat our lunch that we brought.  After lunch it was time to take a walk.  Luckily the rain had let up and the sun was now shining.  We come upon a bridge and he tells us to go one a time.  Mike goes first and then he tells him to look down.  Mike is suspended above the river at a narrow gorge with fast rapids 60 feet or more below.  Then it is my turn to go across.  We each go across the bridge and back and continue our walk along the Cajon de Azul.  Our guide tells us to be careful of the slippery rocks and notes the dangerous signs that mark the edge.  He told us that because of the conditions today we wouldn't go down one path to be on the safe side.  I tell him that that is perfectly okay and that I'd rather be safe then sorry.  He agrees and then goes on to tell us that last Monday someone had died here.  At first we both thought that maybe this had occurred at the bridge and I was relieved that he told us after we had already crossed it.  But no, eventually we came upon another spot and he point to a particular rock and said that the guy was taking a picture of his friend there, had slipped then died.  Needless to say we were particularly careful and I was appreciative that we would be erring on the side of safety.  It was quite an amazing spot and we did take some pictures (with my camera though instead of Mike's which was left behind from this trip)

After the walk we headed back on the horses.  The ride back was fun even though Mike's horse and mine each wanted to lead the way.  We crossed the river two more times and even had a brief time of galloping before the 2 hour trip back was completed.  Luckily our horses picked the more straight level parts for going fast.  It really was a lot of fun to see this trail and have a personally guided tour.  At least now I know that the best way for Mike and I to go the same speed on a long hike is to both be riding horses.

~Suzanne

For me, I had a lot of fun doing the horse ride.  I felt like I actually got to learn how to ride a horse.  Obviously I was no expert but the lack of any real constraints on us gave me a lot of time to learn my particular horse and experiment with him.  My other big impression of this is how obsessed with safety the US is.  Never in a million years would we have done something like this in the States.  Suzanne once took me “horseback riding” out while we were dating, and we had a lot of fun, but it was really just a mule on the flattest and safest path possible, whereas this time, I had a real horse under me!    

~Mike

Note, We have pictures from all of this but the internet connection we have now is satellite which seems to be as slow as dial-up!  They'll hopefully come later.