Ever wondered what it was like to go on a 2-hour horseback ride through the mountains of Panamá with 14 school psychologists? You spend a lot of time, basically all of the time, analyzing and discussing the personalities of the horses. Mine was on an eating tour of the mountain, and the grass was always greener off the path. The ride was absolutely gorgeous. I'll try to get pictures uploaded. The paths were steep, and the earth was deep red underneath the bright green grass and trees. A countryside of cows who looked at us curiously from across the fences, of streams, of more mountains in the distance and a glimpse of the Pacific ocean beyond that. If you stand on top of the volcano at dawn on a clear day, you can see both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Panamá is, as our host father says, "the center of the world" (or at least of the Americas.) I caught a glimpes of why people love horses. How amazing it must be to have such a connection with your horse. What magnificent animals.
After horseback riding came a visit to the hotsprings, along a gravel road that few tourists would ever find. Natural hotsprings...what a gift.
Finally, one more view of Panamá from the top. On Sunday we piled into a truck that, if it ever had shocks, doesn´t anymore, drove up more steep mountaint roads, and arrived at this in high up in the rainforested mountains where we went ziplining. What a thrill. I don't know how it is in other places, but after a short demonstration of do's and don'ts we drove farther up the mountain and came out to our first landing...next to a waterfall. The zip-line crossed that river, though you could barely see it below. This was the "baby line." Guess there's only one way to learn!!! It took me until about the fourth line to start looking down below the zip-line, and I wouldn't recommend this trip as a way to get up close with nature, but what a thrill to go flying through the canopy up to 90 feet in the air.
Hi Em: I never rode a horse up a mountain but I once had the chance to ride a camel to the top of Mt. Sinai on the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. I took one look into the eyes of that creature and jumped back on the bus to return to the hotel. Later I expected the others in my group who rode the beasts to return saying I had missed the highlight of the trip and a wonderful experience so I was sort of depressed and ashamed of my cowardice all day. But when they all limped back they announced I was the only smart one on the tour. It was a grueling experience. I think things like this are only for the young so you are wise indeed to be doing them now! I am enjoying your blog and checking it often so keep the news coming. Things are ordinary here at Hazelhurst but weather is quite good: sort of cool but very sunny mostly. I hear your Spanish is improving rapidly. You go, girl!
ReplyDeleteCarol FGM