This past Saturday we headed to the mountain village of Jarabacoa for an exciting WATERFALL RAPPELLING ADVENTURE!!Unfortunately that didn't happen. It has been raining here constantly for about a week, so the water level was too high and thus too dangerous for us to play Indiana Jones and the Cascada of Doom. Our backup adventure: horseback riding!
I must confess I had my doubts, considering the last horseback ride I went on in this country I have since blocked out from the pain and terror that accompanied it. My fears were not alighted when an employee of the company stopped us on the way to the "stables" to give us his idea of a useful warning- "Two people died yesterday at the waterfall you're going to, so I'm just saying. Maybe try to be careful."
Maaaybe
There were 6 of us, plus 3 young boys who would serve as our "guides" (all under the ages of 11), and 1 creepster ringleader. I'm not quite sure what vibe I was putting out but the head guide asked if I would like one of the boys to ride with me. I got a little offended and said "Of course not! I'm fine! I can do this! It's easy!" but then 5 minutes later and I'm still trying to g
et my horse started. So up comes my backseat driver. And I swear that little boy was up to something. He and my horse "Black Brown" were in cahoots, I know it. Apparently their egos would not let them be at the back of the herd, and their need for speed meant that we cantered up the entire mountain. And again back down through the forest. As we tore full speed over rocks and galloped headlong into rushing rivers and ducked underneath branches hanging precariously low, someone in the group came up with a "Jane Seymour in an emergency" analogy, and it fit perfectly.Jarabacoa is one of my favorite cities here, and even when flying through it like a blur, the natural beauty all around is still so stunning.
And now I have an excuse to come back-waterfall rappelling adventure try #2!
No comments:
Post a Comment