The Old Prof

Horseback Ride

At Moteverde

In costa rica

We left our hotel and climbed into a van for the ride to lake Arenal, Monteverde and the eventual horseback ride.

After a while we noticed the the driver had his rear view mirror slanted for a more frontal than rear view of the women in the seat immediately behind him. I’m pretty sure that if he could have managed it he would have gone for the rearview view too.

they seemed aware and unruffled if not a little amused.

on arriving we got out of the van and walked down the long ramp to the boat. A pretty good sized craft carrying about twenty five people in a covered top but open-sided configuration with side by side seating and a central isle.

The lake and all scenery in sight was as is absolute in Costa Rica, beautiful.

The ride may have taken half an hour. I really don’t know. it was enjoyable so it must have ben fairly short.

When we had unloaded our back packs and seen them to the van that was going to take them to our final destination we continued up the slope to a four-wheel drive jeep like vehicle. Steve got the front seat and kent and I took the back one where we quickly, as soon as we started moving up a very steep, very rutted road, learned to set our backs against the front seat and brace our feet against the spare tire and hang on as the driver chortled at our bouncing around. I began fantasizing about what the Jeep would look like at the end of an inadvertent exit from the road and a journey down 1,500 feet of 60 degree slope. i tried to picture myself still alive and sitting on some remnant of the seat while muttering,”wow, that was some ride”. Then I , as in so many of our “adventures” simply took refuge in fatalism. i thought of last words. “tell em i died game”, was a favorite.

At the top we stopped next to four horses, saddled and ready. I wondered idly how this could go wrong. I mean, when I see rough water now i know that if i were to fall in it I would be unable to stand up and get out before being drowned, no matter how deep it is. Conditioning is, I think, the word.

When Steve and I started this “bucket List” i was only afraid of heights. Now, having done all that rappelling and Zip Lining. plus the white water rafting I am afraid of falling from a great height and drowning after being jounced off a horse on a cliff.

We mounted and being motioned forward by our guide, advertised as an experienced horseman knowledgeable about the local, but looking to be coming up on his 14 birthday and conversant only in Spanish and horse, moved off at a walk. Twice the guide urged the horses into a trot, only to be disappointed as I, making as much progress up and out of the saddle as forward and knowing that eventually I was going to come down somewhere other than that saddle, yelled “whoa!” and pulled my horses head into my lap. The kid learned slowly. The horse got it immediately.

Yet, it was pleasant, except for the downhill part where the slope was about 45 degrees on clay and shale and heavily rutted by ATV’s which is what the locals prefer to horses. After it started raining the roads became slick and at every steep down slope our horses stopped and looked it over and refused to proceed. A little disquieting, but, still, being threatened by the guide, swinging the butt end of a rope, they went on. A couple of times they even decided to run down the trail. i discouraged that pretty strongly. A couple of hours in the rain got so miserable that it got funny. in fact once we got the stirrups lengthened and my toes came awake again, i had a great time. it was mysterious in the mist; we were in clouds and rain, all beautiful and soft. Few things in life are not improved by being seen indistinctly through fog and soft rain. I was riding behind Kent and his horse and can testify to the absolute truth of that statement.

The ride went on and on in that green cloudy beauty. it seemed never-ending. In fact after four hours when the ride did end some of us were so into it that it was only with some difficulty that we got off the horses, and I might add, stood up straight and walked.