Day 9

Today was definitely one of my best days thus far.  After beginning the week with our usual breakfast, we went off to the ‘farm’.  The place rested on the side of a mountain and was surprisingly close to the hotel.  Once there, we were given brief instructions about horses and horse riding.  Next thing I knew, I was getting on the horse.  Gave it a kick, and we were moving.  Controlling and telling the horse where to go was easier than I had expected.  This was because the horse wasn’t an unintelligent animal; it knew where I generally wanted to go and when I generally wanted to stop.  As we left the farm and down the mountain, I realized that my horse was a very competitive one.  When we would tell our horses to go faster my horse would always try to get out in front of the others, which for someone without any horse riding experience, was a thrilling ride to say the least.

Once we were down the mountain, we made it to the beach.  Riding my horse on the beach with the waves splashing, the city of Viña del Mar and the Andes Mountains in the background made me feel like I was on a movie scene rather than in reality.  After riding through the beach, we came to a forest-like area and then a desert.  We were soon surrounded by sand on all sides as if we were in the Sarah Desert in northern Africa.  The hills of the forest, the slopes of the sand, and my competitive horse made for a rollercoaster of a ride through the desert.  We eventually came to a patch of trees in the desert and stopped for a rest.  The guides cut big slices of fresh pineapples for us to eat.  Soon, we were riding back toward the beach, from the beach to the mountain, and then up the mountain to the farm.  Once we made it back to the farm, we were greeted with a large open barbeque.  There was steak, grilled chicken, authentic hot dogs with the bread grilled as well, potato salad, and plenty of drinks.  I must say, this was the way to have a barbeque!  Horse riding is certainly a common cuture aspect of Chile and this certainly was a day that will always remain with me.