Today may have been the most memorable day of the entire
trip, for better or for worse, and I completely understand why it is the last
day of activities. We headed to a place
called Ritoque to join a unique excursion on horseback. We entered a ranch that was filled with
animals: horses, pigs, dogs, roosters, and a baby calf. It was interesting to see that the owner
simply allowed his roosters, dogs, and calf to wander around as they
please. Here are some pictures of the
animals:
Next, we were each assigned a horse based on our previous
riding experience. I was given a rather
feisty, especially for his relatively small size, horse named Kiko. He was a very interesting partner throughout
the entire excursion because he was very rebellious and enjoyed galloping
freely, though he always stopped to eat grass as well. Still, as time went on, we managed to come to
an agreement and I was not worried about him despite his stubbornness. Another interesting thing about Kiko is that
he was extremely intelligent compared to most of the other horses. He always knew exactly what the correct path
was when other horses decided to go astray.
I felt that our personalities were pretty similar.
Our journey took us through an amazing variety of
terrain. We began by traveling down a
hill and crossing a street, which the horses all seemed to realize was
something that should be done quickly.
After this, we walked beside the beach for a while, though the shore was
covered in stones so we did not go quickly.
We then branched off on a side trail, passing through fields, crossing a
river, skirting by marshes, weaving through a forest, and trudging through sand
dunes. Yes we actually encountered all
of these different terrains. Once we passed
the forest, we tried our first gallop, which was a terrifying experience for me
because my shoes came out of the stirrups and I had to clutch the saddles for
dear life. After we finished galloping,
I regained my composure and control over Kiko.
It was interesting to see how as soon as one horse galloped, the others
would immediately begin to do so as well.
As we made our way through the dunes, we galloped a few more times, and
thus I was able to learn how to better control Kiko and myself at such a high
speed. Finally, we took a break, where
our guide cut pineapple slices for us to eat.
Amidst many comments that Chilean pineapple was the best pineapple we
had ever eaten, our guide laughed and explained that Chile imports most of its
pineapple from Ecuador along with most other countries.
After our break, we set off again through more dunes but
soon made our way to the sandy beach beside the Pacific Ocean. It was here that we galloped for long
stretches of time, amidst periods of rest for our horses. It was also here that I decided that I began
to feel significant pain due to the motion in the saddle. That’s all the detail I’ll give you there. Yet, I managed to work through the
discomfort, which, strangely enough, was mostly not caused by Kiko
galloping. Horses apparently have 4
“gears”, similar to cars. First is the
gentle and comfortable “walk.” Next is
the incredibly uncomfortable and bouncy “trot”, which gave me the most pain of
any of the gears. Third is the slightly
more tolerable “canter”. Finally, is
“galloping”, in which the horse extends its stride significantly and such the
ride is actually much smoother. Here are pictures from our journey:
Ultimately, we returned to the ranch, dismounted, and were
surprised to find a large barbecue awaiting us.
As we ate and felt all of our weariness sinking in, I chatted with a
pilot and stewardess from Air Canada.
They told us about their recent flight experiences, and we asked them
questions about challenges they face during flights.
We then returned to our hotel and prepared for a final
dinner with the Chileans at an artesian pizza restaurant. The mood was somber but we were happy to see
them as we reflected on all of the memories we’ve made during the trip. At the end of the dinner, the Chileans
presented us with unique hoodies that have the logos of both the Universidad
Tecnica Federico Santa Maria and Pitt on them.
Afterwards, we said goodbye and prepared for our final night in Chile. Tomorrow will be full of sadness because we’re
leaving such an amazing experience, but I know we’ll be happy as well. Also, it will be the last blog post.
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