Two days after arriving in Ecuador and doing a bit of sight seeing in Quito, we headed north to the Pululahua National Reserve where we spent two days horse riding in an ancient volcanic crater.
On the first day we met our beautiful horses, Bria and Apache II. Bria was my horse and she was pregnant and didn't really like to move very much (unless she was heading towards food). I was a little bit nervous as we set off for our first day of riding, especially on the steep ascents and descents, so I was glad Bria didn't like moving too fast! Aidan was very relaxed and looked like he had been riding horses his whole life.
Riding in the Pululahua crater was a unique experience. It is the largest crater on the American continent and one of only two inhabited craters in the world. The constantly changing scenery was amazing and in the afternoon the clouds descended into the crater creating an eerie but majestic atmosphere. At the end of our first day of riding we were quite sore and retired to a little hacienda for a 3 course dinner, a jacuzzi and plenty of mojitos!
On our second day of riding I decided to upgrade my horse. This was a decision I came to regret later as my new horse, Tango, had a habit of charging full speed ahead and scaring the crap out of me whenever he felt like it. We rode for almost 3 hours until we came upon ancient pre-inca ruins. When we stopped to have lunch at the ruins a group of wild horses ...... scared our horses which got loose and one of them took off and headed straight back to the ranch. It took us a little while to catch and settle the other horses before we could head back to the ranch. The afternoon ride took us back past areas of traditional Andean agriculture to lush tropical vegetation, passing cloud forests, deep gorges and clear mountain streams.
You know what us gals are like when we are pregnant any excuse will do when it comes to having something to eat and a coffee!
ReplyDelete