On October 25, 2021, we went on an afternoon/evening horseback ride. I was assigned a horse named Bruja (“witch”). She was the oldest (20 years old) and by far the smallest, but she kept up better than some of the younger and larger horses. She (usually) did exactly what I told her to do when I told her to. She was lovely to ride.
The trail itself was beautiful. We went through several different types of scenery, including one point where we were supposed to be able to see the ocean. It was extremely foggy though, so it was just a wall of white. That’s okay. I personally sort of liked it. It was an almost ethereal atmosphere. It was extremely wet outside, and I would be lying if I said I didn’t get a little nervous as Bruja slipped and slid through the rocks and mud down several slopes. But I trusted that she knew what she was doing, and I often let her pick her own path within reason, because I knew that she knew what she could handle the best.
This trail ride was the first time I ever experienced galloping. The fastest I had been before this was a canter. It was incredible. It took a moment to adjust to, but once I figured out to lean forward slightly as I stood up it got a lot easier. I am grateful, however, that our guide didn’t run us down any hills. I’m not sure I would have been able to stay on for that. We also did our fair share of trotting and cantering. I quickly learned that Bruja—although she enjoyed setting her own pace—did not appreciate other horses going around and passing her. She would rush ahead of them without me even doing anything.
After the ride, the guide took us into the sugar mill they had on the property. We got freshly squeezed sugar cane juice, and we also got to make a candy out of melted brown sugar. It was really quite simple: stir the sugar around on the table until it turned white, then make a ball out of it before it got too hard and dry to stick. I didn’t really get the timing quite right, but I enjoyed my sugar chips anyway. They also made us fresh empanadas and banana bread with chocolate chips in it. The entire trip was such a wonderful experience, and if I ever come back to Costa Rica I would do it again in a heartbeat.
