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| The Hiil at the Start of Our Ride. |
Our first official day in Cusco , September 29, was a Tuesday. We agreed
to sleep in and meet up before the noon lobby call for our horseback
riding excursion. It was an optional activity. The idea was to see some
of the city and get to know other group members. Our group totaled 19
people, most of whom had never met each other. We had all seen the
itineraries. They detailed a who's who of sorts. Locations and
Departments of the Southwest Employees and the relationship to their
guests, (Randi/ DEN/ Flight Attendant, Abbi/ Randi's Daughter, etc.) In total, most of
our group did not know each other.
The horse riding was an adventure from the start. They had just enough
horses there for us, as many were being used in the city that day for a
celebration. They had us hike up past them, as they considered it too
scary for us to ride straight up the hillside out the gate. It seemed like they were taking safety precautions...
The ride was to take 2 hours and we would see Temple of the Monkey,
Temple of the Moon and part of the Inca Trail that extends from Portugal
to Columbia, over 600 kilometers long.
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| Abbi's Nice Horse |
Our horse group included Anissa-New Orleans/Cargo,
Tammy-Baltimore/Flight Attendant, Jeannie-Dallas/Flight Attendant,
Judy-Atlanta/Flight Attendant, Stacy-Las Vegas/Flight Attendant,
Suzette-Dallas/Flight Attendant, Shelley-Dallas/Flight Attendant and our
leader, Kim-PHX/Inflight Supervisor.
Our local guides were Frank and
his little brother, Pablo. When Pablo helped Rhonda and I on to our horses, he made terrible grunting sound effects. I don't know if he was being funny, but he was sure theatrical about it. Rhonda called him out on it, "Geeze, you don't have to make all those noises!" My thoughts exactly! Zip it, Pablo!
The
horses were biting each other and not getting along. Kim's horse threw
her off and kicked her, fortunately she was moving away, so she didn't get hurt. Later, we learned that Kim's horse was very pregnant, due in a few weeks. That kinda explains all the anger from her. The other horses didn't have such a good excuse for their rowdy behaviors!
The trails were steep and dangerous. The horses went where
ever they wanted and were not fond of taking orders from us. Twice we
had to cross a busy road, where the cars don't seem inclined to stop for
horse crossings. They honk at you and don't slow down. The horses
weren't inspired to speed up for road crossing. It was a powerless
feeling on top of that horse!
Mackenzie,
Abbi and I all got fairly tame horses that happened to really like each
other. Rhonda's horse was a bit more feisty. Towards the end of our
ride, Rhonda's horse tried to bite another horse and her stirrup got
caught on the other horse. They were locked together! Somehow, she got
her foot free, but not without ripping the stirrup right off!
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| We toured part of a rock quarry. You can see where a perfect square was cut from the rock. This is from Inca times, and their tools were other rocks! |
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| Don't let the photo fool you. These horses were wild! |
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| The quarry had many tunnels and narrow passage ways. You can see to the left where some blocks have been extracted. We came to a narrow steep tunnel. Pablo said, "Go in." Mackenzie, Rhonda and I all went in. Then Abbi read us the sign, "No Entrada!" Abbi always follows the rules! |
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| A view of the city from our vantage point in the mountains. |
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Abbi & I walking on the Inca Trail
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Several
times during the ride, the thought crossed my mind, "What are we going
to do if we get injured?--no helmets, no cell phones, Are there even
emergency response vehicles here?" It was the first of MANY times
throughout our trip that I realized how many things I take for granted
in the United States. If we were to get hurt in Peru, I'm not sure what
kind of emergency response there would have been, or even how a hospital
would be equipped to care for us. It was an unsettling thought.
Especially when we were doing such daring things, like riding wild
horses! Without helmets, no less! I questioned bringing my daughter here
for the first time. Was I putting her in real danger? I was relieved
when our 3.5 (not 2!) hour ride finally ended.
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| Our Horseback Group near Temple of the Monkey |
Frank
had arranged for our taxi to the ranch, but we were on our own to get
back. I had seen him give several coins, not bills to the driver, so I thought I knew a fair price. When we got in the cab, the driver said it would be cinco dollars (which would have been in coins, as their smallest bill is a 10.)
When we arrived at the Plaza (not even all the way to our hostel!) he
said cinco dollars, EACH! We paid after I tried to argue (language
barrier? or Emmy Winning cabbie?) but we ended up paying 60 solace (about $20)
when it should have been 18 solace ($6!!) It was time to get savvy and
quick!
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| Rhonda, Frank & Me |
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| Abbi, Pablo (also 14,) and Mackenzie |
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