Caballos!

Today was definitely my favorite day of the trip. It started with a drive to a nearby ranch so that we could go horseback riding. While we were waiting for the owners to prepare our horses, we had a chance to see some of the other animals, including a newborn cow.

Then we all were assigned our horses based on skill level/experience (I chose a novice one). I’d been horseback riding before, but I could tell immediately that this was going to be a more difficult trek. We must have gone through every possible type of terrain; first we went through a dirt road, then the beach, then sand dunes. It was intense! It was so amazing to see 25 people mounted on horses all riding together through the sand. We even got to actually gallop, rather than just walk, along the beach. I’m so happy that I got some good pictures from this because the views were absolutely incredible.

When we got back the owners had prepared a huge barbecue for us including steak, pork sausages, chicken wings, salads, and wine. We asked if the food came from animals that had been raised on the farm, it hadn’t.

Not much happened between lunch and dinner, so I’ll just jump straight there. For dinner we went to a pizza place with the Chilean students and Verner. This was a really cool evening because it would be our last with the Chileans. We presented them with some gifts and Pitt t-shirts, and they gave us the COOLEST USM hoodies ever. I’m really going to miss everyone involved in this program. Tonight is our last night out which will be very bittersweet. I don’t think any of us are ready to leave!