Horseback Riding and Exploring on Ometepe Island

Day Five – Sunday, February 28, 2010

Today, was another fantastic adventure. This morning we took a horseback riding adventure alongside Concepción Volcano, the second highest volcano in Nicaragua and the most active . Our group rented horses most of which were extremely skinny. On some of the horses you could see their bones through their skin. Some kids were afraid that their weight would crush their horse! We all got up on our own horse without any instructions. When we began riding, everyone seemed to have problems making their horse stop and start. In the beginning of the ride people were constantly yelling and clicking at their horse to go. Once we got going, riding the horses was much easier. We galloped through many dirt paths, racing through the wild life. At the beginning, when we riding on the side of the highway, Max decided to off-road it. His horse took a tumble but he rebounded quickly. After riding on the side of the road for some time, we took an off-road path off the side of the highway. That's when people's horses began to pick up speed. Soon everyone was cantering down the dirt road, hollering and screaming like cowboys. At one point the path turned into a steep rocky incline. I could feel my horse struggling to get up the hill, but he made it. On our way back, down the same rocky hill, we had to dismount and lead our horses down the hill. It was too dangerous to ride down. When we got back on the highway, the horses picked up speed again, this time faster. Soon we were all galloping down the center of the highway. Everyone was having a great time, including the locals who were yelling at us to go faster! The rest of the afternoon we had a lot of free time to ourselves. Most of us spent our time swimming in Lake Nicaragua or enjoying a beautiful view of the lake and the lagoon nearby our hotel on a hike that we took. After, we were able to stay at the hotel for the day and were given several options in what to do. Ryan, Izzy, Rachel, Mr. Faloon, Ms. Delfavero, and Tessa decided to go on a small hike. We saw many beautiful flora and fauna, as well as lagoons and the volcanoes. One of the amazing things that we got to encounter was the howler monkeys. A whole group of them swung from branch to branch in the trees and branches above our heads. It was an amazing sight. On the hike we saw howler monkeys and they have a tendency to pee and throw their feces when they feel threatened. Today, Tessa was one of the lucky recipients to be peed on by one of the howler monkeys we saw. After dinner we had a bonfire and had a more informal sharing of experiences about first time horseback riding and zip lining.

-Rachel and Tessa