I'd been wondering if Amelia would be wanting to continue swimming with wild dolphins after spending time with Itzel...in which case I'd have to look for a place in Costa Rica (even though I'd been told it had become very touristy and expensive) where we could swim with dolphins, but interestingly enough, she seemed very 'complete' and was once again wanting to ride horses (we sold her horse, Izzy, before moving from Sedona). Unexpectedly we stumbled upon a stable in Puerto Aventuras where I was allowed to give Amelia a riding lesson since the instructor didn't speak English (and after I rode for a few minutes he realized I knew what I was doing!)
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Amelia fell in love with Jack, he was a terrific little jumper, but because he was a lesson horse he had a few 'issues' that we knew we could cure if we could do our Natural Horsemanship training with him (it's a gentle form of training where you learn the language of horses and they "join up" with you...agreeing that you can be the 'lead horse' ...more or less! In this way they follow your lead instead of being forced to comply with harsh techniques).
One thing I knew for sure after Amelia rode Jack, was that she was more interested in horses than dolphins, and that training with Natural Horsemanship techniques was equally important.
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The very next day after riding Jack and realizing she was mainly interested in riding horses, Amelia was building a sand castle with two little boys who were camping there for two weeks. I met their mother, Micky, (originally from Tennessee) and she told me how much she loved living in Antigua. I always thought of Central America as hot and humid, but Antigua is around 4,500 ft. above sea level and in the 70's year round. (Oh YES!) So then I asked my next crucial question, "What about horseback riding?" Micky told me about her friend, Kate, who's particularly interested in Natural Horsemanship, and owns a stable situated in the middle of a coffee plantation. (Kate had the author of the "Horse Whisperer" out in 2007 to show the techniques to other Antiguan horse lovers!) She said that lessons (including the horse!) were $12 per hour. That was it...
I knew immediately that Antigua was the place we were going to live!
PALENQUE RUINS
First we took a bus to Palenque to see the ruins and nearby waterfalls. We met a wonderful guide named Jose who took us on a walk to some sacred parts of the jungle...(not part of the usual jungle tour!). Jose had such a lovely spirit! It turned out his mother was a fifth generation Mayan shaman and Jose lived in a village that was a 2 hr. hike up into the mountains behind the ruins. (If you ever go to the Palenque ruins, ask for Jose...he's the BEST!!)
Next we went to San Cristobel, Mexico, stayed two days and then went on to Antigua.
ANTIGUA, GUATEMALA
We 'landed' at a field behind the police station where we camped with several other intrepid travelers from Australia, Poland, Canada (and two days later a family from France who Amelia met on the beach in the Yucatan moved in as our next door neighbors!) Our other 'neighbor' is an active volcano!!
It turned out that the showers etc. provided for the tourists are shared with the police (these are called the 'tourist police' and they're super friendly...their job is to keep tourists happy & safe...and they're super nice guys!) The police actually live right behind the camping field and every morning we hear them laughing and singing in the showers. Amelia and I giggle every morning when we hear them! We stand there brushing our teeth with them! A really great way to make friends with the local law enforcement agency!
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Our very first morning in Antigua, within 5 minutes, we saw the family we'd met on the beach in the Yucatan...Micky, her husband Javiar and their two boys pulled over right away. Amelia's jaw dropped! They told us where to buy a cell phone, where to go for a cheap and cheerful breakfast, and by the end of the day Micky had introduced me to her neighbor, Martha, who needed a housesitter for her dogs (for at least 3 weeks). We're paying $10 a day for a 4 bedroom house, high speed internet, luxury bath and...a maid! Yeah!! No doubt, Antigua's the place!
(For those who remember my un-plan of going to India...Amelia and I decided we just wanted to settle down...especially after a month of camping on the beach! It seemed like an awefully long trip to go to India and then return to Guatemala when we were already practically there! Riding horses out-trumped the temples of India!)
After breakfast we went immediately to the horse stables...of course! Here's how we got there...on a tuk tuk! You can go just about anywhere in Antigua...including the stables...for about $2.00. (The streets are all cobblestone, so a support bra is important for us full-figured gals!)
We ended up at the most beautiful stable I've ever seen and the horses are so sweet and well cared for - everything is immaculate! (Heck, we're ready to rent a stall for ourselves...especially if we can have pasture priviledges!)
Below are the gardens alongside the riding arena, and Amelia on her new 'favorite' horse! He's loves to gallop and he loves to jump...need I say more! |
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Riding through the coffee plantation with Amelia's darling teacher, Norma, who asked, "Do you want to gallop?" Uh...YES!!! Above is one of the horse pastures. Plus they have an Olypmic sized riding and dressage arena. |
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As you might imagine there are many, many Guatemalans selling their wares in the park here in Antigua. We couldn't buy everything, so we settled for buying ice cream cones for the kids who were tagging along with their parents! It was SO much fun! We lost track of how many cones Amelia ate on her mission to buy cones for all the kids! |
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When asked how long we plan on staying in Antigua,
Amelia says with enthusiasm (every time) "FOREVER!"
After a few weeks of house-sitting we found our own AMAZING place. Though you'd never know it from the picture, we live right in the city of Antigua!
To Read about the 2nd part of our journey and our trip back to Sedona - Click Here
