Pululahua horse back riding - and then off to Mindo

Woke up to a beautiful morning having slept really, really well last night. Like in fantastic sleep. Feeling a bit sore in the body in unusual places. Most likely from have spent some hours on a horse yesterday. Astrid wasn't going to pick us up until 10 AM so we had plenty of time to relax, have breakfast and enjoy the sunshine.

We were picked up, taken back to the ranch and realised that it was only the four of us who were doing the horse back riding today. Mikkel had done so well yesterday that he was "promoted" to experienced rider. Unfortunately the horse he had been on yesterday were broken this morning, so he was also upgraded to a new horse - Gimle.

Malene were also given a new horse - one that was better going downhill since the ride today was going through steeper terrain with more ups and downs than yesterday. And then we were off on another full day in the saddles going the opposite direction of yesterday - this time around what is left of the magma that hardened inside the crater when the volcano erupted many centuries ago. The scenery was just as impressive as yesterday and apart from the uphill and downhill sections being a bit longer and steeper it was another wonderful day with the horses and the nature surrounding us.

We had such a good time at the Green horse ranch, Astrid was excellent at taking us around Pululahua and the horses were great. We left at around 4 PM, hoping that we could make it to the main road and catch the bus heading to Mindo. It took around 30 minutes to get out of the national park and then our driver did his best to go fast towards Quito and the bus station while trying to spot if any of the oncoming buses were heading for Mindo. They weren't.

Instead we stopped at the Mitad del Mundo landmark, one of the oddest places to visit. A giant stone landmark indicates the "middle of the Earth", which in fact has nothing to do with "middle" except it being relatively close to a random point on the Equator line. We did a couple of photos there, headed back to the van and just as we got there our driver shouted that the bus for Mindo was approaching on the other side of the road.

A few hugs and goodbyes and then we ran for the bus, just making it in time. And, success, we were heading towards Mindo. Sometimes it is OK to be a bit lucky. The bus drive was about an hour, the usual speeding local bus on narrow twisty roads. We arrived in Mindo, Mikkel spotted the sign for the hostel and we headed down a gravel road, the rain starting a bit and the daylight disappearing. We made it to Casa de Piedra, and it started to pour down. Second time lucky in the same day.

We had our room on the second floor of a big but nice building, the nice lady at our hostel cooking dinner for us. We didn't really bother to go anywhere after a long day. And the rain now pouring down even more. The next four days are going to include a lot of relaxing, catching up on the blog and maybe - just maybe, a visit to the local chocolate factory. Maybe.

And, no, we didn't really pay attention to the fact that this is the first day of the Christmas month. Too much sunshine and outdoor activities to think about that.

Wonderful morning in the crater

Our hostel in Pululahua

New day, same rider, new horse

Another new horse (the other one broke down)

Wilderness lunch

More selfie

Heading down from the crater

Rider and horse in close contact

"Middle-Earth" - HaHa!

Arriving in Mindo with the rain

Lots and lots of rain

Pululahua horse back riding at the Green Horse Ranch

What better than start the week with an early sunny Monday morning. We didn't sleep well during the night. Couldn't really fall asleep, woke up a lot of times during the night. Maybe we missed the movement of the boat, the engine noise, the smell of the sea. Who knows. We didn't have the best morning anyway. We headed for the Magic Coffee Bean café and had breakfast and waited for our pick up.
At 8:45 we were on the road with Claire from the UK and Gisa from Austria. They were also going to do the two days of riding with us. Luckily the drive to the horse ranch was less than an hour first taking us out of Quito, then onto a gravel road and down the steep hillsides to Pululahua national park inside a big volcano crater. We were there at 10 in the morning and said hello to Astrid and the two guys helping her. And then we could relax a bit in the beautiful surroundings, taking a look at our horses. Two other guys arrived at bit later, a couple from the US.

We had a very basic introduction to the horses, saddled up and were on our way for a 4 hour ride in the national park. Being in an area surrounded by mountains we enjoyed the ever changing weather and the beautiful nature. And it was so quiet there. We stayed on the horses for almost two hours, Astrid occasionally giving a bit of information about the area. Then we had lunch in the sun on a ridge overlooking the valleys in three directions. The scorching sun making it warm and nice to hang out there - and the horses also getting a well deserved break. We saddled up and headed back to the ranch.

The four of us from the morning got a ride to a nearby hostel and relaxed there for the rest of the afternoon. We did a short walk up the road just to stretch the legs a bit after a long day in the saddle, then dinner was served and Malene and the other girls took opportunity of the place having a hot tub after dinner. More horse back riding to come tomorrow.

Always remember,......

Heading to the National Park

Getting the gear ready

Ready to ride

Horse back selfie

Tired horse taking a break

Beautiful countryside

Riding through clouds on the way back

Long day for the horse and the rider

Hostel dog

Nothing like a short walk after a day in the saddle

Active day at the lake

Mikkel went for a morning swim this morning. Early and cold.
After breakfast he and a group of 12 other were picked up on the shore by two small boats and then the headed up the lake. After about 10 minutes of sailing the fog came down from the mountains and the visibility was reduced to nothing. Like in nothing.

Sailing through the white cloud of nothing was a bit scary being in small boats with no navigation equipment at all. Not even a compass. Our two guys did the best to follow the shore only to get lost every minute and then find the shore again narrowly missing it. We spent 40 minutes like that, seeing the sun behind the white fog, and occasionally the shore or the mountain tops.

When we had sailed for around 45 minutes the boats headed for the shore, the two local guys laughed, shrugged their shoulders and then the fog disappeared just enough for us to identify the nearest mountain tops. It turned out we were only 10 minutes walking from the intended landing so we all packed our stuff and walked. After walking up a steep mountain road for about 30 minutes part of the group decided to walk further up to look for the path on the ridge of the mountain. Mikkel, Kate and Luke headed down to the lake again and followed the shore back to the camp.

It was a long hike but the fog had lifted and we enjoyed the walk having lunch at a Ger camp - where the Mongolian Law Enforcement University also had their summer camp.

Malene spent most of the day on the back of a horse riding around the country side with 5 other guys.

When we came back to the camp in the late afternoon the truck had returned. Our driver still looked tired but at least he and the truck was now at a warm place with some days of tarmac ahead of us.

Mikkel decided to do one last swim in the afternoon in the lake and once again we spent the evening on the shore looking at the sun set. What a beautiful day - again.

So ready for the lake

Not so ready for the fog

Where are we???

Heading up the mountain

Well, sometimes you just have to salute those that let you in for lunch

Yak-kayak

Big bird in a tree

Back at the camp - with the truck