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