Another lovely morning! Can’t help but feel our timing on this vacation seems greedy… We have friends that are doing some serious “shovelling” in New Brunswick and Maine, others with power outages in NS. Peter, via FaceTime this morning, noted Antigonish may have once again been spared the worst of the storm. Regardless, we’re enjoying the tropics, a breeze off the water and another warm day. I’ve seconded a blogging spot and, despite him knowing I’m allergic, have been frequented by a new friend, Reds!
Breakfast menu today was complemented by melon and papaya scored in the market on Tuesday. Then to take care of some business. Chukka planning didn’t happen yesterday so we gathered up early Wednesday morning to touch base down the lane. Of note, I found bougainvillea on the way to Chukka atop a rock wall… Something I’d only sang of in a Stan Rogers tune and really wanted to see. Check that as done! At Chukka Janie got the ear of one of the guides, just before a tour bus arrived, and got to ask all her questions. In the end… We think Clarence will be our best bet in getting us to and from the more removed attractions. Marcia is going to hook us up with him later in the day to plan out a trip or two!
Now… We have a very interesting little cove at the foot of the villas that deserves mention. It figures prominently in some of the marketing as its a very private and picturesque. The quaint stairs and rock wall would never stand NS winters, but works well here. I’m a sucker for rock walls… From Sintra to New Hampshire I’ve stopped to take pictures of them! This trip, it’s been my way into the water in the cove and made hopping in the Caribbean a treat.
Well now… Today’s highlights from snorkelling! Firstly, found the missing mask. That problem solved. However, the new task at hand will be getting it up off the bottom. Too deep for one of us to free dive for it, so got some McGyver’ing to do. Secondly, the girls jumped from one of the cliffs. Couple of screams from the cove that echoed through the neighborhood. Lastly, I zeroed in and got a good look at the yellow/golden fish I’ve been seeing. We think it is this little guy, a French Grunt, which is very common to reefs around the Caribbean.
So, we were on the veranda enjoying a very quiet afternoon when Clarence dropped by and all hell broke loose! He gets things done (Always get hold of a busy person if you want to make progress). He answered all of our questions (Yah Mon) and the next thing we knew, we were all booked up! This afternoon is the horseback excursion, Friday Dunn’s River with a pit stop at Scotchies. Wham bam! All set to go…
I’ve done a fair number of things during my life… But quite definitively riding a horse hasn’t been among them (for any of us). So, today was the day. We set off at 2:35 for the Chukka ticket office. Out by 3:10 after adventures in billing (t-shirt mysteriously added to bill) and credit card authentication (card machine down). Sorted itself out nicely in the end (Monica has a souvenir). I’m guessing we arrived at the horse stables via our drive by about 3:30, and we were probably on horses by 4:00. That was the rangy part of the excursion over and done.
I think maybe I now have just an inkling of why some folks are so attached to horses. They are indeed intelligent, powerful and spirited animals. The excursion was in two parts… A trip through a trail in a nearby forested/beach area and then another through open water on the horse’s back as it wades/swims. I have to say I really enjoyed it. After a quick “ride school” we hit the land trail. Monica’s horse Tigres (he was grey) and Janie’s mare, Eve, were pretty steady. My old stallion, Danny Boy, was a bit of a rebel. He liked to stop and eat whenever he got a second to slowdown, was a bit of a huff in the reins, and I could absolutely tell that he was ready to shut down for the day. Loved this part of the trip. Felt super relaxed on Ol’ Danny, although the young fella said I rode the horse like a bag of potatoes… I’m guessing that’s not good!
Part II was the ride in the water… Gotta say this was trickier. It was a bit of a balancing act on the horse as they have no saddle. In short, and sorry if this comes off crass, you gotta make sure the crack of your ass is on the spine of the horse or you’ll risk losing balance and slipping into the drink! The horses also make a whining, sigh-like noise while swimming which was somewhat unnerving. I’m guessing it’s not their favorite thing to do, but the plus side would be a cool down in a very warm climate. Anyway, all hands back safe and sound and we can always call it our introduction to horses.
We were home by 6:00 PM, with supper all prepped on the stove compliments of Marcia and chilled wine in the fridge. Tonight’s menu was fried bass fillets, yams and salad. As always… The meals have been over the top! We settled in for supper, drinks and a full recounting of the excursion and what we noticed about each other’s horses. It was all a bit of a surprise for me, as I did not expect to be riding horseback this trip and never considered that I’d enjoy it! Giddy-up!