The Rio on Horseback
In October, we went riding in the Cayo Quemado district of Rio Dulce, with M&M of Gertruide, and Natasha from Frodo. The lush land we rode through during the four hour horseback ride is the private ranch of our guide, Renato's, family. We felt privileged to have the chance to see this beautiful slice of Guatemalan life, beyond the water's edge.
We rode through grassy foothills with palm trees and maize crops, while wary, grazing cows watched us over eye-high grass. Our sturdy horses carried us on steep muddy paths, and ran us (as fast as we dared) through the wide fields. We dismounted to walk the horses over rough footbridges that span the creeks.
It was Ulf's first time on a horse. Here he is, looking slightly large for his horse, along with Miguel, our second guide.
At the boundary to a neighbor's land, two boys met us and began to run alongside. They ran easily over the rough terrain, and kept pace with the horses, which were cantering by that point. The boys ran along for a kilometer or two, over and down hills, leading us to a lookout point on their family's land behind Texan Bay, where our boats were anchored. When we reached the lookout, two younger boys joined. These four brothers, between the ages of seven and thirteen, are from a family of twelve surviving children.
Coming back to our starting point along the river, a football game between two different villages was in progress. A crowd was gathered to watch the players, and one of Renato's horses, freed from it's saddle, decided to take a trot through the playing field.
