Horseback Riding Through the Scenery and Saying Goodbye (5/20)

Today we went horse riding for several hours. It was my first experience on a horse, but I did not feel overwhelmed. My horse was rather tame and I was able to direct him rather easily. The start of the riding was exciting because we crossed a river on our horses. Despite how high the water was on the horse, it was still able to move with ease. The scenery we passed was beautiful. We were on sand dunes for a while, which was a very smooth ride. Eventually, we got to the beach which was a great view while riding. It was a big, open area that was perfect for galloping. It was scary to go at faster speeds, but still safe as long as you held on. We crossed the river again, but this time the water was moving faster (it was depositing into the ocean). Our guides found an area where the water was not as deep and the water current was minimal. When we passed the river, there were fish that did not get deposited with the water. So, our guides caught and killed one and brought it back for lunch.

After riding, most of us felt pain, particularly in the legs. I did not notice it as much, because I am use to my legs hurting from playing hockey. Still, I was looking forward to lying down later. For lunch, we had a barbecue (with three different types of meat) and sat around a fire. I began to realize that our trip was almost over and we began reflecting on experiences. We noticed that there was nothing that went wrong during the trip and that all experiences were positive.

At the farewell dinner, Werner and several students were there. They gave us hooded sweatshirts from Santa Maria University and we gave them t-shirts from Pitt. It was a nostalgic feeling but still fun to see the students one last time. The pizza was delicious and had even more toppings than expected. It reminded me of Primanti Brothers’ sandwiches, an attribute that the restaurant would be immediately associated with. After we said goodbye to Werner and the Chilean students, we went back to the hotel as a group. When we went to bed, we knew we had to get ready to leave the next day.