Tag: horseback riding

Family & Friends, Food & Drink, Travel Adventures

Costa Rica Day 7: Horseback riding on the beach & a visit to Alturas Wildlife Sanctuary

Somehow I woke up and this is the last full day of our trip. I feel like I was just telling #1BigBrother not to worry, that we had plenty of time left. Se la vie.

#1BigSister in El Ratón

There were just three people in our group for the 8:30am ride with Rancho La Merced in Uvita. The other person was a French woman in her 70s who spoke no English or Spanish. If she wanted a quiet, serene outing, she certainly got it.

Our guide took us through the farms and forest to reach the shore at La Playa Hermosa. The beach was empty, save for an occasional jogger.

Horseback riding in La Playa Hermosa in Uvita

The entire outing lasted two hours start to finish. The youngest allowable riders are 7, but I think the right 5 year-old could handle this trip. Lidia isn’t a huge fan of animals, and Amir was just 5 pounds over the weight limit. That meant #1BigSister and I were alone for our adventure.

After horseback riding, we drove back to the house to meet up with the rest of the crew. We ate leftovers for lunch and swam for an hour before rallying to head to the wildlife sanctuary.

Toucan
Parrot
Macaw
Squirrel Monkey

The sanctuary houses rescued wildlife incapable of surviving in the wild. a surprising number of the rescued animals are abandoned or confiscated pets. In Costa Rica it’s essentially illegal to have any animal as a pet aside from cats and dogs.

The sanctuary is adjacent to a hotel and restaurant. We popped in for a bite after our tour. I wasn’t crazy hungry and just ordered some appetizers. That was supposed to be my meal, but the caprese salad disappeared with me only snagging one bite.

Guacamole Flower
Caprese Salad

Of course I also ordered the ceviche. Lidia and I both agrees it may be the best one yet. One things for sure, I need to up my lime content in my ceviche next time I make it.

Tomorrow we head back home. I can’t even believe the days flew by so quickly. Fortunately we have a three week trip to Spain and Switzerland scheduled for the summer that helps lessen the blow of returning to the real world.

~Steph

Family & Friends, Travel Adventures

Clinton Corners Day 6: Rivendell Riding Academy & a Drizzly Lazy Afternoon

This morning we again awoke to rain, and I wondered if other parts of New York have yet dried out from the flooding brought by the remnants of Hurricane Ida. Fortunately we really suffered no effects here in Clinton Corners, but watching the news these past few days, we’ve learned that so many weren’t so lucky.

Guinness getting prepped for a ride

This morning #1BigSis had her first ever horseback riding lesson. Rivendell Riding Academy is close by, offering lessons for all ages. We scheduled a 1 hour lesson with Madison on a friendly pony named Flash.

Leading Flash to the barn after some initial prep

Madison started by teaching #1BigSis about the basics of grooming and dressing her pony with a saddle. She spent a good 10 minutes brushing his mane.

#1BigSis grooms Flash
Indoor warm up

Since it was drizzling, Madison decided to start the lesson inside the barn to allow everyone to get aquatinted without the added variable of rain. After a few laps where they mastered starting and stopping, everyone headed outside to explore the fields.

Just past the silo is a field with jumps

Out in the field, we encountered other riders enjoying their quiet Sunday mornings.

No jumps yet for these new friends

Madison was a great teacher – patient, spirited and reassuring. Just what our novice rider needed. after about twenty minutes in the fields, the crew made their way back to the barn.

#1BigSis had no trouble with the dismount. In fact she was too fast for me to catch a photo.

Back at the barn, she helped tie up Flash and said some goodbyes. A few last strokes on his mane and a big hug for both Flash and her teacher Madison, and we called it a day. Total expense: $65 + tip.

Madison & #1BigSis
Rivendell Riding Academy

After riding at Rivendell, we came home for lunch and a bit of R&R. Amir and #1LilBrother hit up an air show in Rhinebeck while us ladies took it easy binging on YouTube and afternoon tea.

Donuts & Airplanes in Rhinebeck

We made our nightly trip down to the garden to grab veggies for dinner, and Amir collected what dry wood we could find for the solo stove. I’ve been seeing these things all year in Facebook posts from friends and in social media ads, but had never experienced one in real life. There’s a calming feeling it invokes – gentle flames with little to no smoke… this will likely be on the list for Santa this year.

#1BigSis supervises

I finally found the book today that tells the history of The Willows. It was compiled in 1994 by a previous owner when seeking historical registry status for the house. It’s too much to tackle tonight, but fortunately we are here for three more days and nights.

“The floor is LAVA!”