Samaipata, Day 4

Oh dear I haven`t any desire to go on the net the past couple days. I`ve been active for the first half of the day, doing wonderful things and having adventures, and when I get back to the hostel I just want to relax on the open patio and drink fruit juice and read my Che biography and try to write my screenplay.

The horse ride as fabulous. It was just me and the two friends from Britain, plus a 13-year old Bolivian boy as our guide. We travelled up El Meson, a road that winds up the mountain out of Samaipata and which eventually turns into a small trail through steep and rough ground, through thick bush, over streams, along a craggy rocky mountain path with a drop on one side... Going up was slower but safer, going down was a little scary sometimes as the horses had to be very careful not to slip on the smooth rock on the steep bits. Overall it was a wonderful adventure and I`m so happy I went. The boy, Juan Manuel, talked nonstop Spanish and had the biggest smile on his face as he showed us some flowers, helped guide the sometimes stubborn horses, and told us stories that I could only half understand. He was a bundle of energy, riding bareback, doing tricks on his horse, and lassoing the foal that accompanied us goodheartedly.

Yesterday, the day after the horse adventure, I went with Kitty, a Belgian woman, to los cascades ¨Las Cueves¨, some waterfalls nearby. There are 3 of them, all about 10 minutes apart, and were so spectacular. The last one was the most beautiful, like paradise with soft sand perfect for puddleducking and not a tourist in sight because we went so early in the morning. To the side of the 3rd waterfall was a path up the mountain, so we trekked about an hour up for a grand view of the area, and came back down to the river for lunch. On the way back we just missed the small bus, so we hitched a ride with a cargo truck passing by and got back to town in just half an hour. On the way we stopped on the side of the road for some fruit and the driver offered me a peach. It was a good day.

Today I`ve just been relaxing, trying to write. Tomorrow I head to Vallegrande and I will try to write more there.

I hope all is well at home! If anyone has the time, I`d love to receive some headlines or interesting bits of news news from Canada. It`s sometimes hard to keep in touch with what`s going on in the rest of the world here. Thanks and chao!