Fri-Sun, Aug.3-5: Extreme Horseback Riding & the Meat Sweats

Friday was a half build day as we were leaving to go on our first weekend of R&R in the Andes and Cascadas de las Animas. It's hard to put into words how incredible this place was- tucked in to the Andes an hour and a half away from bustling Santiago. We left the traffic behind and went winding up the road sandwiched between the mountains! We checked into our rustic cabins and headed right down to the restaurant for supper. Turns out meals are a bit of process in Chile. Like most Chilean meals, we started with bread and this spicy salsa, mmmmmm, and ceviche for the fish lovers. Then it was on to the lettuce and peeled tomato, onion, and avocado salad and corn. THEN came the endless platters of meat! And not just platters of one type of meat either- at home you might have chicken or steak, right? no, no, a traditional Chilean bbq consists of pretty much any kind of meat possible.... All at once! First came the sausage, then the chicken, then the steak, and then the pork tenderloin!!!! Talk about the meat sweats! And as if this wasn't enough food to satisfy even the hungriest sumo wrestler, we then had dessert! Ice cream, cake, flambé.... it was 10x the feeling you have after eating turkey dinner! The gigantic awesome meals, heavy on the meat side, continued all weekend and although we enjoyed every bite of them, we could probably not eat until we get back and be completely fine. On to the extreme horseback riding. Susanne and I had been keeping our R&R plans secret from the group until we arrived although we probably could have told since we could have never explained the incredible adventure we were about to go on! Everyone mounted up and we started up the mountain in a single file line. In the front was our head guide and quite possibly one of the coolest people we have ever met. If you ever wanted to be a cowgirl, you would have wanted to be her. She looked the part, dressed head to toe in traditional Chilean attire and riding gear, exuding confidence on her feisty horse, the whole time singing and yelling things like "yahoo" for us to echo in the mountains. The entire trek up was like flipping through a pile of postcards. The snowcapped mountains loomed ahead, behind and beside you- one of the most picturesque landscapes I've ever seen! It was easy to "get lost" in the Andes.... That is as long as you weren't behind Hannah's horse whose last meal didn't seem to agree with him! :) After riding uphill on windy paths we arrived at our lunch site where we enjoyed... Yes, you guessed it- more meat platters!!!! As well as some rice, salad, bread etc. On the side. They cooked for us over an open fire while we ate and listened to one of the men play guitar and serenade us with Chilean music- awesome experience!! They also offered us the usual pisco sours, wine, and beer which... Had we known what was in store on the way down, we would have taken more advantage of! Our crazy cool cowgirl explained that the ride down the mountain would be an "adventure" Let's just say that she was putting it nicely. As we started down the steep cliffside trail you could hear everyone talking to their horses... "good boy" "it's ok, here we go" hahaha most people were really just trying to keep themselves calm. From the very beginning we were told that the most important thing to remember was that we have to trust our horse... And trust we did!!! For an hour and a half we skidded and galloped down steep hills directly on the cliffs edge while making sharp turns on the windy path. After the harrowing adventure and people had both feet firmly on the ground we all agreed that it should be considered an extreme sport but was hands down one of the most amazing experiences ever. After all that excitement and more meat sweats, Sunday was a relaxing day filled with yoga, a short hike to a waterfall and massages. It was a weekend none of us will ever forget.