Los Caballos

On Saturday morning I left the house about 8:30 to get downtown by bus by 9:00. I went via taxi with 3 other alumnos to Calpan, a small farm village near the volcanoes. I thought we would be ascending and seeing the volcanoes, but that was not the case. We rode the horses through the village and out to the farmland in the arroyos near the volcanos. None the less, it was fun.


Mis compadres are: Ann, (about my age) a middle school teacher from North Carolina, Bryan (27) Seminarian, studying to be a Catholic priest in LA--home in Seattle, and Fin (16) High School student, saxaphone and soccer player from a rural town in Washington state.


As we neared the village, we began to see horse and mule drawn carts and wagons used in very practical ways---plowing, hauling lumber, livestock, etc. The pueblita was quaint. Cobblestone streets, cement block housing, dogs on the roofs, bouganvilla and prickly pear cactus.


We were taken to the home of Edmundo (Mundo) and his wife Pati for breakfast. After breakfast, he told us what to expect and riding instructions---in spanish with alot of gesturing and panto. For me, very easy to understand. We soon were matched with horses and ambling through town. Because of the inexperience of our members, Carlito and Patricia, Mundos kids, walked alongside us. One of the horses was led by rope. We ascended a hill, then down into the arroyo.


The scenery was beautiful, and you felt like you were in the ¨real¨ Mexico. Women were hand washing clothes by the stream. Farmers were cutting weeds with machetes. Everywhere young cornstalks were growing. There is typically alot of rain in June, sometimes accompanied by hail, so the timing of the planting coincides with this fact. Many families were walking along the path, carrying a picnic, and farm implements to tend the fields. I´m not sure if it is communally owned land or what, but everyone seemed to have their own spot.


Mundo took us along the arroyo, and into the streambed. There were some steep inclines and decents. The trees seemed willowy, there were berries and ferns I recognize from home. I have some pictures but not many, Mundo wanted us to keep one hand on the reins and one on the saddlehorn. He took alot of pictures and gave us a disk when we left---but they are all of horse and rider, rather than the vistas and people we passed. All this time, Carlito, Patricia and Mundo ran alongside!!! We were out a total of 3 hours.


At one point, Ann, from North Carolina, fell off her horse!! It was a slow slide, so she was not hurt, thankfully. But an illustration of why Mundo and kids were running alongside. Darn Gringos! Ann got right back on the horse. She teaches middle school, so she says ( in her darling accent) "I face adolescents all day long, no way a little ol´horse is gonna scare me off".


After awhile we stopped in a little orchard alongside corn and oat patches for a rest. Patricia gave us fresh plums from the trees, then Mundo indicated that he was taking the hombres on up the hill, but not the mujeres. I was envious because I thought they were going up the side of the volcano. Ann and I waited with the kids for about 1/2 hour. We chatted with Patricia, she is entering the Universidad in Puebla at age 16.


When the guys came back Bryan declared he had been in over his head. At the top was only flat land, where Mundo made the horses gallop!!! Bryan is still saddle sore today. The saddles are carved wood with a leather seat cover--not the softest. So I didn´t need to be envious. We rode back to the house a different way than we came. It was wonderful. The sound of fireworks greeted us. "you are in Mexico" says Mundo, "every day is a fiesta" We figured some saint´s day or perhaps a wedding. Back at the house, Pati had lunch ready. Caldo a Res--beef soup with fresh vegetables, picante----"to avoid muscle soreness" Mundo explained.

The taxi ride back to Puebla was animated with conversation. We all had a fabulous time and will recommend others take the trip.