Since we started planning this trip at the beginning of the year, we knew that one of the things we wanted to do was to go horseback riding.  Or at least some of us wanted to go horseback riding, and others were willing to go along with it at the risk of permanent disability.  We decided to make it the big birthday event since it’s one of the more expensive activities on the itinerary (although at this point I feel like I’m spending money like a drunken sailor so I just keep reminding myself that you can’t take it with you).  We really loved our pyramid trip with Albert Coffee, and he recommended his business partner Rodrigo for a horseback riding trip, so we checked out the options on the Coyote Canyon website and decided to do a modified half-day adventure.

Our birthday started with a great breakfast prepared by Elizabeth and Aliya – eggs, turkey bacon, watermelon, and donuts from la panaderia, complete with a paper banner to decorate.  Then Rodrigo picked us up (at Starbucks again) at 9 a.m., along with a grandfather and grandson.  I felt a bit sorry for them to have to hang out with the Noisies for the day but they were very patient.  Rodrigo also brought along his daughter Monique, who is close to Aliya’s age.  The girls loved her.  We drove out to the ranch, which is right next to the pyramid.  Aliya had milking a cow on her bucket list (do 11YO’s make bucket lists?) so our first stop was the cow pen.  A few of the calves had been separated from their mothers overnight, and the ranchers let them out one at a time to get their mother’s milk flowing.  Each of us had several turns at milking with the help of some of the ranchers who probably had more fun watching the gringos try to milk cows than we had doing the actual milking.  I think they got sprayed a few times.  Ultimately we were all successful, although considering my breastfeeding experience I don’t think it’s much of a challenge to milk a cow after her calf got her started.

The girls had their first outhouse experience:

After signing our liability waivers (insurance was included for free – red alert!), Rodrigo gave us a lot of instructions on how to ride the horses.  Hannah is the only rider with experience – the rest of us have had a combination of pony rides, those mechanical horsie rides that the grocery stores used to have out in front, and a couple of trail rides.  We had to place all of our trust in Rodrigo and the cowboys who accompanied us, especially since we were headed down a steep trail into the canyon, up (and through!) the river, and then back up another steep canyon trail.  He told us that in over 8,000 riders only 35 people had fallen off…so either our odds were good or they were overdue for an accident.

Rodrigo giving instructions, Chato and Adlani listening intently:

The cowboys had all of the horses saddled up, and picked out one for each of us.  Adlani’s was small but perfect for him – he turned out to be a total natural.  I don’t know if was because he hasn’t developed any fear yet or if he was a cowboy in a past life, but he did really well.  Rodrigo even recommended that he do a 2-week internship as a cowboy’s right-hand man.  As we were heading out, 2 dogs got into a little tiff and ended up under Adlani’s horse, and he stayed on and didn’t freak out.  Norah was very unsure about the whole thing, and started out with a cowboy leading her horse.  She was strapped into the saddle, so there wasn’t much that could wrong short of her horse toppling off the canyon wall, but she was really nervous.  When we reached the bottom of the canyon Rodrigo convinced her that she didn’t need the cowboy, and she rode back up on her own.

Norah at the beginning:

And at the end:

The ride down into the canyon was a little scary but the horses were very sure-footed, and Monique explained to the girls that since horses have 4 legs they can easily recover if they slip.  We all hung our hats on that and it was also comforting that Rodrigo was riding all around us back and forth up off the trail, sometimes in much steeper areas, and his horse had no problem.  We had 4 or 5 cowboys with us plus Monique and Rodrigo.  What could go wrong?

Rodrigo keeping an eye on things:

There were a few opportunities to gallop when it was safe, and Adlani galloped every time.  Rodrigo took a great video of him, which we will have in a few days, along with a ton of photos.  We’re so happy to have Rodrigo’s photos since all of mine are of the butts of the horses in front of me.

When we got to the bottom of the canyon we got off the horses (ouch) and walked along (or in) the river looking for quartz and geodes.  The kids LOVED it, and brought home a TON (literally) of rocks.  The cowboys carried them home for us so they definitely earned their tip.  Norah found a really cool rock which was formed by cooling lava.  She wrapped it up and gave it to me for my birthday.

I was more comfortable going up the canyon than down, but some members of our party preferred the downward trail.  Maybe I was just more comfortable with the horse or my meds had fully kicked in.  (:  Once we got to the top the horses knew that there were only 9 gringos standing between them and lunch, so they got a little excited.  Mine didn’t like the look of one of the cowboys’ horses and tried to give him a bite.  I think he also got a bug up his nose because there was a lot of snorting and head-shaking for a while.  But we made it back without incident, and had a fabulous lunch of quesadillas, fresh cheese made that morning, guacamole, breaded and fried peppers stuffed with cheese, rice, veggies, and potatoes with scrambled eggs – all so delicious.

Then Rodrigo drove a very tired band of bow-legged city slickers back to town and we limped home.  My UP band said I walked over 17,000 steps yesterday.  I know most of it was on horseback but it was hard work just staying in the saddle, so I have no problem claiming those steps as my own.

I will post more photos once I have the ones from Rodrigo.

August 1st is my birthday, AND Chloe and Hannah’s, so we planned our horseback riding expedition for tomorrow to celebrate.  We’re already assuming that we’ll be too tired to go out for dinner, and I heard a rumor that Maria is going to help with the actual birthday dinner, so we went out tonight for our cena de cumpleaños.  It was a beautiful night so we were hoping to find a rooftop restaurant.  The first two were closed, so we ended up at a restaurant where we had eaten before, except this time we were able to eat on the roof.  Our evening in photos…

The moment I overcame my fear of margaritas after a bad tequila incident in college (it only took almost 30 years):

The beautiful sunset:

Adlani ate an entire medium pizza except the one slice he shared with Hannah:

I have no idea what’s happening here:

Two of the birthday girls and Shortie:

It was an otherwise uneventful day…the kids slept late, I got some work done, we went to breakfast at 11:30, did a little shopping at Fabrica la Aurora, did a little more birthday shopping, and went to dinner.  The end.

I don’t want anyone to think we’ve fallen into a San Miguel sidewalk hole and disappeared, so here are a few things I haven’t written about yet…

Last week – I really have no idea what day – we decided to go to the Mask Museum.  I had read about it online and it was in Elizabeth’s SMA book, so we checked it out on Google Maps and started walking.  Some members of our party are not big walking fans.  So when we got most of the way up the big hill and still hadn’t found it, there were some long faces.  We asked a lady passing by and she sent us partway back down the hill and to the right.  We walked all the way down that street and didn’t find it, got to a dead end and asked another lady.  She sent us halfway back down the street we had just walked down, and told us to turn right.  We did that, walked to a dead end, and found – nothing.  I noticed a teenage girl watching us from a window and we asked her…she said it was right in front of us.  My Spanish is not great but I saw no sign about masks or museums – actually no sign at all.  The teenager said that the owner of the museum lived right where we were standing.  We had no idea that the museum was only open by appointment, so we stood there wondering what kind of treats we were going to have to buy to make up for marching the kids up, down, and over, and ultimately not finding the museum.

That’s when Bill opened the door of his house and looked out at us.  We told him that we were looking for the mask museum and he said it wasn’t open.  Sad faces all around.  Then he said he’d open it for us, but he couldn’t stay with us as we walked through.  Fine!  The entry fee was a donation to a day care center, and the kids were free.  What a bargain!  The museum is a collection of masks from Mexico that Bill has accumulated over the last 23 years (over 400).  They are AMAZING!  Some were very ornate, some primitive.  Some were beautiful, some really scary and ugly.  The stories of the various ceremonies were printed throughout the museum, so in between making sure the kids weren’t touching anything, Elizabeth and I learned a lot about the masks. Definitely worth the trip!

At the end of our tour we found out that Bill lived in Sherborn, Massachusetts for 6 years, and he led us through his bed and breakfast on the way back to the street.  It’s BEAUTIFUL!  It’s called Casa de la Cuesta and there are lots of photos on their website if you’re ever looking for a B&B in SMA (no kids under 16).  No photos were allowed in the museum, but there are some photos of the masks on the B&B website as well.

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Here are some photos from the organic market, which is held every Saturday.  It reminds me a little of the SoWa market at home.  We bought a really delicious quiche, I bought a pillowcase, and the girls bought more bling.  Elizabeth bought a fat lady made out of paper mache.  I’ll make sure to take photos of all of our purchases (not the quiche) before Elizabeth heads home, but tomorrow is a shopping day so I’ll hold off.

Los Gringitos were tired out…

I loved the “buffet” served in all the pots:

There were plenty of tables to sit and eat:

And entertainment (we didn’t see the part that involved hula hoops):

My back has been bothering me and I had almost psyched myself up to go to a regular chiropractor instead of the direct non-force type I see back home…then I saw this guy adjusting people at the market.  There were audible gasps from the spectators with each crack.

Lots of tempting stuff for sale:

We stopped by the Instituto Allende on the way home…

There’s more to tell, but my back has had enough and I have an epic sunburn from today’s activity, which I will post about tomorrow.  Sleeping should be interesting, but I’m beat.  Adlani is still wide awake and talking my ear off about his Pokemon adventures.  Aliya took a 3-hour nap this afternoon so she’s still awake too.  Norah went into crazy-hyper mode (Don’t worry John and Carolyn – we haven’t broken anything!) and then crashed.  She has been my grocery-shopping helper the last 2 nights, and we’re getting pretty good at it.  Last night on the way home we saw this beautiful sky:

Yesterday morning we went to Mega – the giant supermarket that sells just about everything including clothes and electronics.  We stocked up on paper products and detergents, and a few games for Casa Hogar Santa Julia.  I guess I have those photos to post tomorrow too!  It’s so hard to find time to write about everything when there’s so much going on, plus squeezing in a few hours of work each day. 

¡Hasta mañana!

This morning we got a slow start and had a leisurely breakfast.  My lower back has been hurting, so Aliya and I went to a shop that sold various health and beauty aids, and purchased some patches that were supposed to help with pain.  The only ingredient I can make out on the list on the package is cayenne pepper.  Hmmm…

I wore a patch all day and I do feel a little better tonight.  Elizabeth took the entire clan to swim at the Hotel Aldea while I stayed home and wrote an article that had unexpectedly appeared on my to-do list, and I even snuck in a nap.  We hadn’t done any dinner shopping so we decided to go out for dinner.  The restaurant we were originally headed to was closed, so we ended up at Mama Mia, which was decent – the kids really liked the pizza.  After dinner we walked up to the square for helado, and got caught in our first downpour which stayed with us all the way home.  Luckily we had brought our rain coats. 

Lesson for the day – flip-flops are not appropriate footwear when a rainstorm is threatening.  The evening ended with a fireworks show viewed from the roof terrace (accompanied by lightning and enthusiastic church-bell-ringing) and now everyone is in bed and all I can hear are the crickets chirping.  Ahhhhh…

Here are a few photos from today.

Rain clouds threatening on the way to dinner:

A rainbow!

Las tres amigas – I told them to try to look like they were having fun:

This is their “abnormal” look:

Our end of the table…my sangria seemed so tiny in comparison to Elizabeth’s vat of strawberry margarita:

And a few from the pool, which Aliya sent home to make sure I didn’t feel left out:

Elizabeth, Chloe, and Hannah only have 5 more days in SMA, so we’re going to make the best of their remaining time.  Ben is really excited to join us next Saturday for the last two weeks of our trip!