Life and death
I woke up at 6am since we were supposed to be in San Ignacio by 9am. After getting ready I sat in the living room and waited for Suzie to emerge from her room at 7:15 I knocked on her door to discover she had not awoken yet. After asking her if she could be ready in a few minutes I waited and hoped we wouldn’t be late for our appointment with the horses. By 7:35 we had left and that meant we had missed the opportunity to catch the 7:30 am bus. As we walked to the bus stop I wondered about horses and the entire experience and whether we would make it on time (especially since we had haggled our way down to $25 US and did not have a receipts. When we go t to the bus stop at 7:55pm we saw that the next bus was supposed to come at 8am. 8am came and passed, next bus 8:15am. That came and passed. I was now more worried. At 8:50am the bus pulled in, to make it worse the bus was really full and we had a difficult time finding seats. In the end we ended up sitting three to a seat which doesn’t usually happen. I think the bus management felt bad since the bus was so late that they allowed us all on the bus. Once we were packed in we headed to San Ignacio. At least it wasn’t raining outside because that would have meant closed windows and hot air in such close proximity.
Once we got to San Ignacio I was approached by the taxi driver who said he had been waiting for us. We got in and headed back towards Lomaloss SDA hospital and pulled of a road headed to the stables. Once there we realized how hot it. HOT!! After the taxi driver talked to the stable hands they prepared the horses for us to ride. While we waited we talked to the stable hand of the other stable who said we should have come earlier because the other horses had just left. I didn’t know what he meant since the horses were in their stables and we could see them. I then understood what he said when one of the horses they were preparing for us decided to just fall on its side. UMMM NO!! I definitely was rethinking this horse-riding experience. Was it worth it to get on a horse that wasn’t that stable? What was even wrong with the horse, was it rabid? After being adamant they brought another 2 years old brown horse for me ride. They then told us that it would be good to ride bareback since it was easier on our legs. We tried bareback, it was a no go. We then got English saddles put on the horses. As we were about to head out another couple who owned two horses said they would not ride the horse I was assigned because it was being trained to race. Because of this the stable hands decided to pony-ride us (meaning they would hold the horses while we were on them) to the river. After hearing about the sewage in the Macal I don’t think I will be going in for a dip especially since we are down river from where the release occurs. As we rode my horse would get a little startled by cars but once we were out in the open country it was quiet except the clicking of the horses hooves and me making conversation with the stable hand holding my horse. As he kept reassuring me about my safety I asked him questions about his life how he got started with horses, Belize, etc. it was a good conversation as I learned a lot about horses and taking care of them. By the time we got to the river I was a lot more calmer and we took a break by the river while the horses went into the water to cool down and ate nearby grass. After 45 minutes we headed back to the stables. On our way back they et the horses trott which was a little scary but pretty awesome. When we got back to the stable we helped to wash down the horses to cool them off. By then more people were gathered drinking Belkins. After 20 minutes we were invited to sit under the tent with them while we waited for the taxi to come back.
The conversations occurring around us were funny and varied. We then learned that we were in the midst of some of the gagsters of San Ignacio from one of the stable hands. He even said if you were alone with your bag you would be robbed but you are here with us and we are happy so you are okay. We then heard stories about racing horses and the importance of not caring what other people say. As we waited, more men came and pulled out some drug paraphernalia. I declined and sat in conversation with the other stable hands. Some of the stable hands then headed to the stable we had rented horses from and the stable hand we were with explained that 2 of the horses had laminitis because they had had diets that were unbalanced and mainly consisting of protein. We asked about who bought the food and we were told that the owner of the horse was somewhere in France partying and had not provided food for a while. They then told us that the horse had to be killed because there was no cure for laminitis and the horse had benne suffering for a while. One of the guys they led the horse away as it limped. It was sad because all the other horses became tuned in and just started quietly in their direction. After a while the taxi pulled up. As we talked we heard the distant sound of a gun shot. I guess the deed had been done. I cant believe my ears were witness to that.
As we headed back to San Ignacio I couldn’t help but wonder about the fragility of life. We then headed to Cahal Pech, walked around, took picture. On our way out we talked with the lady who sells souvenirs and I was able to see Xichel and the medicine man (not sure what his name is in Maya). She then told us that pregnant women should not eat cool things but only warm things she even said that they shouldn’t eat certain fruits like pears. It would be great to do some type of medical anthropology class here in Belize. I think I would learn a lot. After walking back down the hill we headed to the San Ignacio hotel where we lounged in the pool for an hour and a half before heading back to Belmopan with beef quesadillas. It was a successful day besides the horse dying.
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