Tanzania Day 39 - Nungwi

I woke up this morning with a sense of dread... Like a dark cloud was looming over me and something bad was about to happen... I knew the reason was because today Gem had booked to go horse riding on the beach!

We spent the day on the beach and I must have changed my mind 20 times before finally agreeing to just close my eyes and hope for the best!!

The stables weren't actually too bad and they all seemed pretty calm - mine was called Oreo and was the biggest which I was told meant he was the slowest/laziest but it didn't help in making it less intimidating! Gem's was called Sultan, an Arabian which tend to a but bouncier and firey.

After getting on safely it was actually OK as it just stood waiting for the others to get ready but once we started walking I couldn't stop myself from tensing up and holding on for dear life!

Once on the beach we started walking past bars and restaurants with English or South Africans guys heckling how stiff and scared I looked and then on past Africans playing football on the beach who found it hilarious that I needed a guide to walk infront of the horse!!

All of this helped me to forget I was on a horse and after gem returned from a gallop with her horse that I'm told was only supposed to be a canter but it kicked out and went all wild I started to feel scared again! (Gem's take is not as extreme and says that it just had a little buck of excitement).

We walked through the town and by early evening all of the kids were out playing and loved to sing and dance whilst shouting and chanting 'Falasee' as we passed, which I assume was Swahilli for horse and not 'stay calm and don't kill the rider' liked id hoped!!

We made it back safely and the relief was intense - the feeling in my head of how it would be was far worse than the actual ride but its still something I would happily never ever do again!!Read more