Atacama II - Horses And A Sad Goodbye

For our last day together, Maria and I opted to go horseback riding (Maria's first time ever). By our side were Ruud and Kim who were also keen to explore the surroundings on horses. So we geared up and were on our way to the Devil's Throat, a valley/canyon just a short 30 minute horse ride away from the ranch.

Once we arrived in the canyon, we almost immediately saw why it was such a great thing to do. High walls of rocks revealed a very narrow path that we followed along with our legs tightly pressed against the horses' body - it was that narrow. And on top of it, the horses sometimes had to climb up steep steps and pathways. It definitely wasn't a relaxed horse ride, but an exciting one. The colours of the rocks were sort of similar to the Moon Valley, which added a beautiful touch to the scenery.

After arriving at the plateau of the canyon, we had stunning views over the landscape with towering volcanoes in the background - we could at least spot 8-9 cone-shaped volcanoes. An incredible sight. In addition, my horse seemed to want to enjoy the view as well, as it was standing on the edge with her eyes focused on the vast landscape that had unfolded in front of us. The horse clearly recognised beauty when it saw it.

Then came the ride down and holy moly was that steep. Our guide even asked us if we wanted to get off the horse and walk, but all of us were too excited about a little adrenaline. We really had to lean back, as the horses went down on the sandy terrain. It was such a cool experience.

Then we slowly made our way back to town. That was after I realised that my horse and our guide's horse hated each other. My horse even tried to kick his horse, almost involuntarily throwing me off his back. Luckily I was holding onto the leash tightly.

But yeah, that was Maria's and my last adventure together. It was a fitting end to our time together and I couldn't have asked for a better and more amazing person than her. Whatever dangerous, ridiculous and fun activity I threw at her, she didn't even blink and was always up for doing them. I lost count of how often we laughed together or at each other, how often we called us stupid or cute names or how often we were wondering how crazy we were and what our parents were thinking if they saw what we were up to - esp Death Road, Silver Mines and the Horseriding. We shared countless beautiful moments together in which I wished I had the superpower to stop time.

To this day, I cannot believe that it all started in my favorite place on earth - Antigua - back in July. Maria coming all the way to Bolivia and my birthday was an incredible and amazing gesture.

The adventures and times we shared together in those past 2.5 weeks will always be with me until the end of days. For that, I will forever be grateful to Maria for having the patience, courage and sense of adventure to accompany me on part of my trip around the world. All that made it, of course, a teary and truly heartfelt goodbye. TQM!Read more