Another day in paradise. Woke to beautiful blue sky and sun shinning. Couldn't ask for more! Today's adventure is horse riding to the cloud forest. Trek starts at 9am and I am given a 9 month pregnant horse to ride!!! Yeah, I did wonder when she was due to pop. Apparently she still has 2 more months as she is pregnant from a donkey and gestation is those cases is 11 months. So " Noche" (name of the horse) has to cope with me and a baby up the steep hills of the Andes!
And indeed we spend 2h trotting up the mountain with beautiful views of the mountain valley.
This then takes us to the beginning of the cloud forest. Which means a rest stop for the horses and a walk for us. The guide takes us through the forest explaining the different plants and history. The forest has decreased at this height because the indigineous have been cutting trees down to create agriculture fields. This is now forbidden to do. The best season to see the forest is June, July and August when all flowers, fruits and birds are around. Even so, the vegetation is still pretty impressive now and worth the walk.
After about 1h we hop on our novel companions again and trot down the hill back to the hostel, weather has changed now and we have thick clouds and it's a little bit cold. Amazing how quick things change up here in the Andes.
