This was a great day!  My day began with a horseback ride, taking in the beauty of this scenic mountain paradise. Thankfully the horses are well behaved. Our guide lead us past his organic farm that supplies vegetables for the spa restaurant. The hillside, a grazing area for his cattle and alpaca.  I shared the ride with 2 lovely girls from Quito. On the way back our guide coaxed the horses to run. The girls were thrilled but the horses weren’t. Unfortunately one of the girls was thrown off the horse as it wheeled around to an abrupt stop.  She was taken to the nursing centre where they wrapped her ankle. Later she limped away with the help her friend. I felt so bad for her and was very glad it wasn’t me that was thrown.

I met up with my friends at the spa restaurant and enjoyed a  delicious lunch.  The healthy salad was loaded with fresh organic greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and avocados from the local farm.  After our hearty lunch we decided to take the river walk hike. This was the most amazing hike of my life. We strolled past the farmers fields, cows and lamas and through a rickety gate onto the path that led to the river.

As we continued along the path we passed flowering bushes, we crossed a bridge over the river where we paused to soak up the energy of the rushing water. We entered into a magical world of vines, flowers, tunnels and old narly trees.

The river rushed past us. Around each bend and up each hill there was another scene that left us in awe of the natural  beauty surrounding us. The thundering sound of waterfalls was music to our ears and the misty spray refreshing on our skin. This truly is an enchanted forest.

We crossed a bridge that took us to the other side of the river, through another rickety gate then began our decent back down to the spa resort below.  Passing by more flowering bushes, narrow forest pathways and the farmers prize bull.

The path was lined with delicate wild flowers. Far up on the hillside is a watercourse flowing down to meet the river. We pause to listen to a lone horse calling out to the horses in the valley below.

As we near the end of the path we stopped at a memorial marked with a large cross. We lay down on the grassy hill at the base of the cross, sitting in silence we take in the beauty of the mountains and valley before us. Our 2 hour hike comes to an end as we pass back through the gate near the farmers garden. We all agree this was one of the most beautiful hikes of our life.

it’s time for a well deserved dip in the hot springs followed by a relaxing massage.  Life is great!