I awoke to a layer of frost covering my grey tent and thick fog floating atop the Uruguay River.
While the mares munched on their feed, I observed the fog as it danced atop the dark, brown water. With the jungle coming to life, I couldn’t help but feel like I was in the pages of “Heart of Darkness.”
I tacked Life and rode towards the same ferry we had arrived on the previous night. This morning, we had to cross another, much smaller river. In less than 2 minutes we arrived on the other shore and began our first day’s ride in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.

We trekked through dirt roads in the middle of the jungle for most of the morning until we arrived in the small town of Pinheirinho do Vale. I rode into the centre of the small town, tied the horses up to a street post, and walked into a small restaurant to purchase a coffee and ask for directions. By the time I walked back outside, half of the town was standing around the mares, along with the town’s only two police officers.
“Good morning, are you the man riding around the world on horseback,” one of the officers asked.
In mere minutes I was taken to the radio station for an interview and gained a riding partner for the day. One of the officer’s sons, a 14-year-old boy, was allowed to skip class to show me the way south.

Everything was going well until I looked at the young boy and noticed he was whiter than a ghost.
“Are you feeling okay buddy,” I asked.
“Yes, I’m fine, just feeling a little morning sick,” he responded looking down at the rocks on our path.
Not 5 minutes passed before I heard what sounded like someone emptying a bucket full of water onto the road. When I looked back my little friend was leaning off the side of his saddle spewing a thick yellow liquid from his mouth – tears running down his face.

I held his horse, Thunder, as he finished his business.
“Man, I needed to do that,” he said before we both laughed out loud.
He got back on his grey pony and we continued our ride. His father met us for lunch and brought some delicious food. We ate together in front of an old school house while the animals grazed near by. After eating the father and son returned to their town and we trekked south.
In the late afternoon, while crossing a bridge, Life nearly stepped on a spider the size of a dinner plate. It was black, hairy, and mean looking! Life’s right hoof landed right next to it and I panicked, worried his defense would be to quickly climb the hoof and bite her leg. As the spider began to move towards Life, I put my right leg on her and pulled her reins to the left. She quickly moved away from the spider and he stopped in his tracks. I sighed in relief looking back at that monster in the middle of the road.
We finished the long day on the doorsteps of a large rural church. I thanked the Lord we were safe and sound and fed the mares before setting up camp.