“Know that you always have your home here in Acayucan Filipe, we will miss you,” Aracelli Reyes told me before I rode off from her ranch.
With my Mexican family waving me on, I made my way towards Minatitlan. Before leaving I was hit with the realities of my trip – everyday poses a new problem. After sitting in a pasture for weeks resting, Bruiser woke up with a sore leg.
As I inspected his front left leg with Rene, we came to the conclusion that one of the horses must have kicked him. I didn’t know what to do, an injury like this could take days to get better.
“You go today and we will drive him to you in a week when you are in Tabasco,” said Rene.
I took his offer and started off my ride towards the state of Tabasco. The first few days were hard. After taking the last few weeks off, my body had a hard time adapting to 8-10 hours in the saddle. Sleeping on top of the horse blankets didn’t help either.
By the third day my back and legs were killing me. I had to push the pain aside to continue. On our third day we faced a major obstacle. As we made our way south we came upon a gigantic bridge that had only two very narrow lanes. Riding over it seemed like suicide, but there was no other option. I was in the middle of nowhere by myself.
With my hat in hand, waving it back and forth, I began climbing the steep bridge. Traffic diverted to the left lane as I kept to the right. The top offered a beautiful view of the river underneath. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to enjoy it. I just wanted to get off that monster. My horses kept their cool and before I knew it we had crossed the most difficult bridge of the trip thus far.
As the days grew hotter and hotter, I was forced to take more breaks for the ponies. Every hour or two we found some shade to hide under while the horses grazed. The thermometer stayed near the 40’s for most of the afternoons.
Finding a place to sleep also became a challenge towards the end of the week. At first there were many ranches next to the road but eventually they turned into locked pastures with no homes. One night I was forced to sleep at a gas station with the horses. Definitely an interesting experience to say the least.
The next night found us at a restaurant on the side of the road. With dark clouds beginning to close the sky, I knew it was time to look for coverage. A really nice family allowed me to tie up the horses and put up my tent next to the restaurant. Right as I finished setting up the tent, the rain began to fall. With heavy winds and thunder it very quickly turned into an ugly storm.
Looking back, it is as if the storm was foreshadowing what was to come. The worst moment we have faced thus far.
To be continued…
