With thick fog in the horizon I rode out of Poptun, Peten. As my new friend Fabrizio waved me on, I made my way into the towns dirt airport strip. With mountains on both sides and ahead of me, I slowly trekked into the unknown again.
Luckily, with the help of my new friend, I was connected with a place to spend the night. This makes my days about 90 percent less stressful! There’s something about not knowing where you will be spending the night that just keeps your heart beating a little quicker all day.
After climbing a huge mountain, which offered a beautiful view of the valley underneath, we were met once again with heavy rains. Out comes the yellow rain coat that doesn’t keep you dry but helps you not get that drenched.
After 2:00 pm I rode up to the small village, of Cotoxa – population 652. Waiting for me was Misael Hernandez Flores and his wonderful family. After untacking the ponies, I realized Bruiser’s shoe was about to fall off. Unfortunately, it was the same leg he had hurt a week back while in La Libertad. I tried to put new nails in but it gave him great discomfort. After getting two nails in I tried to walk him around and quickly realized he was off once again. Due to the strain of having the shoe nailed on and the position in which his foot sits while getting shod, his injury began to bother him once again.
“Oh man this is the worst,” I told Misael in frustration.
In recent months it seems as if I am constantly battling injuries with the ponies. The three horses are never 100 percent. One, or two or all three are always battling something. Mentally it is a huge strain as I love these horses with all my might and only want the best for them. Their health, like that of a child, is always my biggest worry.
“Filipe don’t worry, you are in good hands here. I have a truck and will take care of your horse here until you arrive in Rio Dulce and then will ship him down to you,” Misael told me.
Here was a man I had just met 1 hour ago committing to going completely out of his way to help me.
“Are you sure it is not too much trouble,” I asked him.
“Filipe it will be my pleasure to be able to help you,” he told me with a big smile on his face.
With a huge weight lifted off my back and mind, Misael invited me into his home for a delicious lunch. His wife prepared a feast and apologized for the lack of food. This was while she laid out, beans, chicken, salad, cheese and cake for desert. I simply smiled at her and said, “Are you kidding, there is so much food here my horses are going to get angry at me tomorrow morning when I wake up 10 pounds heavier.” She laughed.
“I have been riding horses my entire life,” Misael told me after dinner as we looked over pictures from his past.
An adrenaline junky, he also rode bulls for several years, winning rodeos all over the country.
“Bullriding used to be my life, I loved it,” he told me as we looked at a photo of him on a black bull.
Misael is one of those characters the greatest author in the world would have a hard time writing about. One time in a cock fight, he went up to one of the biggest Narco bosses in Guatemala who had about 30 armed men behind him and said – “My name is Misael Hernandez Flores and I am also one of the big timers, I am the law here.”
The Narco told his friends to immediately get him out of the venue or he would personally kill him right then and there.
