After resting in Tegucigalpa for almost a month, it was time to continue my journey south. I will never forget the moments lived in that concrete jungle and the friendships made.
Everyday I would go to Agafam, the grounds where the horses were resting, at 6am and would stay there for the day. Alongside the three barn hands, Jairo, Meme and Jose, I would clean stalls, fill water buckets and eat way too many baleadas.
“Is it time for lunch yet,” Jairo would ask as we listened to music in a horse stall turned bedroom.
Baleadas are Honduras’ traditional plate. It is made up of sour cream, cheese and beans wrapped in a large tortilla. More extravagant ones come with eggs or chicken. They are delicious! Sitting in a small tienda we would eat our Baleadas overlooking the city.
I can’t thank Jairo, Meme, and Jose enough for all of the help they offered while I stayed in Tegucigalpa with my ponies. I also want to thank Dr. Leo Matamoros and his father Mario. These two extraordinary vets got my ponies health back to 100 per cent.
The weekend before leaving the city I met Sarah Turner a Canadian living in Honduras with her family. Jairo had told me about Sarah and her mustang, Honey, weeks ago when he first met Dude.
“She’s a Canadian Mustang from British Columbia that I flew down here a few years ago,” Sarah told me as I finally met her beautiful mustang.
Having lived in Canada for so many years, I get along with Canucks like I’m one of them. With Sarah it was no different! It was like we were friends since elementary school.
With Bruiser still recuperating from his treatment, Sarah offered to look after him at her ranch and help get him to southern Nicaragua.
“We’ll get him ready to hit the trail with Frenchie and Dude again,” she said as I got a chance to see her stable first hand.
Sarah runs an equestrian school for kids who may not have the opportunity to own a horse or take riding lessons. In her families beautiful property in La Esperanza, where they run a hydroelectric project, children learn to ride and jump.
“These kids are winning trophies all over the country at different horse shows and that makes it all worth it for me,” Sarah said as we watched them practice jumping.
After seeing Sarah’s passion for horses and adventure first hand, it became evident she had to be a part of Journey America. So on a hot Monday morning, Sarah, her trainer Santiago, Ariel, one of the countries top jumping prospects, and I rode out of Tegusigalpa headed for the border.
“This is going to be amazing,” Ariel said as we left the city.
That it was. For the next four days we laughed, drank beers and rode our ponies towards Danli, the last stop before reaching Nicaragua.
To be continued….
