tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36497524971948460102024-03-13T06:30:19.312-07:002000 Mile Aisle on HorsebackHe popped the question with an ulterior motive: To realise our long held dream of riding our horses from our home in Southern Spain to Brighton, England, where we could marry alongside our nearest and dearest (even the horses!).
This blog chronicles our epic long distance barefoot ride through Europe from the point of view of both bride (Niki) and groom (Mark). Will they get to the church on time... and in one piece??!!2000MileAislehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392522139176739928noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649752497194846010.post-65050317797640764462020-07-26T04:08:00.000-07:002020-07-26T04:08:03.787-07:00My thoughts about us & horses<div>My thoughts about the importance of credible leadership in our relationships with horses..</div><div>I believe that, like your child, your horse likes to feel safe under your wing, but unlike your child, your horse needs to believe in you & you have to earn that position. If not, the horse may be your friend, but will trust his own decisions more..</div><div>& being your friend doesn't mean he will look after you, he may like you but he will like horseplay & wouldn't know safety boundaries where humans are concerned. Plus I think every horse has an instinct to try leadership that starts through play, or may start through reaching for grass when riding, or trying to turn for home, or stopping on your way out, speeding up on your way home. & all of these little challenges s/he sets for you will develop if s/he succeeds too often. S/He will see these successes as doubts in you. </div><div>A horse is a herd animal, normally very happy just to follow advice, the alpha mare, or stallion will earn leadership through physical strength, we cannot do that, so we use our brains.</div><div>On the ground a horse must learn to respect human space, it doesn't know that to barge, bite or kick you, could do you serious harm. It doesn't know that to do you harm may result in, at the very least, you not being able to feed him/her that night, or worse still, selling him/her. </div><div>Our experience & confidence with horses generally grows & with that develops an inner strength & certainty which a horse will read & respond to positively. Often this positivity in your own mind alone is enough to convince the horse. </div><div>If we think about the decisions horses would make for themselves, they would be simple decisions with only the short term in mind, they do not know the consequences of their actions in our world, they would favour other horses, food, frolicking or just standing around, yes, I think they enjoy being ridden, alot of them love jumping & will choose to approach a fence, alot of them love a good gallop & I believe they do have a sense of oneness & feel the double sense of joy when you are united in action. Or indeed united in inaction. </div><div>Yes we should listen to our horses & respond to their fears knowing when to push through a problem rather than indulge it. & When you have complete trust from your horse, it will happily hand the problem over to you. </div><div>We mustn't forget horses instincts for fear & flight, but we know that flight in todays world isn't always the way to safety. It is in fact often the way to danger. We know there aren't any lions waiting behind a tree, so when we decide to get on board, we must be able to control that instinct, the best way to do that is before you have to pull on the reins. By desensitising your horse to everyday possible scary things & by earning their trust in you. </div><div>They trust you if they feel you are the one who won't harm them & they trust you more if you are the one that makes things happen that always turn out OK. </div><div>I'm writing this to kind of establish in my own mind, what it is I do & why, I think my purpose with horses & their humans is to help them to be safe & happy together in a practical way & furthermore to educate a horse in the universal language of humans so that they can live safely in this world wherever they are & whoever they're with, whilst educating humans to understand their horses & to be responsible owners. </div><div>All of this is for the love of the most beautiful & most generous animal in this world. ❤️🐎</div><div><br></div>2000MileAislehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392522139176739928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649752497194846010.post-958764182621121812019-03-28T12:32:00.001-07:002019-10-30T12:34:08.490-07:00What happened next... (& this was a while ago!) <p dir="ltr"><br>
We've been back home for two weeks now & it is Wonderful !! - Even though it's raining like England & we're thoroughly destitute. <br>
There's alot to catch you up on!</p>
<p dir="ltr">3 days after the wedding I discovered Rayo had strangles! It took a few days to confirm it with tests, but it was obvious, though I'd never seen it first hand before. It explained the coughing over the days since their arrival in England - Tio tested negative, but was treated all the same & did have a day or two of high temperature.<br>
My first reaction was of horror & fear for Rayo's life, I knew strangles was serious & the abcess & swelling was horrific, but thanks to google I was able to allay my fears quickly - nevertheless it was to have a huge impact on our immediate future. <br>
As some of you will know, it's a very contagious infection that requires time & cleanliness & alot of money. <br>
Firstly, I can't thank Suzy (our horses host) enough for her absolute consistancy in kindness, unflappability & hugs - given freely throughout the whole affair along with timely offers of G & T, she remained firm in her hospitality, generosity & good humour! Even though unbeknown to us at the time, she had troubles of her own - What a lady! ❤<br>
I can't go on with secondly, thirdly & all that - because everyone around us gave equally without question. <br>
Darling Fenella & her magical woods gave us indefinate safe haven & we got to know more of the woodland folk, the gloriously demur Deedee, Tommy & her cute little doggy 'Rosebud' - who once suddenly leaped into the lorry (I screamed !) to give me a cuddle when I was in tears! <br>
Pete the Log who gave Mark some much needed work & friendship.. <br>
Rayos treatment envolved a cycle of antibiotics, abcess squeezing, waiting, worrying & endoscopies - each time costing around 500 quid, Tio passed his first endoscopy, Rayo passed on his 2nd - two months after diagnosis.. Our vet Sally from Riegate, was really helpful & super efficient. <br>
The landlady of our local pub the 8 bells in Bolney, Micky was a darling, once when we arrived after kitchen hours, she helped us order a chinese delivery & set up a table for us ! Clever lady ! We of course stayed for a few drinks ! <br>
Fortunately Sussex had a mild autumn with not alot of rain - though it was chilly in the lorry shaded amoungst the trees. I enjoyed making improvements to our living area, cleverly (if I may say so myself) removing an unlikely to be used wardrobe & thereby extending the kitchen surface area, I made a nifty hanging cutlery drainer from a cut off plastic bottle & shortened the curtains all round to fit rather than hang dangerously into the bed, cooker etc.. <br>
I also repainted the front panel of the lorry cab & tidied up some rusty bits. All the while I was apprehensively keen to actually try driving the collosal 7.5 tonner of which I had no previous experience but would have to drive us & our 2 precious horses all the way to Spain - my husband being a non-driver ! <br>
This brings me to mention my wonderful brother who provided us with all our forms of transport - bar the horses of course ! <br>
The car was fun ! An oldie but goodie wolf in sheeps clothing Ford mondeo 3 litre V6 - a taj juicy but worth it, I couldn't help myself having a few race offs at the Buck barn traffic lights.. I'd exchange a glance at other would be racers - who'd perhaps heard the gutsy engine rumble, lights change & we're off ! I hardly ever won of course, most modern vehicles can lick an old mondeo, but I beat a landrover or two ! <br>
We saw quite alot of Billy & Teresa, my old friends from a previous life & it was wonderful to renew & further this friendship with them. Mark & I helped them on their current house building project (for which we were paid genorously) & we had a truly beautiful time with them. <br>
Our longtime friends Candy & Andy in hurstpierpoint had a couple of soirée's that were most enjoyable, all of us dancing wildly in their kitchen - something everyone should do regularly. <br>
So the first day came for my attempt at a drive in the lorry & in my hurried anticipation I reversed it across the sink draining ground area & got it stuck in the mud - arghhh ! Can you imagine digging out such a beast ?? Me & mark had probably our first post marital domestic - and John Glider comes to our rescue purely by chance with a 4x4 fitted with a winch & a few beers.. We later made light work of releasing the lorry but my first proper drive would have to wait until another day. <br>
The Butcher family - which almost includes my daughter, Joe Butcher being her long time partner, insisted we had showers when we were at their house - which was almost often enough to keep us clean ! -<br>
Also gave Mark some roofing work, one of Brightons most successful roofing firms, the business having been passed down through Butch by name & butch by nature father & son. <br>
So of course I enjoyed some priceless times with my beautiful daughter (The super shiney silver lining on our delay) Poppy lived with us in Spain throughout her childhood, speaks fluent Spanish & has since moving to England at 17 years of age, responsibly built & maintained a good life of which I am so proud. Our life in rural Spain is a boring one for a young adult so apart we must be, at least for the time being.. But our whatsapp conversational thread is probably the longest worldwide ! With maximum hearts. <br>
I missed my younger sister Rachel as she had just moved from Sussex to Dorset, but saw my older sister Ruth quite alot, enjoying charity shops & lunch outings & feeling our sisterly bond renewing itself, such waves of emotion surprised and moved me, but it does seem to me that sibling love increases with age! I miss them all living abroad as I do. <br>
So Julian came one day for my first lorry driving lesson - He couldn't be better qualified for this, having an HGV license, driving instructors license, a mechanic & talented body work specialist ! All potential disasters covered ! <br>
It was wierd - Being up there in the cab, looking down at the road & the cars.. My first maneuver out of the woodland gates into the tiny lane was a big start, missing the avenue of trees & hoping nothing comes the other way, then I felt pretty pleased with myself but I was only going about 10mph & Jules said ok now put your foot down a bit, I'm like - What ?!! But I did & we sailed on missing everything, negotiating the roundabout, pulling out of the T junction, down the A348 towards Buck barn - no racing this time ! <br>
I always find human beings ability to take additional space awareness into account with vehicles quite amazing, but of course it takes a little while & when you're on a medium sized two way road, lorries coming towards you seem awfully close ! 'Now dont be bullied Niki, hold your ground' said Jules, but at first it felt like a game of chicken ! Cluck cluck said she & I bumped the kerb.. It takes a brave passenger to calmly ask you to watch your positioning, use the mirrors & again, to put your foot down! - I was still going pretty slow & there was a big queue of cars behind me.. <br>
An hour & a half later Jules said congratulations Niki, you're a trucker ! I felt well proud ! </p>
<p dir="ltr">Well, there's just too much more to write, so I won't get you home in this blog after <u>all</u>!</p>
2000MileAislehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392522139176739928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649752497194846010.post-76021540276010327802018-10-21T07:02:00.001-07:002018-10-21T07:02:24.069-07:00La Bodahttps://photos.app.goo.gl/FMoyajGSzhqU2dei62000MileAislehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392522139176739928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649752497194846010.post-87371465802644650372018-09-28T14:08:00.001-07:002018-10-21T04:15:53.278-07:00La Boda<p dir="ltr">Blasted into the modern world <br>
Fast plane cars & people.<br>
To the horses! Our gorgeous boys there in Englands green & pleasant lands (thoughb they were brownish!) <br>
Then into the embrace of the woods, hugs, laughter, enthralment, excitement, comfort, security, talking & loads of energy! <br>
Food, drinks & total pleasure. <br>
A day of rushing, from one lovely thing to another - whisked off with my hens to an unknown location which beautifully turned out to be 'Pussy liqour' in concert in a wonderful dive miles away in Basingstoke! ...several tequilas later I'm invited on stage for the last number & I'm ok! I dance, I sing the one word chorus sharing Tallulahs microphone & totally hold my own on stage with the most explosive new young lesbian punk band on the music scene! I felt so right on & totally saciated - Can't tell you the lines of the song. But they're certainly cunting edge. <br>
Luckily this was on the Wednesday night & I had time to recover. <br>
Thursday Mark went panic wedding outfit shopping and surprisingly came back without notable stress. <br>
Friday we all moved into Garstons Farmhouse, our 3 day airbnb mansion. Woah! <br>
We rode the horses in & around the woods to accustom them to their surroundings & prepare them for their job on the big day. They both had a minor cough... <br>
We loved the woods, Long wood, owned by the cutest wood nyphet you can imagine & managed like a man.. Fenella, our host Miss yes to everything & a laugh you just have to join in with. <br>
Julian, my brother, my knight (Mark's the one with shining amor) arrived with a 7.5 ton lorry size present to be our honeymoonmobile. <br>
My sister Rachel, her unbounding take it all in her stride energy & selfless giving. <br>
Poppy my beautiful heart, my daughter & often my mother!<br>
Suzy, who just like that said yes these complete strangers horses can stay at my place - a huge paddock vieled with trees, stables, tack room, the lot & alot more. <br>
People, they can place you in such awe of their kindness. And when you're getting married, you can quite wallow in it. <br>
I felt I might explode, so full of loveliness.<br>
Does every bride cry the day before her wedding? It was a wierd day. It rained, which was horrifying. Everyone else was out being incredibly busy with preperations. Mark wasn't even there. Alone in a big house, no horses & a huge day lay ahead. <br>
I did some bridey prep things, I brushed my hair, did my nails, stuck the sole on my boots with superglue, tried the dress on, sewed some final touches, even put face cream on.. Looked out of the window alot, cried a bit, mainly at the unfairness of rain after 3 months of reliable sun in England. The wind blew too, the floors creaked.. <br>
Then suddenly everyone came back & it was full on again, things bought in (mostly hidden). Places I could & couldn't go. <br>
We all ate, we drank, but not too much - apart from the boys, currupted on Kraken rum by Andy K. <br>
I went to bed after ironing the bridesmaids dresses, they had never ironed before & I having had some experience years ago, found it a brief novelty. <br>
Mark came to bed & we memorised our vows in turns, I had to ignore his last minute attempt at changing the words - for richer for poorer - why mention money? I put this down to drunken ramble - I mean the reference is infact disregarding money & anyway we've been poor for so long whilst living richly. <br>
Then I actually slept. <br>
The day dawned & the sky was blue. <br>
My betrothed on his great white steed arrived at 'The Bolney Stage' bridely late, at a trot with my bay beauty trotting beside them. It was love at first sight, in a bowler hat, suit & cowboy boots, he was perfectly turned out. <br>
Our families met us there for early Prosseco toasts, hand shakes & hugs & we all looked glorious! Smiles on everyones <u>faces</u>!<br>
Rayo had a white plume on his head & my dress (Thank you Niki Bee) hung perfectly over his rump & bellowed in the wind! We rode side by side my man & I, on the bridge over the flyover, down the lane & now avenued with thick trees, we turned into Long wood lane in a lone buzz of expectectation, just us & the horses... <br>
Then we heard Taffy, saw Caitlins Maya approching, they flanked us to the gate, rushing for photo's & then we were greeted by the throng of guests at the entrance, given our bouquets precariously while the horses jiggled, mainly because they recognized the entrance of the place they had been before.. They pranced perfectly side by side up the first aisle, our guests in all their finery made way for us to pass, Wows cheers and happiness rang out! <br>
At the wagons, we dismounted & prepared ourselves for the short walk to the floral bower (courtesy of Candy) waited for people to gather in the copse.. Ray charles 'Come rain or come Shine' serenaded us as my brother led me into the woodland wonderland while his grand daughter Zoe laid our path with petals, to my mother (the vicar) who stood infront of the bower, it was so personal, we all made it what it was, hugs, wiggles and giggles & holding hands.. Mum, so tiny, but so loudly & clearly, spoke the blessings & led the promises, the bridesmaids, Rachel, Alis, poppy & Tallulah, a heavenly row of beauties stood by, Alfie came with the rings set on an engraved slice of tree. <br>
We weren't heard as well as my mother, but we said it all right - Mark reckons I said I'd serve him, but I don't remember that bit...Anyway Im sure he'd have to have said he'd serve me too & niether of us mind that too much! <br>
We hugged mum & each other & kissed under the bower lit with twinkling fairy lights.. Oh my! It was wantonly romantic. <br>
We were wed! <br>
Then to the tables under the colourful morrocan tent (Thankyou Rachel) lined with wonderful bunting of photos of us over the years (courtesy David) & the fooood!! Julia heading the chefs team turned out a banquet! <br>
People turning up infront of me that I hadn't seen for years! All looking just the same as ever! Moments between them, a few words, hugs & then we took our seats.. <br>
The food tasted as good as it looked, the spread was phenomenal. <br>
The speeches were informal & spontaneous - mostly girls spoke actually & it all came out fine.. I think I remembered to thank everybody & that wasn't an easy undertaking! My darling big sister Ruth recounted an embarrassing childhood tale, the best man, lovely Matt produced some witty & genuine words - But the speech of the day by a country mile was made by our darling Poppy, she drew tears & smiles on all the listeners faces as she recounted her childhood dreams of our marriage.. I had announced earlier that Poppy too would officially become a Fray-Irvine & her speech was so perfect, our pride spilled over.. <br>
Weddings should definitely last a week, a day isn't long enough - even if you stay up half the night.. Towards evening, My husband & I, as had been demanded, produced the most amazing, seemingly corriagraphed opening dance performance & on my part I looked on with disbelief & wonder as Mark actually danced so cool. Phwoar! <br>
Sadly nobody was really watching while I twistled & twirled swung the pole & met Mark for back bending embrace just like you see on Strictly.. <br>
Our gorgeous bar ladies Deb, Gerda, Sydney & Lisa kept the drinks flowing.. <br>
By then, I had tied my dress into an enormous bustle at my bottom because it picked up every twig & fallen leaf in it's fringed hem as I walked, slowing me down considerably. <br>
Taffy said I should change my dress 'it looked like a nappy'. I changed my dress & she said that was boring. So I went to see Sydney who has every little number a girl could ever want & she supplied me with a selection of 5 (& looked herself like a goddess by the way..)<br>
The first goldie frock stayed on all night. Taffy liked it. <br>
I danced the night away, everyone did, there were lots of fabulous pole efforts on the centre rigging, though many fell in a heap on the ground, including me.. <br>
The next day dawned with torrential rain & those who hadn't quite made it inside their tents for the night, woke drenched & hungover! <br>
We however, cosied up in our delicious bridal suite come woodmans <u>hut</u>, had a glorious lie in marital bliss. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-NG6rUTMweYs/W8ov1cXsCMI/AAAAAAAAE0w/aADnkqvDyaE0QwgdGoGhovKtA2fniPX0QCHMYCw/s1600/received_10156477245889210.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-NG6rUTMweYs/W8ov1cXsCMI/AAAAAAAAE0w/aADnkqvDyaE0QwgdGoGhovKtA2fniPX0QCHMYCw/s200/received_10156477245889210.jpeg"> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ATT06c3NMko/W8ov1x0kW5I/AAAAAAAAE00/9tQChr7ztFMgigaJUPvIFVcOyc3XHMndQCHMYCw/s1600/received_10156477240939210.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ATT06c3NMko/W8ov1x0kW5I/AAAAAAAAE00/9tQChr7ztFMgigaJUPvIFVcOyc3XHMndQCHMYCw/s200/received_10156477240939210.jpeg"> </a> </div>2000MileAislehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392522139176739928noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649752497194846010.post-71258827592754196892018-09-10T15:17:00.001-07:002018-09-19T05:00:28.672-07:00Calm before the Crazy<p dir="ltr">We all gradually unfolded in Rasquera, we made the horses a temporary paddock on an upper terrace which was thick with trees giving day long shade, they became hay eaters again, a new variety called 'heno' similar to English hay, very nice - but lacking the forage seeds they so enjoy! they preferred the alfalfa, which we gave in the evenings along with their usual 'home'  feed of sugarbeat & a little grain..</p>
<p dir="ltr">Our living quarters were divine, <u>so</u> luxurious & spacious ! Though most would say a yurt is rather small, it's considerately more roomy than a two man dome tent! And you can stand up to dress! - You know how annoying it is to put trousers on in a sitting position for two & a half months? <br>
During the day we hung out in the shade by the outside kitchen & had cold showers in the bathroom unit across the terrace, all built by Rob, who is clearly an expert carpenter with an eye for practical simplicity & a knack to create everything so pleasing to the eye.  <br>
The compost toilet was built on the edge of an upper terrace - a common tactic - which allows a natural drop into a container below, the toilet itself was a modern clinical unit in which you can pee & poo in the same sitting! It cunningly divides the waste with an oversized she-wee frontal attachment in the bowl. The poo lands with a delayed audible thud way down below, which makes you jump at first! But is very satisfying once you get used to it! The design is brilliant, keeping all odours out of the bathroom & shower area. <br>
Lisa had left us a healthy vegetable patch with fruits ripe for picking, Mark enjoyed some idle weeding and I was finally able to match my leg to arm tan by sunbathing next to a little plunge pool..</p>
<p dir="ltr">This life was physically undemanding but mentally fraught! I had a linguistic conumdrum in planning the horses transport, having to pass on specific requirements from English to Spanish to Catalan.<br>
Elena, the ministry vet from Mora de Ebro was a great help, but the detail of needing the actual ministry vet stamp on the health certificate was never properly understood and thankfully the vet Elena had appointed, went in his own time to get the stamp at the office on the morning the horses were due to be collected. <br>
Parkers had mis informed us on a definate collection date & we had to re book our flights at our own cost. <br>
We also had to get into wedding planning mode, though our dream team, Rachel, Julia & Candy, headed by my daughter Poppy had covered almost everything, there were inevitable questions re preferences of this & that and getting our heads into gear was difficult. Mark hadn't yet got his outfit sorted & struggled to shop online. I confidently ordered my special wedding Dr Martins Leona Temperley boots on a dodgy site & was ripped off for a hundred quid with no delivery. </p>
<p dir="ltr">We got to know various locals as we were quickly recognised simply because we always went to town on horseback - on one occasion I impressed a crowd of old boys outside a bar by successfully drawing cash out of a cash machine without dismounting! Not many horses would stand so close to the wall inset with its bright lights, beeping and emerging money sounds! Rayo was just about still enough for me to tap in the pin number right and didn't run off before I got the money! - Good boy Rayo! He does me so proud! <br>
We went on a couple of treks around the area, visiting new friends, punctuated with local bars of course! We met a beautiful young spanish couple, Esmerelda & Ishmail who have horses too & spent a night over, delicious food & lively conversation, whilst Mark deflated blow by blow as the massive TV (for the whole game) didn't connect well enough to the wifi for the quarter final of the world cup! <br>
They had the most varied collection of laying birds out in the garden & some lush home grown veg. <br>
Incredibly kind too, they drove us around to offices & feed shops (I mean for horses!) without us ever needing to ask. </p>
<p dir="ltr">During the whole time we stayed at Rob & Lisa's finca, we would often hear birds, they became a familiar sound, starting early evening, perhaps with squarks from the young, then louder and clearly adult and of the preying kind. We discussed what they could be with visitors & I imagined exactly where the flock were living, in a bunch of high trees between us & the main(ish) road. We rode nearby a couple of times & I listened & looked eagerly to see one. </p>
<p dir="ltr">The day finally came for leaving our hide away & facing the fantastic, impossible to imagine, so nice we daren't think of them, days before us, the reunion with family, friends old and new, and a celebration of our love in a magical woodland location in surpringly sunny Sussex. </p>
<p dir="ltr">On the way to meet the lorry, full packs on the horses, who are not so sure about leaving their new found home.. We're riding past the clump of trees to our right, the birds had begun, up close, they were really loud! <br>
Rayo's ears were twitching, his head going up, speed increasing, then the bird screamed so loud as if amplified with a 2k sound system! We fully expected to see a huge pterodactyl approaching us from the trees & Im sure Rayo did too, Tio jumped out of his skin! Then it dawned on us & perhaps the farmer was even sitting there watching & turning up the volume on his recorded bird scaring machine! </p>
<p dir="ltr">Today I can barely speak of the ill fated departure of our 2 boys on the transport lorry.. though they travelled well & arrived safely.. Us bound by plane the next day.. Unbeknown to us all, it would radically change the fate of our <u>marital</u> <u>adventure</u>.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4nnFJDyXyfk/W6I6WNWOPkI/AAAAAAAAELU/WZ63UbUqRTAu-8RHDtOm3ywo2Ejbwjp9QCHMYCw/s1600/IMG-20180916-WA0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4nnFJDyXyfk/W6I6WNWOPkI/AAAAAAAAELU/WZ63UbUqRTAu-8RHDtOm3ywo2Ejbwjp9QCHMYCw/s200/IMG-20180916-WA0001.jpg"> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zLWISxPDnz8/W6I6WrzrPkI/AAAAAAAAELY/VSH4dPLamTMAvi4VLcWrU33QTE_96sgiwCHMYCw/s1600/IMG-20180916-WA0006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zLWISxPDnz8/W6I6WrzrPkI/AAAAAAAAELY/VSH4dPLamTMAvi4VLcWrU33QTE_96sgiwCHMYCw/s200/IMG-20180916-WA0006.jpg"> </a> </div>2000MileAislehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392522139176739928noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649752497194846010.post-46215752623081023162018-08-04T12:41:00.001-07:002018-08-04T12:41:59.349-07:00Comraderi<p dir="ltr">It only takes a few weeks to become fully fledged Outies, you can feel it in your skin at first, it feels rugged, not to the touch, it just feels different. After being out doors through all kinds of weather, you lose the need for being in doors, in doors seem strange, confined & unnecessary, and then, more profoundly you see how crazy it is that we've shut ourselves in with concrete, we've concereted out all sign of nature (visualise the film 'Inception' !) In the extreme, we've actually hidden the real earth from our city dwellers! Even driving from one to another by car, you only see what's beside the road, which is next to nothing as it flashes by.</p>
<p dir="ltr">These days we set off as early as possible in the morning, getting up with a cold coffee - bought as a take away the night before - we just can't use the cooker anymore, it's so dry now & the risk of fire is too high.   <br>
One morning we stopped in a tiny bar at the top of a hill after our first leg of the day, it was about 9.30 am, we had a coffee & a copa each, enjoyed an argument over which was the highest town in Spain with the old boys having 'breakfast' around their cluster of empty glasses - apparently it's not Trevelez?? They insisted on getting us both another very large copa, which they poured themselves from a bottle on the bar - then the barman joined in & wouldn't let us go without another 'Chupito para la carretera' !! <br>
The ongoing ride was super pleasant if not slightly over emotional as we were both gushing drunks. <br>
We arrived in the next town before 2, first stop always water, then for grass & shade. While the horses ate & rested we snacked on anything we had left, dozed on benches under the trees & waited for the shops to open.. <br>
That evening, we had the treat of quite a large supermarket with actual food in it (sadly, most small town shops only stock cakes & pop!), then on towards the river end of town, via a bar where we met a throng of people..The ice was broken by Enrique, though he couldn't speak for a tracheotomy, he breathed & gestured that he'd like to hold the horses for us while we ordered drinks..There was silence for just a moment, my brain ticking, desperate to understand him, then I handed Rayo over with a smile and everybody started talking again, clearly all friends of Enrique & that was it, we were in the gang. <br>
Leaving it late again because of all assurances of grass by the river, we fell into a similar nightmare I wrote about before. There was hardly any grass by the river ! <br>
Eventually we found an overgrown terrace with standing hay, just enough, but we desperately needed to rest a day and here wouldn't do. <br>
But after a somewhat tragic night, in the morning, Rosa drove by, complimenting the horses, she mentioned she had her own if there's anything we needed? I nearly cried. <br>
That evening while the horses munched contentedly on alfalfa we dined in luxury on Rosa & Paco's terrace! Such a lovely couple! We chatted about everything - I know I've said exactly that before - but the Spanish are so open, they will easily divulge into quite intimate subjects, feelings, fears & experiences.. There's nothing to hide, it's comforting.. It opens you up to talk about anything too and you quickly become friends.<br>
We spent 2 days there, the horses nestled in the shade of the pine woods with plenty of fodder, lots of locals stopped to visit, other horse owners, a farrier popped by to check the horses feet, this being the third farrier to have shown an interest in their shoe-less-ness! One lad even brought his entire donkey along to see us! (not just some of it 😂), which was very well behaved. </p>
<p dir="ltr">The next day we moved on refreshed & jolly, which was good because it was a long stretch to the next town, but we're a fine tuned machine now and bouyed by the fact that we were approaching the Valencia/Cataluña border! - This was a big thing for me because that meant our horses would be on legal territory! (Our local horse official couldn't get the computor to accept a journey of more than 10 days - so we were overdue!).</p>
<p dir="ltr">The border towns were so picturesque! Approaching on horseback you get time to soak up the views & a chance to see the layout -The river splits the two regions and the two towns, we were in Cataluña - Valencia - Cataluña - Valencia, looking for our grassy watery shady spot.  We struck lucky, under the shade of a wooden pedestrian bridge, just next to the river was a perfect area with long green grass. <br>
- And the choice of provinces. </p>
<p dir="ltr">It was another naturally closed in space and we were able to pop out, soon alerted to the local fiesta in Valencia, we popped into Cataluña for shopping, Valencia for drinks, then home just in time for a mammoth firework display infront of the horses eyes!! <br>
They were swinging on the end of their tethers as we arrived & though they did calm, stare & deal with it themselves, we were so glad to have arrived at that moment - Tio had nieghed with relief for Mark as we approached..Then in the last spectacular moments of the display, we were all in a line watching together in awe and I think the horses actually enjoyed it! <br>
So we rested there, it was getting terribly hot & we found 3 days on deserved 2 days off. <br>
The grass was especially good too, so why not.. </p>
<p dir="ltr">The town on the Cataluña side was pretty big & it took us a while to find our way out of it! It was early Sunday morning, post fiesta, so nobody out bar late party goers who stared at us in the town centre with disbelief.</p>
<p dir="ltr">There's a saying that horses must be allowed to be horses and ours haven't had much time for that! When we can, we still put them both free inside a pretend electric fence, but only when we're there watching them, as we were, one day in a lovely abandoned farm just outside Mas de Barberosa.. Lounging in the shade eating apricots and plums from 'our' trees.. Tio was being very suspicious, we spied him trying to push Rayo towards the fence and he'd been teasing us by pinging the tape with his nose..they were both restless..<br>
Then he swung his head in his frustrated kind of way & just as we ran to stop them at the gate area, Tio galloped at the fence & jumped it, swiftly followed by Rayo! <br>
Mark ran after them! I ran! (kindof) inspite of my leg, towards the road. Then watched them, ready to head them off if they came my way.. Bucking & farting, galloping and jumping dry stone walls into ploughed areas, rolling, jumping up with another twisty buck, to & fro until they couldn't figure out where to run to & ran out of steam, where Mark finally got hold of Tio's halter. <br>
Oooops! <br>
But thankfully niether were hurt and nobody witnessed it but us! <br>
And the horses had some horsey time! </p>
<p dir="ltr">As some of you know, the plan this 2nd attempt was to ride as far as pleasantly possible - hopefully into France, and then my brother would come with our lorry to take us the rest of the way to Sussex..It was about now that we got the news that the lorry had deteriorated in the year sitting in a wet field in sussex.. It wasn't going to make it to pick us up! This was a big blow, but having come this far, we weren't going back home now! <br>
I've sent a few horses on transport to the Uk in the past so I made some enquiries & got a reasonable quote.. Thankfully I know something of the rules & regulations for moving horses in Spain & though at first it was all No! In the end it was accepted that we could legally travel from anywhere within the Cataluña region. The official vet here bent over backwards to help, unlike our local man in Orgiva who doesn't bend atall. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Fortunately our friends Robin & Lisa, were expecting us to visit their finca in Rasquera & this seemed like the ideal base for us and the horses to plan & execute our departure. <br>
We were all ready for it to be honest, Mark & I were exhausted, the horses were fine because we made sure they were, but the heat changes everything. <br>
So began our last few days trekking on this leg of our adventure. </p>
<p dir="ltr">The river Ebro was looming, we predicted swimming & grass, and we found it. It was glorious! It's a massive river, wide and dreamy.. Banks lush! We swam, they grazed, we unpacked, started putting the tent up, then noticed the horses we're agitated, it was dusk & the flies had come, tiny little black ones, thousands of them. We found we couldn't stay still, they flew direct into your eyes & mouth, up your nose too, so we were all snorting! The horses were going bonkers, all we could think of was to load up again and carry on, not easy, but absolutely necessary. <br>
It was no wonder we had this beautiful place to ourselves! <br>
So at 9pm we set off again, riding beside the canal, it was lovely actually, cool & pleasantly darkening, a beautiful sunset - and we knew we would be able to follow the Via Verda where no cars were allowed. <br>
The Via Verda is the old railway track and some of the old stations still exist, now used as cafe's for walkers, cyclists etc.. <br>
Earlier in the day we had stopped for lunch at such a Station, it was so welcome! We'd met a lovely couple cycling the route & joined them for a natter, she American, he Italian, all of us had broken some part of our left legs in the past year and we compared scars & recuperation times! Haha! <br>
So continuing on in the dark, quite spooky, with many tunnels, some illuminated from a few metres inside which startled the horses when they suddenly lit up, but were welcome of course. <br>
The next Station was shut. It was 2am now so quite understandable, but lights were on and we set about finding water for the horses.. We weren't greeted well, the horses weren't welcomed and no sympathy to our plight, but we did get water. <br>
That night we found some grass on a track off the road, but though the horses could eat & relax, me & mark couldn't manage the tent & slept (badly) cowboy style with saddles as pillows. <br>
We maybe got an hour before daylight & immediately packed & tacked as the dawn flies grew in number. <br>
We knew the next bit would be on a big main road as the bridge was the only way to get over the Ebro. <br>
We donned our Hi Viz's and set off, it was about 6am. <br>
Arriving safely in Benefallet, the village before Rasquera, we noticed that rather than bottles of booze on their bar tables, they had Revlon honey flavour skin softener & a couple of lads on seeing the horses fidgeting went straight over & smothered them with it, and Wow! They were still, they relaxed, not a fly landed on them while we had coffee & toast. <br>
Later in the local shop we tried to buy the stuff but they'd sold out! - and one can't help but notice the soft clear and spot less complexion on the locals! <br>
The next 6 k's to Rasquera were very difficult because we were so tired, the horses too now, & they were hungry, you can't tell them we're nearly there, but you can say 'come along now, lets get it done'. I was drip feeding Rayo carobs! Leaning forward, popping one in every now & then, which cheered him. </p>
<p dir="ltr">It's hard to describe how we felt on arrival at the land in Rasquera, it was a massive relief on one hand, to unload the saddlebags for perhaps the last time, not to have to put the tent up, to be able to cook & wash up, standing up, to sit about in chairs, lounge on loungers, sleep in a bed! <br>
But on the other hand, this was the end of the simple life - not easy - but simple. A daily goal that is met and renewed. The road that constantly changes, igniting all your senses. This was end of the road of freedom, the freedom that comes from being self contained & nomadic. </p>
<p dir="ltr">It's amazing that you can get to know each other better, even after 20+ years together!<br>
Do I recommend this kind of thing as a pre-marital compatability test? Not generally, no! Alot of couples would shelf it. <br>
But after 20 years you know what to ignore about each other and there's always more to learn - I would say one of the most important things to nurture in a relationship is comradeship. I guess it can help if you're both facing something difficult together, but don't we often we blame the other for something going wrong? for their mistake, we argue over who's fault it is, we want our beloved to feel incompetent? to suffer the guilt? Crazy huh?! We are all human & we will all inevitably make mistakes! Far better to move on, just resolve it in a practical way and move onwards & upwards! <br>
I do however recommend it as a 'Live in the now' therapy - as a journey of self discovery and as a fast fitness regime!<br>
My betrothed has been my constant hero - he did everything he could possibly do to help me, to help us, because he doesn't want me to break again. He walked quite alot, even though his foot isn't 100 percent. I couldn't walk any distance at horse pace, so I'd sometimes ride Tio, then Rayo could get a break and Rayo carried less pack wieght too as he would inevitably be ridden more. <br>
So like I say we were a fine tuned machine & we got it right, the horses look wonderful tonight relaxing in their wooded paddock here in Rasquera. After generously giving us 750 kilometres without ever complaining it's no less than they deserve. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0GIV2YXmQsE/W2YBgqApLOI/AAAAAAAADvc/JQYajPjZEYE7zFTaDfIO3jBVa5vctTn_wCHMYCw/s1600/IMG_20180622_172420.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0GIV2YXmQsE/W2YBgqApLOI/AAAAAAAADvc/JQYajPjZEYE7zFTaDfIO3jBVa5vctTn_wCHMYCw/s200/IMG_20180622_172420.jpg"> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--MW_Jk4gT-M/W2YBhSrj9GI/AAAAAAAADvg/vWGGz0-TeJsQM31syMLg_2Dr-VyIbqEbQCHMYCw/s1600/IMG_20180706_120517.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--MW_Jk4gT-M/W2YBhSrj9GI/AAAAAAAADvg/vWGGz0-TeJsQM31syMLg_2Dr-VyIbqEbQCHMYCw/s200/IMG_20180706_120517.jpg"> </a> </div>2000MileAislehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392522139176739928noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649752497194846010.post-8644414341389970132018-06-23T07:35:00.001-07:002018-06-23T07:35:40.492-07:00The Merry go round ! <p dir="ltr">So the virtues of living on the trail.. Patience ! One must wait - if the other has to stop get off & adjust their load, one must be patient & then Tolerance ! - when this happens time & time again.. & humour ! - when whilst one is waiting you think, well I might as well put my so & so in the thingamy & the other says Ok I'm ready & you say hang on ! & we dont get anywhere ! <br>
But once were in the zone & the horses have taken to a comfortable jog, heads down, us in our own dream lands..we can lap up the K's. The track & road routes we've moved onto instead of the GR7 obstacle course are wonderful at first... you know Spanish mountain/countryside roads are all like that opening scene in The Italian job (where he gets blown up in the tunnel) long winding & picturesque, like gliding, with no other cars on the road... But now we kind of miss the wilderness. <br>
Our next stop was near the town of Millares, where<br>
we became quickly famous, having hidden our packs in undergrowth & riding free of saddlebags up to find the local bar (an exciting new development in tactics !) every single person - and I'm talking about maybe 10 of them, as they arrived at their daily local said ' Wow ! Horses, we haven't seen horses here for, let me see, at least 10 years ! Not kidding, they all said exactly that. In Spanish of course.. But we were like, astonished - incredulous! But it had to be true, cars stopped, people got out, phones, photos etc etc, but hardly anyone dared to actually touch the horses - one woman stood nearby ish holding her dog which by facial expression was clearly petrified !! <br>
As we rode away through town after coffee in the same bar next morning, the streets were lined with smiling faces in doorways.. Wierdly royal type feelings again, but it's nice to bring something different along !! </p>
<p dir="ltr">We had to plan a delivery of Scoot boots, timing our arrival in Buñol to collect them & we got here too early ! We are camped just across the river from the town, lots of grass here for the horses, a few friendly passers by.. <br>
Yesterday I was invited into our temporary nieghbours house by the lovely Harmonia, she wanted to show me the house & share a coffee with her - first her patio with natural waterfall & beautiful plants, then through a door & a massive function room, another door another huge room (I mean hanger size) up a level, a massive pool, half empty & green - giving me a flashback feeling to my childhood where Nana lived at Copthorne house. <br>
I followed as she beckoned me all over the incredibly decieving massive property - she was quick & agile along an open asequia in a dark tunnel with a slippery edge, up & down steep metal stairways - whilst I struggled to keep up (still slightly lame).<br>
All the while at every far point before we turned around she was calling 'Copi  wohoo Copi !' with no reply, a dog ? a husband ? She hadn't said. She didn't stop saying all sorts of other things though & repeating herself so it was hard to get a word in ! Until she said 'How old do you think I am ?' to which I thought quicky how to reply with a compliment & said '65? '..She's 78! Over did it slightly ! ..But an amazingly youthful & stunning old lady she is. Still no Copi & I was beginning to wonder if there was one.<br>
Finally, after seeing every corner & running out of spanish words for saying 'Wow !', a shout came from the far end of the olive terrace & a while later Copurnicus appeared, husband of 85 yrs.. <br>
Mark was invited down & we sat together in their courtyard discussing almost everything over a very strong shot of coffee with loads of sugar. <br>
They offered their Olive terrace for the horses as it's completely fenced in, but on inspection I pointed out that they'd eat the grape vines - 'Oh sod the grapevines' Copi replied !<br>
Still we've left the horses where they are, which is a lovely big grassy paddock with 3 natural borders & a double line of pretend electric fence.<br>
In the corner there's a small shed belonging to a nice hunter man.. Every night he's been out to shoot wild boar & come back empty handed 😉. Last night we heard the shot & then galloping hooves ! Too light for a horse, so I guess it was the lucky boar. He keeps rabbits in the shed, stinks to high heaven, but even so, he invited me in & put a cute baby rabbit in my arms, how long until it's dinner I asked ?.. 6 months. <br>
So we've found ourselves stuck here for 4 days waiting for the boots & after being a bit annoyed at the hold up, we now see it as perfect for the horses - nearly half way up the aisle, its a great time to stop & properly rest & fill up with grass.<br>
We are mostly cleaning & repairing things.. We've got a lovely set up, tent & tarp under a wide fig tree on the terrace above the horses. It's raining on & off, but when off, it returns to full sun, so kind of perfect really ! <br>
As is usual here, none of our temporary nieghbours actually live in their farmhouses, they just come daily to tend to the land & trees.. They tell us to let the horses eat all the grass & where best to get the water, they have offered us much more than we could accept. <br>
Copi bought us a loaf of bread this Sunday morning, just as we were serving up our omelette ! <br>
Last night we actually left horses & camp and went to town where they were having a Medieval market & fiesta with bands etc.. Alas we couldn't stay out long (which means you miss everything, as here nothing starts til midnight) & returned to find all was well & just as we sat under our tarp it began to rain. <br>
Our luck this time around is (almost !) as good as it was bad last time. <br>
- After riding away from Bicorp a few days ago we pushed on to make it here for the boot collection, finding ourselves out in the open as far as the eye could see & a storm was coming.. It was getting late & we were looking to stop - rounded a corner to find a picnic area with fuente, grass & a shelter big enough for all of us ! <br>
Finally we left Buñol without the boots ! We tipped the post office gal to send them three towns onward because we had to get on. <br>
But we had such fun there ! Had a laugh with Copi & Harmonia over more cafe & sugar, extra funny when 80 year olds surprise you with a naughty joke about the only instrument Copi plays is the Harmoni(c)a..In Spanish you tocar to touch & you tocar to play an instrument. <br>
Haha ! <br>
Hey on Sunday we just went for a ride ! No packs light as feathers happy bouncy horses, naughty horses - Rayo making fun of everything & lets gallop all the way back to Las Alpujarras! But what a place we rode to ! La cueva de Turche with a natural clear lake infront of a cave below a greeny grey rock face, the water aqua-marine. A few people were there to swim & some climbers/absailers were starting off from the cliff top, following the line of the waterfall & splashing down into the lake. <br>
I decided I'd take Rayo in, the lake was big & clear, so you could see the depth, but it was going to be a bit of a show whether I liked it or not & I sat there worrying about doing it.. Then stripped off Rayos tack & my lower half & took centre stage riding in for a swim. People stood up, cameras clicked & there was even clapping!  I shrieked when he first launched into a swim ! It took me by surprise, a whole new thing to ride, like being on the merry go round ! - Next time, the sea ! - and Mark & Tio are coming in too. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Last night however, having left our comfortable place in Buñol, we were late & complacent finding a good overnight stop - the locals in told us there was grass at at the Vista Alegre above town, so we had another beer, but when we got there, there wasn't a blade ! And the fuente wasn't running. We went on past as it grew dark finding next to nothing, infact we were on rocks & gorse.. We stopped & I walked off to scout - found a Santiago walking home & then a Vincente, the boss, who more than happily let us stay on a small terrace where the only cover of green grass exsisted, he told us the rest had been poisoned. They gave us more water & we muddled on through in the dark. Can't tell you how difficult & tiring this can be, we're tired upon tired, but I'll tell you what..It is worth it ! <br>
Here in this region it's all Carob trees, the ground is littered with dark brown chocolaty treats & the branches are heavy with fat green runner bean looking things, beautiful trees ! I looked them up as a horse fodder (fearing Rayo getting another sugar rush) & they are sugary but high fibre..I kept him from eating too many..they were a god send for Tio on the small terrace, but he kept me awake crunching. <br>
The next morning we had coffee in a bar on the edge of town, we arrived at 10am & all the tables outside were full & had eaten meals & bottles of wine on them ! At 10 in the morning ! Needless to say everyone was very friendly.. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Roll on the good times ! </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CJy3laRA4io/Wy5auMT7MQI/AAAAAAAADQg/4EtZZTNbk6ohqJaM3_J7lc1kWqY3GfWmACHMYCw/s1600/IMG-20180620-WA0000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CJy3laRA4io/Wy5auMT7MQI/AAAAAAAADQg/4EtZZTNbk6ohqJaM3_J7lc1kWqY3GfWmACHMYCw/s200/IMG-20180620-WA0000.jpg"> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IUtW3kObzk0/Wy5au3-xvNI/AAAAAAAADQk/WE1jBnFXdVU6VUpPyG0ptj6JQDrPbRCDACHMYCw/s1600/IMG_20180617_171325.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IUtW3kObzk0/Wy5au3-xvNI/AAAAAAAADQk/WE1jBnFXdVU6VUpPyG0ptj6JQDrPbRCDACHMYCw/s200/IMG_20180617_171325.jpg"> </a> </div>2000MileAislehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392522139176739928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649752497194846010.post-17802580363487887342018-06-17T07:40:00.001-07:002018-07-05T04:38:17.187-07:00After the rest<p dir="ltr">After the rest we've had a week or so riding the GR7 again, from Ontinient to Vallada was our best day yet, the route took us kindly through every sort of terrain, the horses were happy & lively with noticeable renewed comfort on their bare feet, though I would add that this aspect of their well being has been most challenging, it would have been impossible without their Scoot boots. <br>
On this day we went over a small mountain, up on a mule path, then on to dirt tracks through the pine forest & down to join the old railway route, this was of course a lovely straight path, perfectly shaded with trees & ran right alongside the new railway, obscured most of the time, but the contrast of old & new was striking. We had to cross the new railway a couple of times, just by looking each way & listening for the hiss, before riding over the tracks ! We actually did this as kids with our ponies & it reminded me so much of my childhood days riding alongside the railway at Christs Hospital school, where we'd inevitably end up galloping next to the train, the scene resembling something out of a western hold up, though my pony by that time was probably riderless ! <br>
One or two trains did pass while we we're on this old path, but thankfully, at points when we weren't too close. <br>
So we were happy to be in the wilds again, seeing miles of countryside, mountains & valleys, some so wide that you can see the country like a big 3D map and with several horizons, you can actually see visable progress across Spain as the closer hills pass by, other times you're so closed in that you can't see past the next corner & you think how this tiny path with us on it, is so insignificant & yet our lifeline - being the red & white stripes of the GR7 - when you know you're on it it's fantastic, but when you're not sure, its terribly daunting. <br>
In the <u>forests</u>, sometimes we're riding by the tops of massive trees which are rooted far below on the steep mountainside, other times with the trees towering above us & the undegrowth busy with life, tiny bright butterflies.. vividly coloured little flowers of white, pink, yellow & blue, they're beautiful, like love in the mist, but there's no mist. </p>
<p dir="ltr">In the next days our path grew less distinct, narrow, steep & difficult, trees have fallen & in some areas have been cut clear of the path, even so it was tricky to pass between some trees with our wide loads & whilst some trees will bend away if you push as you go by, others are too big, but I watched Mark being the man infront of me as he was <u>seemingly</u> pushing the big trees away, when I finally realised he was doing it to move Tio over ! As Mark often says, there's more than one way to skin a cat, (where did that awful phrase come from !?)<br>
As we passed into the next province the path became less maintained & finally we came to a point in the middle of the forest where we simply couldn't pass. The route back would be long & disheartening at best. We didn't have a signal for gps, & little power from the solar panels as we were out of the sun. Panic could have set in, but of course we were cool as cucumbers - Haha ! Only the horses were cool. <br>
After some tense minutes waiting for just a tiny charge on a phone & moving to another spot for a signal, we thankfully found a way out.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Difficult......  But not impossible. </p>
<p dir="ltr">The size & beauty of the landscape is hard to absorb, the richness of it all, you feel saturated, in a good way..but leaving no space to remember the names of the towns we pass or are heading for ! This is also because the town names are weird, like 'Tirig' where we are now.. And when you travel like this, the spoken language changes gradually.. We're in Valencia, where Valenciano is most used & the further north we go, the stranger people sound, however & thankfully, everyone can still speak Castillano. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Now it's finally got hot ! & we just have to get up at 5.30 & do our k's before lunch. If we're not off the trail & in the shade by then, the horses will tire, they'll be thirsty, we'll be hungry & tempers will fray, or more often - Irvine ! </p>
<p dir="ltr">Our 3rd Lavenderia stop over was the best ever ! this one in Ummm, what was it called ? More like a grand turkish bath with pillars & archways 3 pools like pools, I couldn't see a reason not to get in for a<br>
proper bath (& swim) ! After all, other townspeople have even suggested we sleep in the lavanderia house & not bother with the tent ! <br>
Anyway directly beside this one was a gloriously lush riverbed where the horses happily browsed.. With big old trees for shade & a pretty archway under the bridge, it was delightful thankyou very much. </p>
<p dir="ltr">We do however have to have great caution with the chance of poisoned grass, in these rural areas where animals are no longer cropping the municipal areas of herbage, the councils will put poison on the land, it being a fire risk to have long dry grass around a town. Also farmers may poison land for the same reason & to make harvesting of trees easier.. Therefore we look for abandoned farms just outside of town, near some horse water, checking with anybody we see nearby.. Its quite a complicated process & can take some time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Our trusty steeds are faring very well, they've both lost a taj of weight & muscled up, they cope easily with us & the load now that they're accustomed to it. <br>
Everyone remarks on how well they look inspite of jaw dropping faces on hearing where we've ridden from.! <br>
We've had foot inspections from helpful experts (for horses of course) all good. <br>
The condition of our horses amaze us, hardly a mark of any stress, bar being away from home, which sadly is still with them, both would still prefer to turn south. <br>
Without going too horsey on everyone, both me & Mark find ourselves emersed in their exsistance, being on this trail, you're side by side, pretty much all the time, relationships have soared ! My horse actually likes me ! He really trusts me, he knows I'm always making sure he's ok and I really like that. Tio is so 'like that' with Mark, he actually knickers & nieghs in comunication.. He also shoves us in disagreement & steels food from<i> our</i><i> </i>bag. <br>
Rayo is also quite opinionated, unlike the closed horse when I got him, he sees we can negotiate. <br>
Yes, horses totally come first, so me & Mark are neglecting our needs - that came out wrong ! I mean food & sleep. <br>
I'll be busy doing something & then It'll gradually dawn on me that I've got a churning tummy & my stomachs kindof eating itself & I'm like, oh yeah - food ! Goddam it, it gets in the way. <br>
& enough sleep when you get up at 5.30 a.m. & you're not an accomplished siestarer ! </p>
<p dir="ltr">So I'll admit, I've sobbed, but I'm still being bamboozled with happy feelings. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0bPrS3xJWBU/Wz4DH7rvPAI/AAAAAAAADTY/-lV0hmWmdr47ejmU8E5EFUtpM0KVQc_GgCHMYCw/s1600/IMG_20180627_170608.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0bPrS3xJWBU/Wz4DH7rvPAI/AAAAAAAADTY/-lV0hmWmdr47ejmU8E5EFUtpM0KVQc_GgCHMYCw/s200/IMG_20180627_170608.jpg"> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IlgRWdCjeck/Wz4DItgQXtI/AAAAAAAADTc/YrrTjyukfhM_nr84PWaLXWU67FO54bmpwCHMYCw/s1600/IMG_20180630_211155.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IlgRWdCjeck/Wz4DItgQXtI/AAAAAAAADTc/YrrTjyukfhM_nr84PWaLXWU67FO54bmpwCHMYCw/s200/IMG_20180630_211155.jpg"> </a> </div>2000MileAislehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392522139176739928noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649752497194846010.post-19949074361120874322018-06-04T03:58:00.001-07:002018-06-06T04:19:24.582-07:00Ramblngs on the ramble..<p dir="ltr">Nearly a month now down the aisle and it's mostly heaven and sometimes hell. <br>
It also comes highly recommended as a positive impact physiotherapy program for an ex broken leg. <br>
Heaven is being on horseback pretty much everyday, it's being as free as you could be, it's the countryside & the lovely people we encounter along the way. It's Mark cooking, us laughing, a cold beer after a day in the sun, it's just looking at the horses & knowing they're fine. It's heavenly finding a perfect night spot & finally getting into our cosy bed, we've come to love our tiny tent and food tastes glorious because we're so hungry! <br>
We've had little or no problems camping each night, if it's near a town, almost everybody is welcoming & helpful.<br>
Kids flock around the horses, we often reach a town at 2, just missing the shops - doh! but catching the kids coming out of school to rings of 'Caballo Caballo!' People want to take pictures of them beside the horses, sometimes we sit kids on top, but often we want to save the horses & don't offer. <br>
Kids are great! They will hang around & be honoured to fill the horses water containers from the fuente, delight in just touching them & in awe of their size, feeling proud to have come so close. Strange how in some of these very rural areas there are hardly any horses and often the kids have never touched one.<br>
Heaven is the simple way of life.. as in things like this, now sitting under the bridge in the shade by the river for the horses to graze and drink, chatting to passers by, improving my spanish no end! <br>
Some of our night spots are so perfect, you feel like it's a miracle, there has to be water nearby for the horses and plentiful grass, but often there's a natural boundary or even fencing, where we are now, there's loads of grass next to the track going under the bridge on the edge of Bicorp town. There's a lavandería here, an old washing house, they still exsist in alot of small towns, so our clothes and the saddle pads are now drying on the fence.<br>
The other day, just as it started to rain, we came to an abandoned mansion with a beautiful & very handy portch we could all get under to keep dry, it was an amazing place, gone to ruin, as many have in Spain, obviously wealthy & luxurious in it's day, but times changed, in this case, perhaps a slump of the silk textile industry in the area.<br>
There at the mansion was a perfectly fenced area waist high with <u>grass</u>! As we led them to their night spot (forsaking our preference to put up our tent in the beautiful portchway) I saw a nasty hole in the ground ahead of Mark & Tio, said 'mind the hole! ' & Mark said 'there's a toad in it' and sure enough there was a toad in the hole. <br>
Later we ate dinner beside the old ruined swimming pool. Stir fried noodles - yummy! 😂<br>
Going back a couple of weeks, we've enjoyed various hospitalities.. That of Julia & Ian, such a lovely over night stop while Tio saw the dentist, (wonderful vet called Rocio). Apart from having her own horse too, Julia has a lovely husband &<br>
Beautiful house with a playboy back terrace, swim up to the bar pool, fluffy headed chickens & very lucky cats. we had such a fun time, ate out (chinese!), showered & slept in a bed in a room!<br>
Then realising we could actually plan ahead & get some more luxuries, we have since booked in to a couple of campsites, both of which have been totally horsey friendly..Villa Carmen in Bocairent, with Roger & Nina, a really nice dutch couple.. Beautiful place & we got a pitch with the best view of the old town and castle. Then an oasis in the midst of the pine hills & valleys from hell - for horses! The paths were at the max you could expect a horse to do, it was slow going, their boots on & off, some of it like a deep rock staircase! <br>
Yes, we had realised it was a long and barren stretch, so had booked into Las casas de Benali, thank heavens! A lovely vegy dinner, great attentive staff & a friday night (the next day) party with a band who were jolly good! <br>
Off at dawn which was difficult! But since then we've taken the forest pistas & C roads that are generally very quiet, but loads of cyclists & motorbikes, Rayo sees the roaring motorbike speeding by as a challenge, he hears them coming & really seems to want to race! <br>
So we've pepped up their grain rations to give them the energy they need (not to race motorcycles of course!) but Rayo, even with the work he's doing, the grain soups him up like a turbo.. I'm going to have to give him little & often.. Yesterday he was manic. He couldn't settle to eat grass, he pooped everything one by one, spinning around a tree in the shade insensed by flies & watching for any scary/exciting things that could be coming towards him, I had to put the bit back in (after goung bitless for a couple of days) because I thought he might leap the armco of the bridge if a bike came by. This is a horse that isn't normally spooky. Yesterday was a really difficult day and this is where the hell bit comes in.. We had been drenched in the evening before, no sleep because Tio doesn't stay inside his pretend electric fence anymore and is now tethered, we had a piece of elastic tied to his tether rope, which if Mark felt stretch, whilst tied round his hand whilst sleeping, he would run out to the rescue.. Hmmm, that didn't work! In the end we filled a hay net with alfalfa from a nearby field & left him the rest of the night tied short with the alfalfa. <br>
He was fine, we were exhausted ed. The day passed with exploding tempers, everything was so hard. <br>
It rained throughout the day, but gloriously as it does here in Spain the sun came out in the evening, we found a lovely bar, then walked 500 metres late at 8pm & found heaven again! <br>
Last night Tio was tethered and stayed on it happily with no problems, he was tied firmly on the long rope, but with string that would break AND he was inside a fence.. <br>
Another fab night was spent in Ontiyent with Manolo no problemo & family.. Manolo drove up beside us on the road outside the town & literally ordered us to come to his brothers house! You go to my brothers, he has horse he has stable he has picadero he has english friend with horse, your horses, no problem, you no problem! So we followed him there and met his whole family who were visiting because his brother Paco had just broken his hip! What a great family! Full of fun & character! Paco was super genourous & funny & really looked like Steve Buscemi..we met their English horsey friend Suzanne who has a stunning palomino arab & kindly gave us some alfalfa for the boys. <br>
It was a good thing Manolo did order us there as the next day we headed on up to the pine forests & there was no grass or water (apart fom puddles - thanks to the rain!).<br>
Today we left our lovely riverside camp and our new friends in Bicorp, as we came up the hill looking down on the village you could see the old houses nestled in the valley so perfectly, pastel coloured, not ugly & out of place but like they've always been there. <br>
The road was empty, we had 25 kilometres feeling like kings on fresh & happy horses, Rayo calm & bitless again, maybe 5 cars passed us and out of those, 1 man stopped, waited for us, directed us on to a shortcut (saving 10 k) & told us of a great camping spot by the river here in Millares.<br>
You know those happy feelings you get from time to time ? They happen alot here. </p>
<p dir="ltr">So this brings us up to date & I hope to continue with shorter, more in the moment updates.. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Extra photo accompaniment on the facebook post.. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Sending love to you all ! </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-nt99Z_SbdkE/WxfDJ23Z3mI/AAAAAAAADKY/EM_IvEWcoSkhey7275rAWLnvNaGZtQIBgCHMYCw/s1600/IMG_20180604_170545.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-nt99Z_SbdkE/WxfDJ23Z3mI/AAAAAAAADKY/EM_IvEWcoSkhey7275rAWLnvNaGZtQIBgCHMYCw/s200/IMG_20180604_170545.jpg"> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--g_AXhqvjik/WxfDMrbxsDI/AAAAAAAADKc/-ejV9KOE80gKBZw8F6JpgWIz6tt-Vk5eACHMYCw/s1600/IMG_20180529_161400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--g_AXhqvjik/WxfDMrbxsDI/AAAAAAAADKc/-ejV9KOE80gKBZw8F6JpgWIz6tt-Vk5eACHMYCw/s200/IMG_20180529_161400.jpg"> </a> </div>2000MileAislehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392522139176739928noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649752497194846010.post-28055807362108401432018-05-24T23:24:00.001-07:002018-06-02T03:06:41.977-07:00Horses.. My observations <p dir="ltr"><br>
So if you're not that into horses, this one might be dull, but I'd like to comment on things <u>from</u> their point of view. <br>
I try to think in a horsey way, limit (& open) myself to their understanding of what's going on - see things from their point of view. <br>
For the first few days they want to go home, they know direction, they're used to doing a long circular ride & getting home at some point, but home is changing now, home represents food, water, security & that now happens at each stop, they like to have some expectation & know roughly whats going on. <br>
Rayo is learning to eat whenever possible & I'm showing him how to snack on route!<br>
As the end of the day comes & we're looking for a stop, Rayo might try a dash into a grassy terrace saying that'll do! He knows if I'm relaxed or dispondant about our night spot.. <br>
But there must be water. </p>
<p dir="ltr">The horses are beginning to enjoy the nomadic life, our herd moving on from grass to grass, water to water, they get grain in the mornings when we plan to move, not stay, this gives them energy & with this habit, expectation.<br>
Like having a baby, life is almost simplified, as long as the horses are fine.. Nothing much else matters.. </p>
<p dir="ltr">My relationship with Rayo is deepening & this is inevitable but particularly special as Rayo isn't a particularly human-loving horse. It's wonderful to notice some appreciation, respect, comradary & even love from him.<br>
Of course one imagines the horses are also reading & learning about us. </p>
<p dir="ltr">You know, with a bit in their mouths, horses salivate, so whilst Rayo can be a difficult (very lively) ride in normal circumstances & requires a bit, on this journey, alot of the time he doesn't need it & I've noticed he needs to drink less. </p>
<p dir="ltr">On this trip so far <br>
our boys have surpassed themselves - & most of us, in heart courage trust & generosity. <br>
Oh! and there's lots of giving of carrots & apples which certainly help! 😋</p>
<p dir="ltr">❤❤❤</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BUBR1l2Wz2k/WxJsI_Y8MhI/AAAAAAAADJw/BnLtwlOLThsBtORTaPpms-jjhK-y1cPTQCHMYCw/s1600/IMG_20180601_135121.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BUBR1l2Wz2k/WxJsI_Y8MhI/AAAAAAAADJw/BnLtwlOLThsBtORTaPpms-jjhK-y1cPTQCHMYCw/s200/IMG_20180601_135121.jpg"> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LL4BHMTrpd8/WxJsKfSrX6I/AAAAAAAADJ0/ZHDQeTYTFr02F94QX-MPLcWUHf7Y4FSFQCHMYCw/s1600/IMG-20180601-WA0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LL4BHMTrpd8/WxJsKfSrX6I/AAAAAAAADJ0/ZHDQeTYTFr02F94QX-MPLcWUHf7Y4FSFQCHMYCw/s200/IMG-20180601-WA0001.jpg"> </a> </div>2000MileAislehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392522139176739928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649752497194846010.post-71774919482362873282018-05-22T08:27:00.001-07:002018-05-24T08:23:21.849-07:00Guerra de las Avejas! <p dir="ltr">Yesterday we found a great area of grass near the riverbed in Elda, so today gives us a well earned rest.. It hasn't been so easy this time around finding good grazing with water, so poor Mark is having to fetch and carry while we're here. <br>
I can't walk that far yet, let alone carry 20 litres of water. <br>
Lo & behold here comes Mark already with some water & telling me there's a lake just over there! - and we're leaving tomorrow! Doh! <br>
Tomorrow is exciting! For us more than for Tio who may have a tooth ache - we've been invited to the house of a very kind co horse owner in Spain, 6ks north of here for the night, but our alterior motive is for Tio to see the dentist! He has been gurning on & off for a few days, as if he has toothache.. Can't let him suffer & though he does seem to be eating normally, we can't let him be under par on such a trip as this. <br>
We have naughtily been inside another house with a fenced in paddock recently, by invitation of course, lovely man called Trevor throwing a bbq! We certainly have some luck! <br>
We have endured some harrowing experiences though! & no exaggeration! Passing between two rows of bee hives  (right on the GR7 route!!)  was terrifying, we were swarmed! stung on our faces & heads riding through at an increasing speed, panicking, swearing, Marks most sentimental & ingeniously repaired cowboy hat falling to the ground amidst the hives...<br>
He had to go back of course, wearing a full (rain) cape with hood, it was a tense few minutes as me & the horses waited at a 'safe' distance for his return, Rayo was stung on the nose! <br>
I pulled a sting out of my cheek which gave me a chubby cheeky look for a few days which Mark found endearing. <br>
He thankfully returned unharmed & with his hat on.</p>
<p dir="ltr">There's plenty of time in this mode of travel to wonder about the glory of nature, most of our daily routes go over mountains (smallish ones) between towns. So the terrain changes, lush grassy plains, planted, not to be eaten! Then stoney climbs (very hard on the horses feet) amongst the pines, through high gorges, eagle country, bandit country, always wondering whats over the next hill or round the next corner. <br>
Sometimes as we enter towns you can almost hear the eerie whistle of 'The good the bad & the ugly', the tumble weed blows across the dusty track blowing up a cloud & there's not a soul in sight. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Now at dusk, sitting next to Mark as he cooks just outside the woods, I'm looking up at the orange lit town and I can hear kids playing & one in particular, a girl, singing flamenco, sounds amazing, dogs are barking, all very Spanish. I hope no one walks by, as I think it's embarrassing sitting here cooking our dinner on the track! But as Mark says quite rightly, it's too dangerous to cook in the woods, even though it's been a wet spring, the undergrowth is tinder dry. <br>
We had a lovely sighting of a family of wild boar! Animals aren't so disturbed by the sound of hooves approaching, so we could watch them for a bit, none of them were large & the babies were so cute with little stripey bodies. <br>
One night a lone adult boar wandered quite calmly around our camp, it came quite close to us & almost seemed tame, the horses were interested & a little nervous, but actually Rayo lunged forward at the boar to see it off! <br>
Down to the lake now with the horses for a drink, beats a walk to fill bottles at the garage! </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-uqGtqh1BnP8/WwbY5ncK1dI/AAAAAAAADFU/wJRFSOHSu3AGCpauhg9rOevHzO4NC6NkgCHMYCw/s1600/IMG_20180523_164610.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-uqGtqh1BnP8/WwbY5ncK1dI/AAAAAAAADFU/wJRFSOHSu3AGCpauhg9rOevHzO4NC6NkgCHMYCw/s200/IMG_20180523_164610.jpg"> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-SQHXlzMlwmk/WwbY6LZ4zII/AAAAAAAADFY/rjFZGhhBq98nFZ-vZBdEvNDf_dnvDNjBwCHMYCw/s1600/IMG_20180522_182050.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-SQHXlzMlwmk/WwbY6LZ4zII/AAAAAAAADFY/rjFZGhhBq98nFZ-vZBdEvNDf_dnvDNjBwCHMYCw/s200/IMG_20180522_182050.jpg"> </a> </div>2000MileAislehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392522139176739928noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649752497194846010.post-430032915557216762018-05-20T13:22:00.001-07:002018-06-01T05:25:49.958-07:00Non stop to the border<p dir="ltr">So here we are in Los Ramanos just over the border from Murcia into Alicante ..next week we'll leave Alicante and enter Valencia province ...it took us about 11 months to get out of Andalucia ..but just a week to get through Murcia ..so we're on the good foot finally!!<br>
  And now about a week later we're at a ruined mansion <u>in</u> ontinyment , Valencia ..<br>
  It's been a long year since that car ride to Baza hospital to see my bionic woman. A year of treading water , a sense of waiting a year to have that year you where gonna have last year...And now it's this year again. .<br>
   This year the boots on the other foot, I've managed to work and walk my way to 90per cent recovery on my ankle . Nikkis recovery is obviously less advanced but being stalwart and stoic she's making a fist of it and is now able to just about mount from the <u>ground</u>..<br>
   However not to be outdone I decided to drop a speaker on my big toe , left of course ,3 days before we left , see attached photo ...will the nail fall off or not? Answers on a postcard to 2000mileaisle. ..<br>
   My understanding of life is that bad luck comes in threes so that's an end to that. ..<br>
   Good luck to all...<u>m</u></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IfouecQREjo/WxE7Rs0BlTI/AAAAAAAADJg/R4hOpc2Imsk6WmJsZw_H_XK-mdBXidXTgCHMYCw/s1600/20180505_154331.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IfouecQREjo/WxE7Rs0BlTI/AAAAAAAADJg/R4hOpc2Imsk6WmJsZw_H_XK-mdBXidXTgCHMYCw/s640/20180505_154331.jpg"> </a> </div>2000MileAislehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392522139176739928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649752497194846010.post-39404483291880838422018-05-18T04:37:00.001-07:002018-05-18T04:37:59.758-07:00The horse console.. <p dir="ltr">Hours of roaming the glorious Spanish countryside what's a cowgirl to do? <br>
Snacks, suncream, make up, power bank & data... Not to mention the hip fask.. 😀😀</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dVNnuexQjNc/Wv67EDlS4NI/AAAAAAAADE8/zTR0k_C-MDU5vnASJuN-6LsgsKrc-VrZQCHMYCw/s1600/IMG_20180518_130754.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dVNnuexQjNc/Wv67EDlS4NI/AAAAAAAADE8/zTR0k_C-MDU5vnASJuN-6LsgsKrc-VrZQCHMYCw/s200/IMG_20180518_130754.jpg"> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JSX6xJk8fOU/Wv67FrDq74I/AAAAAAAADFA/g0rs7yFsDD4Bhfg2comE2IIy-uW7VBcEgCHMYCw/s1600/IMG_20180517_194644.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JSX6xJk8fOU/Wv67FrDq74I/AAAAAAAADFA/g0rs7yFsDD4Bhfg2comE2IIy-uW7VBcEgCHMYCw/s200/IMG_20180517_194644.jpg"> </a> </div>2000MileAislehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392522139176739928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649752497194846010.post-59384342652695660472018-05-07T13:41:00.001-07:002018-05-07T13:41:52.291-07:00Start of the 2000mileaisle part 2<p dir="ltr">Nikki striding past the site of last years disaster and hence striding onto the 2000mileaisle part 2 .. looking strong brave and lovely .....</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bMUjRUzZHTg/WvC6BYY-WpI/AAAAAAAADDE/AEsjuTzVKt0GXfPaAORZ1hkBzlad3g8_ACHMYCw/s1600/20180507_130634-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bMUjRUzZHTg/WvC6BYY-WpI/AAAAAAAADDE/AEsjuTzVKt0GXfPaAORZ1hkBzlad3g8_ACHMYCw/s640/20180507_130634-2.jpg"> </a> </div>2000MileAislehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392522139176739928noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649752497194846010.post-29584240061226724822018-05-06T04:53:00.001-07:002018-05-14T15:06:18.074-07:00 Back to the future! <p dir="ltr">On the road! Right now with the horses on tow - tentative, but ok, always so admire horses for allowing us to put them on a big square tin, overcoming their fear & trusting us. <br>
So this is the last stressy bit (haha!), getting them safely there & then it's just us & them.. <br>
A few days on and us & them, we, have become the herd. After several nights of watching the stress/comfort signals of the horses, we've established a good dynamic for tent/horse/fence positioning.. Tethering is our only certain method of keeping the horses overnight, but Tio isn't an experienced tetherer, so for now, at night he's in a pretend electric fence, by day he's in supervised tether training & doing very well. <br>
Both horses are coping brilliantly with the change & with the work. <br>
We're coping too, amazing how one becomes adjusted to outdoor life so quickly - I'm blotting out a few days of stormy weather & tempers - but yes, even with the rain, we have coped & really enjoyed ourselves.. Infact I have felt guitily glutenous - the scenery has been so wonderful! Gorges so high & so deep, colours vivid with flowers everywhere.. (Please look to facebook for more photos).<br>
Today is our first 2 night stop, we haven't done many kilometres yet, as we plan to increase work gradually for the horses & their packs are heavy. <br>
It's us that are exhausted! My back, my knee where the pin gives pressure both suffering, mainly from damp & mounting which is frequent & difficult. <br>
However! I do say that the kind of exercise needed here for survival, bending over getting things in & out of bags, putting the tent up & lots of core muscle exersion, in the saddle & otherwise, are all in favour of fitness & in that I feel well on the way. <br>
Supplies around here, here being Murcia - at last! Are not easy to come by, at each stop we lack something but thankfully water & grass have not eluded us. We have noted a distinct bit of luck in the last hours of the day, finding a good place after passing barren & dry areas for miles. <br>
It's no accident though I suppose as we always have a mapped aim for the day which has a town within reach if nothing is found. <br>
Right now this is lovely, we've got both horses free in a big one-tape-wrapped-round-trees paddock with an unlikely cliff exit to the back...Mark's cooking breakfast, It's sunny but not too hot, we're next to a lake made by Presa la Risca & will take the horses down to the shore later on. <br>
I'm very much enjoying being gadget girl - might have been the only badge I got in the guides. Some of my bespoke equipment is worth talking about all you horsey people out there! 2 short pieces of a hang glider wing skeleton, joined by slotting into a section of Hep20 plumbing pipe, make perfect fence posts in no time, small & light & portable. <br>
Though I guess most people would have trouble finding a bit of hang gliding wing bone 😂!!<br>
Eggs & coffee just landed beside me.. Thanks to my betrothed. <br>
The rest of this afternoon was spent meeting (out of perhaps 4 cars in 24 hrs, she happened to pass by!!) the lovely maryrosemolenaar.com horse analyst would you believe?! She bought knowledge, understanding, total encouragement & Gin & Tonic!!<br>
What we don't manage to drink we leave under a tree.<br>
Serendipity or what?!</p>
<p dir="ltr">Hopefully this one will post properly unlike the last one of which only a quarter of it was published.. Only 2 photos allowed on here, so do look out for more on our facebook page. <br>
I'll leave you with a Spanish ditty 'Si Mayo te moja, te seca' Thankfully this seems to be true.. <br>
Love from us to you all.. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_-ej8ODATd4/WvoIUEGWmgI/AAAAAAAADEA/-8ULFgEeSJIHAKm1fPTJwgTDRU15PoGiQCHMYCw/s1600/IMG_20180510_165131.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_-ej8ODATd4/WvoIUEGWmgI/AAAAAAAADEA/-8ULFgEeSJIHAKm1fPTJwgTDRU15PoGiQCHMYCw/s200/IMG_20180510_165131.jpg"> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vBaBc5bOwh4/WvoIU0Dlg1I/AAAAAAAADEE/DaSEJMuzpIMCcxYSKpxvrDPFuG2Yy55IwCHMYCw/s1600/IMG_20180512_185328.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vBaBc5bOwh4/WvoIU0Dlg1I/AAAAAAAADEE/DaSEJMuzpIMCcxYSKpxvrDPFuG2Yy55IwCHMYCw/s200/IMG_20180512_185328.jpg"> </a> </div>2000MileAislehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392522139176739928noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649752497194846010.post-27425316196826948022018-03-14T14:04:00.001-07:002018-05-03T14:08:19.209-07:00Here we go again... <p dir="ltr">Yes ! Here we go again ! I've now actually ridden my SuperRayo 4 times & we're off in about 7 weeks.. (theoretically !) <br>
In those four rides we've been mainly walking with a few cantering-on-the-spots. <br>
We've slid down steep muddy tractor tracks (with sqealing accompaniment ), we've teetered along on the edge of narrow cliff edged paths, which is unavoidable around these parts, so I've been thouroughly tested & Mark says I've passed with flying colours ! <br>
It's been a long and varied recovery, but I'm not going into all that, thankfully we've managed to keep both horses fit and my (though intermittent) ground work with Rayo has paid off in preparing him for the wieght of me & later saddlebags on his back. <br>
I think our relationship has pulled through into a higher understanding & friendship, he seems so happy that things are getting back to normal, that we're getting out and about together again ! <br>
Exactly the same could be said for me & Mark. Haha ! <br>
</p>
2000MileAislehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392522139176739928noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649752497194846010.post-28145681096723316562018-01-14T05:08:00.001-08:002018-01-14T05:09:50.314-08:00One step forward. Two steps back. <p dir="ltr">Early November and I'm able to shuffle around without crutches. It's a great thing, but painful, my whole body hurts, my right hip hurts more than my left leg, using one crutch has strained a side muscle so I just have to walk now. <br>
Shuffling means I can do some things, so I'm building a new seating area on the roof terrace & I'm kind of lunging Rayo. I've been having such fun with him! I say kind of lunging because what I'm actually doing is asking him to bend evenly on both sides if his body, and to keep his head low, I begin my session with flexing his head to each side and encouraging him to really stretch by holding carrots just out of reach..he always gets the carrot of course! And he gets what I'm asking him to do as the session goes on.. They're only short sessions because I stop when he gets it, which is pretty quick & this is perfect because I can only do a hobbly shuffle (which is all you really need to do in the centre of his small circle). This is all done really calm and really easy.. I probably look ridiculous bending my own body, calming my own self, willing him to match me, but he does it, he looks at me out of the corner of his eye, cocks his ear towards me and drops his nose then you see his back come up, his pace goes suddenly elevated and perfect & he says oh! I'm doing it! He feels great, I feel great, because we know we understand each other & we stop then, so he realises that's all I want. <br>
I'm trying to help him to be relaxed, soft, supple and strong, ready for riding. </p>
<p dir="ltr">The roof terrace seating is looking nice & feels very comfortable, we've all been lounging out there for hours in the late summer sun, between work sessions I should add! </p>
<p dir="ltr">Our long ride next year is still the focus of our intentions, but please forgive us! We made a sad but practical decision to sell our Golden girl.. No! I hear you saying.. But she's only gone down the road to our friends small riding centre & is in a very happy herd there. Meanwhile Rayo is overjoyed to have Tio back to himself!</p>
<p dir="ltr">So we are going with just our boys & a lot less equipment! Remember it took us 3 hours minimum to pack up & leave each day? Well next time we'll be a lot quicker! </p>
<p dir="ltr">Mark is pretty much better, though still limps occasionally.. I really can't believe how much time has gone by with both injuries.<br>
He takes Tio out regularly & usually takes Rayo by lead rein. So both horses are gaining a bit of fitness after their restful summer. <br>
Its rained at last so winter coats are coming, grass too in places.. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Today I got on Tio! Walked him around a bit & got off again feeling elated! I look elated in the photo, though Tio doesn't look so happy, perhaps sensing the occasion by the tightness of the reins!<br>
Also, today I drove my car! At last I can depress the clutch! <br>
So that's two forms of transport within my reach, 'shanks pony' is going to take a bit longer as it's terribly slow & still a bit painful. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Crikey! I can't believe I wrote that in November & here I am not much further on. <br>
Didn't realise I had left it unposted, so here you get a double whammy. </p>
<p dir="ltr">It's now 14th January. <br>
Tomorrow I'm going to try to ride Tio again and yesterday I drove the car back from Cadiar without too much trouble (trouble being pain). <br>
You see, my knee has been a problem, the pin and screws have caused alot of pain when under pressure, my hip and back have been problematic due to the effects of compensation.<br>
The last time I rode Tio, I tried a trot & the jolting was unbearable. I cried. <br>
Not through pain but through feeling totally deflated and dis-empowered.<br>
It's just so awful not being capable if something that you have always been not just good at, but it's like second nature to me, being in the saddle, moving with the horse, able to deal with anything the horse might do. <br>
Tio shied at something, he was playing to my weakness, he would have liked to gallop home and was looking for an excuse! <br>
The feeling of helplessness got to me & obviously got to him! <br>
Inspite of my insecurity I rode him home (WALKING TIO!) but haven't tried again since. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Rayo remains my prize, I can't trust him to just walk, especially after all this time not being ridden. When Mark takes the two out, I usually groom & prepare Rayo & he's desperate for me to get on! He nudges me to say it, come on! Let's go! <br>
I can't wait! But waiting is what I have been doing now, since 30th of May - last year! </p>
<p dir="ltr">Oh Happy New year! In which we will make it to England with our horses & get hitched! <br>
I'll tell you what, to be on the trail again, to be just us on our two boys in the wilderness, come hell or high water! That's where I'm gonna be! </p>
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I'm just SO going to walk soon, I'm really on the brink of it! <br />
I've perfected just about every form of chair dancing this weekend & taken it to the MAX! <br />
Yesterday it felt strong, today was going to be THE day - but now it feels over worked and painful.<br />
Funny as well as fortunate that we can block out the joys of normal life and accept a new state quite readily, or is that just me? Or is it just because it's temporary? <br />
So I've grown accustomed to being in valid - yes, that's what we call it!<br />
I only realised that when I was disgusted at the Spanish word 'Menosvalido' translating to less valid which isn't quite as bad as our simply not valid at all! </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br />
The perks (no washing up, no housework, no poo picking etc etc) are short lived. Sitting around watching films, going on facebook, smoking, it becomes an acceptable way of life, you find some happiness, some relief as pain subsides.. <br />
Then boredom boredom boredom<br />
..but thankfully in my case the realisation that I will walk again, I will ride again & I will dance!</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br />
Oh to ride my horse! Or simply to groom him, be with him, watch him working nicely on the long reins..</div>
<div dir="ltr">
As I said before its been difficult to spend any time with Rayo in the last 3 months, but the other day we had a fabulous morning.. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br />
A trimming session for Rayo developed into a lovely horsey event with our Spanish trimmer Dani doing the work which was overseen by Rachel our local lady with the knowledge and passion for healthy hooves.. Rayo has underun back feet and contracted fronts (with thrush).. These problems had been on the mend prior to our departure in May, but of course after three months of nothing going on, his feet have grown, the angle is still showing improvement on his hinds, but his front frogs have closed up again with a thrush infection.. <br />
With Rayo being worked on and separated from the others I could actually spend some time close up and enjoyed watching the bustle of stooped bodies discussing and working away on each foot.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br />
So what has struck me is that with this forced rest Rayo has had, it's kind of like I have a blank canvas to work with & to work up to our departure in April.. <br />
Sitting around here, I've had time to reflect on mine and Rayo's partnership, not that it's ever been a bad one, but there is always more to learn.. <br />
So, I want to bring him back into work in a more conscious manner, rather than just hopping on and building up through time in the saddle..I've been reading loads & want to combine some things that have struck a chord with me. <br />
I'm planning a more holistic approach, I can start now or very soon, just spending time sitting near him and building on our connection, trying to feel a oneness with him.. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br />
Meantime, we've got his feet going in the right direction, his frogs are opening up now quite quickly as the thrush clears. <br />
His back is like newborn, I'm keen to build his muscles before I get on, whilst taking a further step towards bringing his head down, not just in walk and trot as I've managed so far, but to keep that roundness through canter on both reins.. <br />
When he came to me, Rayo didn't know how to walk, he was a perfect prancer for the Spanish fiesta's, head high, back concave, his canter was impossible to sit to.. Come to think of it he only felt right at full gallop, perhaps that's why he loves it so (that point has only just struck me!) being the only time he isn't being compromised. Interesting. <br />
Anyway so he's come a long way already since then, and now I have the opportunity to take it further. <br />
I'd like to go bitless, something that seems - and has proven to be - impossible up until now. <br />
I'm really not convinced this is possible, but I'm going to work a bit differently with him, cool my bottom, and see where we get to. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br />
So after the initial togetherness thing, I'm going to develop a place where Rayo can feel relaxed, I mean within, a place that I can help him find any time. <br />
I want us to have a connection like an Avatar with his horse or bird. How apt that I've had a bird connection too! <br />
So phase one will be easy, it's hard to describe the pure pleasure one has by just sitting, watching and being with your horse.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br />
Meanwhile Rayo is the fattest I've ever known him, I think he's a bit bored too, as he is the one to lead the galloping frolics they enjoy some evenings when the heat drops..and last night he cheekily zapped back out of the gate when they were brought in at supper time! </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Good job we postponed the wedding, the pair of us are a comedy sketch, him with his stick & me on my crutches, I do often feel the need to point out to people that we are actually both pretty good riders! </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
It's almond time now so I have a productive use at last! Mark knocks them off the tree and I take the husks off..hopefully the price is good this year. <br />
The nuts are humungus! All down to horse manure - a generous pile under each tree.. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Up until now, Mark still beats me in our 1 crutch across the kitchen floor para-olympics, but I am gaining.. </div>
2000MileAislehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392522139176739928noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649752497194846010.post-7208396653577698662017-07-19T05:46:00.001-07:002017-07-22T10:34:38.096-07:00Bird Whispering<p dir="ltr">Well I really feel there's not alot to entertain you with.. I'm obviously not doing an awful lot!<br>
However, word has spread amongst the local bird population and I have had fledglings lining up at my bedroom door! <br>
Literally, the other night there was one waiting for me and then in the morning, another one was there! These two were house martin or perhaps swallow babies, already feathered but only able to flutter downwards (hence ending up at my bedroom door as its downstairs). <br>
We put them back into their nest and left them hopefully to it, whilst keeping a close eye on the movements of our 3 cats.. <br>
Through my limited experience I could tell they weren't ready to fly properly but the parents clearly didn't agree and came and went calling and flying away encouraging their babies to follow.. <br>
After finding them several times on the floor again, I put them into our birdcage and hung it close to the nest with the babies inside and the door open, but sadly later on we found one dead and the other almost hanging from it's feet clamped on to the cage doorway.. <br>
Up until this point I had been careful not to take the babies directly under my wing knowing that I was still on the rebound from my last affair, reminding myself that the babies were better off with bird parents, but at this point I decided it was time for auntie Niki, the bird whisperer, to step in. <br>
I righteously brought the remaining baby in and revived it with a very diluted saline solution using a soaked cotton bud and dragging it around the sides of its beak.. It remained lying down in a flopped position all afternoon but gradually regained strength by evening when I began to almost force feed it, opening its mouth gently and putting a dead fly down its throat. <br>
It's always a surprise when you find your patient still alive in the morning and throughout the next day it began feeding voluntarily, I could hardly keep up with it's needs, trying to kill flies has varying results, clapping your hands just above them can work every time, but sometimes it doesn't work any time and I seemed to be getting worse at it rather than better! <br>
The next day, Mark pointed out that the parents were still flying in and out of the back room looking for baby, so I decided to set up the cage with its door shut in the back room on a pully system so that I could continue to feed it.<br>
The family reunion was a lovely sight and to my amazement after a couple of hours from my hidden view point I saw the parents feeding baby through the bars of the cage! <br>
Happy to be able to give up my haphazard fly hunting occupation I have since left them to it and will open the cage door when baby is ready to take to the wing! </p>
<p dir="ltr">Remember I'm doing all this stealth work on crutches, perhaps amusing to imagine me watching from various hide outs standing on one leg until I have to break cover and go to sit down. <br>
Regarding my leg, which I'm thoroughly bored with dragging around, I have had two panicked hospital trips both caused by unqualified but well meaning medical staff, both verbally horrified by the state of the bones in my leg! One being the local doctor and the other the X-ray man. <br>
PLEASE! I really am better off not knowing! Though I did actually catch a glimpse of the X-ray myself and it does look a bit messy. <br>
I have been reassured by the specialists that it is doing really well, they say I can put weight on it now and almost told me off for not having done so already! <br>
I am trying, its the mind that gets in the way.. A good trick is to shorten the crutches, making ground contact unavoidable and weight bearing more likely. <br>
Marks foot too is still painful and swollen, he can walk with a limp, but now and again he makes a wrong move and sets it back. Of course he is having to do all the chores and be at my beck and call (possibly his worst nightmare!), but he is doing a splendid job. <br>
People have said, if you two can get through this you can get through anything - well so far, so good! </p>
<p dir="ltr">The horses, by the way, are enjoying a summer break, fat and lazy, all day spent in the stable out of the sun, free range for whatever grass they can find in the evenings & in their paddock over night. <br>
I miss them, you just have to give them up when you have a bad injury, its not wise to go in their midst on crutches, not because they are bad horses or anything, but they bicker sometimes, or just move each other around and one just can't move quick enough on one leg.. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Right, I'm off to try and walk again... </p><p dir="ltr">The photos show the horses in the stable staying out of the Sun.. </p><p dir="ltr">And a rather artistic photo of baby bird with mother bird swooping down to encourage baby to fly.. Today, baby flew away! </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HuBk4KGu-qc/WXOCKtxLYXI/AAAAAAAAANM/X4EikFzR438KGgI3EUjLIqtIwOCdQWVnwCHMYCw/s1600/IMG_20170722_184242.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HuBk4KGu-qc/WXOCKtxLYXI/AAAAAAAAANM/X4EikFzR438KGgI3EUjLIqtIwOCdQWVnwCHMYCw/s640/IMG_20170722_184242.jpg"> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-DdD6TWlSBIA/WXOJNfz8WvI/AAAAAAAAANc/CPjS-VMJtzYxpPaaCzvduCo5SkwHM8FwgCHMYCw/s1600/IMG_20170722_185810.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-DdD6TWlSBIA/WXOJNfz8WvI/AAAAAAAAANc/CPjS-VMJtzYxpPaaCzvduCo5SkwHM8FwgCHMYCw/s640/IMG_20170722_185810.jpg"> </a> </div>2000MileAislehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392522139176739928noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649752497194846010.post-4471777163342875802017-07-05T01:59:00.001-07:002017-07-06T04:56:20.930-07:00What reason? <p dir="ltr">Its a shambles up there! I once nearly wrote a book, maybe I'll finish it one day (don't nick my story anyone) but those fate operators are just as messed up as we are...</p>
<p dir="ltr">We're riding to England! we're not riding to England, I'm really fit! I break a leg, I saved a bird! I didn't save a bird. <br>
I gave it 3 weeks of life - it flew! It got killed by the cat.<br>
Twisted. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Small consolation (mainly for Mark) that the morning after HE left the door open allowing the cat to get in, the front door had been pushed in by the dogs before either of us got up, meaning that the cat would have got birdy the next day anyway. <br>
She was in a bird cage for her protection, but the cat must have jumped up on to it, breaking the loop which hung off the ceiling, bringing it all crashing down and breaking the base off..<br>
Poor birdy was nowhere to be seen, we never found her or her feathers..I hear sparrows outside and still go out to whistle for her...<br>
It is possible that she got away somehow and is out there flying with her friends between the trees...ojala! </p>
<p dir="ltr">A bit more about birdy before I close that chapter.. <br>
She turned very quickly from that ugly bald thing into a beautiful soft feathered friend, she gave me so much joy! Her eyes opening, feathers growing, her first preening, perching and then her first flight, all within <u>a</u> little more than two weeks! <br>
When I whistled, she chirped back, she learned to swing, jump and fly from perch to perch with amazing agility! Two or three times a day, we closed the door, pulled the curtains and turned the lights on so that she could fly safely about the house, often returning to land on my nose, not surprisingly the most perch like feature on my face (& possibly in the room!). <br>
She was nearly ready to go free, not quite feeding herself and not yet able to <u>fly</u> far without losing altitude.<br>
Just a few more days would have been enough... So sad. </p>
<p dir="ltr">So back to the 2000 mile aisle, as Mark said, we did 200 of them.. <br>
The next 1800 we plan to do next year!! <br>
We've postponed the wedding, we're keeping Lorna and we're going to do it all next year!!! <br>
None of our purchases and preparations will be wasted! We can go back to that wonderful place called freedom! The open road! The adventure! Every day new and different! Just us and the horses. <br>
Yeaahhhh!! </p>
<p dir="ltr">Just have to wait out summer and winter... <br>
..and learn to walk again..<br>
..and get back on the horse.. <br>
..and forgive Mark for birdy.. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zay29Brw2ZU/WV4FsIFLsyI/AAAAAAAAAMk/HUvLE25uGa8wmK7EizBr_oUZ8ihipHK_gCHMYCw/s1600/IMG_20170622_191612.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zay29Brw2ZU/WV4FsIFLsyI/AAAAAAAAAMk/HUvLE25uGa8wmK7EizBr_oUZ8ihipHK_gCHMYCw/s640/IMG_20170622_191612.jpg"> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-htpNqG5fFeY/WV4dr0whcoI/AAAAAAAAAMw/2mCQ90hfovok-WqjfayAj8wbajM6ofGuACHMYCw/s1600/IMG_20170706_132224.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-htpNqG5fFeY/WV4dr0whcoI/AAAAAAAAAMw/2mCQ90hfovok-WqjfayAj8wbajM6ofGuACHMYCw/s640/IMG_20170706_132224.jpg"> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-DVfGREuGX2E/WV4iqe1CkhI/AAAAAAAAAM8/Xu1Gs_bTI2spGw9WEuBpCbvCPrMgSuChgCHMYCw/s1600/IMG_20170706_134203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-DVfGREuGX2E/WV4iqe1CkhI/AAAAAAAAAM8/Xu1Gs_bTI2spGw9WEuBpCbvCPrMgSuChgCHMYCw/s640/IMG_20170706_134203.jpg"> </a> </div>2000MileAislehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392522139176739928noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649752497194846010.post-67095779280923055612017-06-28T14:17:00.001-07:002017-06-29T10:10:09.406-07:00The 200 mile aisle "Looks like a black cat done crossed our trail....."<br>
<br>
Everyone's heard of cold feet, but broken feet for both bride and groom, if I was a superstitious man i might think it wise to stay a bachelor... I mean, bad luck comes in threes, whats next ...? But luckily I'm a fairly rational man, and I will trust in my guardian angel, whose obviously been on a months holiday, to protect me against the trials and tribulations to come ...<br>
<br>
So that was the 200mileaisle and full of ups and downs it certainly was. We didn't even make it out of andalucia, we were about 20kms south of the border, just outside the lovely town of Galera when we hit the end of the road. The earlier rain had been a rare treat, but it was this combined with the grey clay that led to Rayo losing his footing, and my fiance's leg being sandwiched between a rock and 400kilos of falling horse.<br>
<br>
A second before I'm happy as Larry, just left Antonios bar musica el puente, where they do the best fish and chips this side of the costa del sol and a great cold beer, atop my nag with a couple of kms easy riding to go till camp, then I see Rayo scrabbling for his feet for a couple of seconds and then go thumping down on my loved ones leg, Nikki immediately shouted "I'VE BROKEN MY LEG" as Rayo was getting back to his feet. I'm straight off Tio and hobbling over to her hoping, praying, that somehow this is gonna be ok, that the ground softs, that nikki falls well, that we would somehow get away with it, that this is not in the script, that the power of love was too strong to let anything bad happen, that thats not fair, and above all and overriding all of these.... that my fiance was wrong. It wasn't broken, a little bruised maybe. I knew she knew, she knows her body almost as well as I do, so when I got to her and held her and looked her in the eye I knew it was over ..<br>
<br>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Still its an improvement on the last time I saw nikki fall off a horse which was 4 years ago and again I was behind her when she dived off the side of Rayo at full pelt straight into a concrete gutter and didn't move. Again I was straight off Tio and ran over to nikkis crumpled body and this time there were no shouts. At best she was out cold, at worst ..? after 30 seconds she made a noise (errrrrrrrrrrh) and rolled her eyes, looked frighteningly absent! But after another couple of mins she seemed to be aware, and finally understood what had happened to her at the end of the 40 minute journey to the medical centre ..Apart from concussion, a broken rib was the damage, and a vision in my mind that will never leave me, much like the one above, and which makes me wince every time it rears its ugly head.<br>
</div>
So where was I? In the middle of nowhere with a broken fiance, 3 horses, and a busted foot, don't panic, just ring an ambulance, explain where we are (to at least 3 different departments)in a foreign language, feed nikki brandy, commandeer all passing campasinos para ayuder, wait, dont panic, keep nikki talking and drinking brandy, more phone calls, wait, don't panic, wait.. Hallellujah here it comes and now the comedy sketch can begin, its such a blur I can't remember if there were 4 or 5 but i'm sure 2 of them where on there first day, at least thats how it seemed. Nikki managed to tell them what they needed to do and up and into the ambulance she went, a quick kiss goodbye and she was gone. There I was with 3 horses, a busted foot, and a hugely heavy heart, and no brandy.<br>
<br>
Time to saddle up and head south, I got on Tio painfully with Lorna on a line and Rayo following which didn't work too well as he just wanted to eat, so off again with Rayo tethered to Lorna's pack and that worked fine. Had a bit of good luck in finding a wild bit of land just out of town with plenty of grass. The horses had been great throughout the whole drama and continued in that vain whilst I untacked them all slowly. Had enough daylight to set up the fence, the tent and get water..At this point the body was good and tired, but the mind, that was a different thing..Luckily I had a good book and lay in bed reading till the eyelids got so heavy that sleep was inevitable.. Then woke up early to a deflated bed, physically and mentally, and endured that first moment of waking after a disaster when your mind has to convince you that yes that did happen..<br>
<br>
Spent the morning staying busy waiting for help to arrive from home, which it did in the early afternoon in the guise of Debbie and Matteus. The lorry was coming to take the nags home 6ish so nothing for it but to retire to bar el puente for a cold one and tell Antonio the news. He was suitably aghast and filled my hip flask gratis. Then back with the lorry to load the horses which thankfully passed without incident until the driver wanted the money. I had next to none and assured him he would be paid at the other end. Next entailed your standard andalucian, hot men, fiery exchange of words which if you saw in England you'd expect the fists to be flying at any moment, but not here. We agreed to disagree, he left with the horses and I kept my cash due to the intervention of a bit of female charm a la Debbie.<br>
<br>
So now an hour in a car heading south to Baza hospital to see my bionic fiance .....................................................<br>
<br><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0UBBEFhQKyE/WVS7ZY6RtVI/AAAAAAAAAMU/kH0Ai5lw5nU_N82ZiSTWVDRXPBU22fMrwCHMYCw/s1600/20170530_200634.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0UBBEFhQKyE/WVS7ZY6RtVI/AAAAAAAAAMU/kH0Ai5lw5nU_N82ZiSTWVDRXPBU22fMrwCHMYCw/s640/20170530_200634.jpg"> </a> </div>2000MileAislehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392522139176739928noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649752497194846010.post-47369644485154520902017-06-15T02:47:00.001-07:002017-06-21T06:19:32.814-07:00Back home but not where the heart is... <p dir="ltr">It hadn't rained atall on Mark and the horses, the fish tank didn't exist and the nurse wasn't that beautiful either. <br>
But everything else, sadly, <i>was</i> real. <br>
Our journey was over, for now at least...After feeling so great, after being so free!<br>
My initial fears having been set to rest, things were going soo well. Never had I thought <i>this</i> would happen!<br>
It was a tiny accident with a few unlucky factors that broke my leg! Shit Shit Shit.<br>
The scene goes over and over in my head and I flinch and have to slap something.<br>
Even as I'd sat waiting for the ambulance, I'd worked out how long until the wedding and how long a broken leg would take to heal.<br>
I had already figured out that we could still get the horses to England and have our planned honeymoon return, but how to let go of our dream ride there? </p><p dir="ltr">For now, for me, pain, and the hope of it getting less takes over my future and its all that matters, in some ways that makes it easier for me, than for Mark. </p><p dir="ltr">
Returning home was solemn, seeing all our wall lists bought tears, Mark tore them down.<br>
Rayo, who I'd been wanting to see and touch all week hardly even cocked an ear when I went to the gate! <br>
Jessy whined and howled as she does, telling us off for leaving, and she did uncharacteristically lick my face, but she too was already assured of her food and security without us.</p>
<p dir="ltr">So weird, all change, reset. </p>
<p dir="ltr">The next morning my spirits were lifted and life was taken over by the arrival of my daughter Poppy and sister Rachel, they cleaned, cooked, shopped, and cuddled me.<br>
These few days were fraught with agonising pain, but we talked alot and laughed loads - Im so glad they came! </p>
<p dir="ltr">Huge void.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Days punctuated only with pill popping and visits to the loo, every other day a momentous outing to get my bandages re done, such an alter existence...I have to get on, so I fill all my time working out ideas, costs and possibilities for plan B. <br>
Life on the trail was cheap, horses eating grass, us eating little, all living alot. <br>
Life now, expensive, horses eating hay, <br>
us eating alot more, alive but not really living. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Next trip to Cadiar for my bandaging brought me a new raison d'etre. <br>
Hannah, my neighbour and chaffuer spotted a fledgling on the road outside the bar and the barman went for a dustpan and brush to clear it away.. <br>
I looked down at it, bald, ugly and awkwardly walking on all fours on the tarmac, its kind of embarrassing to do around here, and I never thought it possible to hand raise a new chick, but it looked strong, quite determined in its vigour and I'm so bored, all I can do is sit.<br>
I hopped over, scooped it up and wrapped it with tissue paper.</p>
<p dir="ltr">I googled it, then tried it, soaked the cat biscuits, tapped its beak with the morsel on tweezers...It took a while but soon began to eat greedily!</p><p dir="ltr">In my inner search for fate's reason as to why I broke my leg, I muse the idea of my broken leg = a birds life.. Given the choice in advance I'd say F*** you birdy! But that aside, I like to believe that all lives on this planet are equal. </p><p dir="ltr">How apt that the bird will fly when I can walk..<br></p>
<p dir="ltr">Mark is supposed to be publishing before me, but he hasn't managed to put the words together yet.. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eYB1huCsZv8/WUl-WZKlXkI/AAAAAAAAALg/QnVgM07TMfkJ5bR0m99u735ACO2Dg-yKACHMYCw/s1600/IMG_20170606_191011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eYB1huCsZv8/WUl-WZKlXkI/AAAAAAAAALg/QnVgM07TMfkJ5bR0m99u735ACO2Dg-yKACHMYCw/s640/IMG_20170606_191011.jpg"> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Ff5JeLcKT7Q/WUptbpW1BmI/AAAAAAAAAL4/oC9HVekCy40IitqnigrvQ9wciRqnEvCmgCHMYCw/s1600/IMG_20170621_145514.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Ff5JeLcKT7Q/WUptbpW1BmI/AAAAAAAAAL4/oC9HVekCy40IitqnigrvQ9wciRqnEvCmgCHMYCw/s640/IMG_20170621_145514.jpg"> </a> </div>2000MileAislehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392522139176739928noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649752497194846010.post-41006421976408154302017-06-10T15:05:00.001-07:002017-06-11T12:34:42.746-07:00Our left feet<p dir="ltr">I knew it was broken because of the waggle, I said so, and as i clutched my leg I heard it click (Ew) and hoped I'd popped the bone back..<br>
Rayo had a muddy side, but he was fine and all three horses just stood still for the first half an hour. <br>
<u>Mark</u> rang an ambulance, so difficult for him to explain in Spanish what had happened and where we were..<br>
Meanwhile, I just held my leg together, drank brandy from the hip flask and smoked a fag. Feeling myself hyper-ventilating, calming myself, panicking, calming, becoming more and more desperate every minute for help to arrive, it was bearable if I held it still, but my body was aching and giving up the position I was forced to stay in. I wrapped a lunge rein in a figure of eight around leg and foot and held my toes up towards me.<br>
I could only slightly shift my weight from one buttock to the other.. <br>
Mark was frantic, he kept having to call different numbers and explain things again and again and he hates phones. The horses stood.<br>
The ambulance arrived after about 45 minutes and naturally I expected the team to just take over the scene with calm efficiency..<br>
Well, they were all very nice but couldn't get the stretcher to click together underneath me, they tried to maneuver my boot off while Mark jumped in to cut the laces! Me crying out ' LA PIERNA - LA PIE !!! ' <br>
They had a leg stabiliser but with no foot bit, so it waggled again with every jolt of mounting the ambulance.. 'OW! OOW! <br>
Inside I received the (begged for) pain killer and the hour long journey to hospital began, the nurse holding a folded blanket around my foot in an attempt to stop it rocking with the bumps on the track. <br>
Mark had leaned in to kiss me as we left and was then faced with 3 horses, alone with a walking stick in the middle of nowhere..<br>
On arrival at hospital, looking back now it was comical! <br>
A young (rather handsome and very smiley) man came out with the trolley to transfer my stretcher from the ambulance..<br>
I rolled out of the back doors into thin air! he looked down to check linkeage with my under carriage, then up at me with an uncertain but hopeful look..I looked down, then up at him, with an uncertain but hopeful look..  <br>
Perhaps it was his first time?<br>
He pulled and I moved, thankfully he got it right.<br>
He breathed out, and so did I. <br>
Corridor, ceilings, lights, doors, and into a room. <br>
Clothes cut off, electrode things slapped on everywhere! questions asked and answered.<br>
A nurse came in with a massive fibre glass L shaped leg thing - Yes!! <br>
But the doctor said 'not that one, where's the softer pink one?'<br>
'I threw it away yesterday',<br>
'Why??'<br>
'It was covered with blood',<br>
'Well, nevermind, retrieve it if you can and line it with something'.<br>
She returned with it, truly a much better fit for me and more comfy looking - hey ho.. I guess they thought I couldn't understand!!<br>
Electrodes off, drips on, X-ray's, nods, and away to my hospital bed (with a help button) to reflect on my own for the night.<br>
My phone had been packed in my belongings bag, along with chopped up boots, chaps, leggins and knickers!<br>
Clearly I was fucked. No riding for weeks or months.<br>
<u>Th</u>ere seemed to be a fish tank somewhere in the room, or was it raining? All night I felt for Mark and the horses, out there in the pouring rain..<br>
I didn't sleep,  but of course I was kind of only semi-conscious.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Early morning off to surgery, down there in the green room I was greeted by the most beautiful nurse ever (more beautiful than Gerda, I thought).<br>
With a soft smile, her face fresh as a childs, her pony tail to her bum, I almost told her, thinking that would be ok.. <br>
She asked if family knew I was here in surgery, then rang Mark to tell him. She glided away, or I glided away..<br>
I heard the sound of serious mechanics going on behind the green screen, quite a struggle infact, like trying to line up and fix a car wishbone arm. With power tools. <br>
By contrast, I had strange amphibian dreams and awoke thinking I had a sort of Dr who type mutation, but I was elated and immediately felt right in the left leg.<br>
I had thick bandaging from my mid thigh to toes..with a pin from my knee to my ankle, they didn't do a plaster cast. (I had mixed feelings re that, as it felt so vulnerable, but now Im glad I can work at moving the joints).<br>
Mark arrived that evening with our neighbour Mathius, and friend Debbie. <br>
Nice to see them all, but still a bit noddy, I learnt that the horses had been transported home safely and Mark would stay with me. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-degEa2drE_0/WT2bQiHKjqI/AAAAAAAAALM/vveZQ8lUKmo9sffNuTtGECx2AWrsPrVPgCHM/s1600/IMG_20170530_153832.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-degEa2drE_0/WT2bQiHKjqI/AAAAAAAAALM/vveZQ8lUKmo9sffNuTtGECx2AWrsPrVPgCHM/s640/IMG_20170530_153832.jpg"> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ROrA11qShTE/WT2bUc7MjiI/AAAAAAAAALQ/wlLaXw55HoMcLTbsAEdGOCCRpd4yBb_8QCHM/s1600/IMG_20170531_220235.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ROrA11qShTE/WT2bUc7MjiI/AAAAAAAAALQ/wlLaXw55HoMcLTbsAEdGOCCRpd4yBb_8QCHM/s640/IMG_20170531_220235.jpg"> </a> </div>2000MileAislehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392522139176739928noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649752497194846010.post-58053254356606297332017-06-06T01:16:00.001-07:002017-06-08T15:06:12.808-07:00Loving it<p dir="ltr">On the edge of Castillar, next to the river, shade amoungst the poplars, dense green grass, we found paradise 5.<br>
The horses were a little over exuberant when we unleashed them in the almost finished fenced area, naughty Tio spotting a bit I hadn't closed off launched himself up a terrace, fast followed by Rayo, both bucking and squeeling!  Buggers, as if they didn't have enough grass and space in the area I was making them, no, they preferred small fresh almond trees on the terrace above!  Horrors! Managed to catch and bring them back down quickly, but not before they'd had a succulent branch or two. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Mmm it was Sunday, this was a nice spot, two days riding, one days rest, seems ok, then we can shop in Castillar tomorrow.<br>
Clearly we weren't pushing the horses! <br>
These glampsites often lure us into relaxation... But with Mark still 'cojo'(lame)...& we're on holiday! </p>
<p dir="ltr">After climbing the short hill up to town for the imperative evenings litro, I came happily back down to camp, wearing shorts and my utility belt, I was feeling fit and Lara Croftish. My back had held up and I had passed through into strong mode. (Humour me!) </p>
<p dir="ltr">The next day we went back up to town to do some shopping, Mark painfully slow, limping along with his stick.. I <i>teased </i>him! <br>
Then in the afternoon we took the horses over the other side of the track for more variety pickings..we then took them to the river to drink and have a splash..<br>
Baked beans supper and we prepared things ready to break camp first thing.<br>
(haha!) <br>
Come morning the clockwork preparations we're all undertaken in the shade which made things much more pleasant.<br>
We headed up through Castillar stopping for a coffee and refilling water containers from the fuente. <br>
Admirers, when questioning our plans, faces agog.. Francia!? Inglaterra!!!???<br>
Having done so much riding in the full heat of day, it was refreshing that it rained, we donned our rain cape coats which did a great job keeping us and most of our two horses reasonably dry and comfortable.<br>
Lorna's pack was wateroroof too,  though we soon realised that our sleeping bags tied either side of the top bag, were drenched! <br>
Still I thought, (normally being a fair weather only girl) this is OK, I can do this. <br>
Again for a while we followed a narrow, little used tarmac road, the going was easy, Rayo had a full set of boots on as I wanted to give his soles a rest, the other two barefoot.<br>
We found some nice grassy stops en route and enjoyed seeing the various cave houses, common to areas in Spain with the sandstone rock landscape, all individually designed, intriguing us as we passed by... <br>
On arrival at Galera on route to Huesca, we stopped in a really friendly bar for lunch.. Fish and chips!! Loverly! <br>
We chatted a while with the barman who loved horses and then had to move the horses aside for a customer who was too scared to even drive his car past them!!<br>
Heading on towards Huesca, we had a taj of road work then over the motorway, thankfully a bridge.<br>
Turned left on to a track between farm land with grassy banks to snack on, <i><u>my</u></i> mouth almost waters at the sight of it! <br>
We let them graze here and there whilst vaguely looking for a suitable night spot, I hopped off to fill some water at an asequia waterfall and thats the last time Ive walked since. <br>
A little further on there was a warning that tragically didn't change fate, Rayo slipped on a ramp but just about kept his footing..<br>
I trust him totally on the most precarious terrain.<br>
Minutes later I instinctively guided him to the side of the track that was less stoney, there was a slight camber, there was on old stone wall to our left.. In a second where hooves desperately grappled for purchase Rayo slapped down on to his side,  I felt my lower left leg waggle oddly, Rayo straight up on to his feet, me screaming on the ground holding foot to leg..</p>
<p dir="ltr">This isn't the end of our story. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4fIg7kj3XoU/WTnKOkO_5AI/AAAAAAAAAK4/cKNhqzYGH6kTuq-XN4Ivv0jMKOy53F4ZACHM/s1600/IMG_20170529_175024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4fIg7kj3XoU/WTnKOkO_5AI/AAAAAAAAAK4/cKNhqzYGH6kTuq-XN4Ivv0jMKOy53F4ZACHM/s640/IMG_20170529_175024.jpg"> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YQm9FZZuS7o/WTnKU4BStAI/AAAAAAAAAK8/a1yQtSWlLGwJFdP9qnoiQKmssNQD8XaSgCHM/s1600/IMG_20170529_172611.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YQm9FZZuS7o/WTnKU4BStAI/AAAAAAAAAK8/a1yQtSWlLGwJFdP9qnoiQKmssNQD8XaSgCHM/s640/IMG_20170529_172611.jpg"> </a> </div>2000MileAislehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392522139176739928noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649752497194846010.post-28241111786186437652017-06-04T07:39:00.000-07:002017-06-04T07:39:00.593-07:00Mission just about possible<div dir="ltr">
Sometimes it feels like I'm Indiana Jones, on a mission that is a constant search. Picking up clues wherever you can find them and all against the clock. <br />
I guess that feeling will pass as we realise survival regularly on the road. <br />
We have been in paradise again for the last few days, but let's go back a bit first. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
After Ferreira we rode to Calahonda, on our map it's called Cacalahonda which is more apt. <br />
We weren't planning to stay there but as we passed through, we came upon a tethered stallion, very handsome, so I don't blame her wanting to show off, but when she started strutting her stuff, Mark lost hold on her lead rope, (it happens).<br />
The huge ungainly pack on her back didn't stop her doing a perfect extended trot with suspended elevation, tail pointing straight up.<br />
This performance was executed in a large field of wheat ready for cropping. <br />
The worst happened, the pack began listing and with every stride fell further to one side, things were flying <u>out</u> in all directions, then she galloped full pelt! By now Tio was trying to join in and Mark was nearly unseated.<br />
I was off by this point and making calming woah noises which I'm sure couldn't be heard, but I knew she would stop, she has sense and she isn't one to panic. The pack was under her belly as she came to a halt. <br />
I undid the girth and with my handy penknife I cut the belly strap from which the whole lot was hanging.<br />
Amazingly nobody else seemed to have noticed the fiasco, even though the field was a big open area like a stage for all to see!<br />
We picked up some of the debris and put her all back together again.<br />
This might not have happened if the girth was tighter, which we will have to do.. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
Being on evening alert already, we had spotted a couple of possible camping areas, so we went back to have a look. We spoke to some old boys about a grassy area we had noticed and they said it would probably be ok but told me where to find and ask the owner, he wasn't home, but a neighbour too told me it would be fine, so we unpacked and settled in. <br />
Just as we were relaxing and darkness was setting in, a voice out of nowhere with a big dog alongside came marching into camp, this man wasn't very agreeable and charged us 50e for the night! <br />
He had us over a barrell, we had to pay.<br />
Jeez, we suggested a bed, shower and breakfast ought to be included in that price, but he said he'd call the guardia, so hey ho, lesson learnt. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
Next day we packed and set off fairly promptly, we had to search the field for the rest of our belongings on the way and we found everything bar the benzl benzoate (for Tio's sweetitch). <br />
So on we went towards Charches, crossing a huge windy plain full of windmills and the largest thermo solar park in Europe.. It was incredibly windy but that effectively cooled the sun. <br />
Soon we came upon our third horsey hazzard!<br />
We passed a farm with a tethered donkey and a loose horse. Well, any horse prefers horse company and the mare (thankfully) followed us the whole 10 kilometres to town.<br />
You might think we could have returned her and tied her up but a) You expect her to turn for home herself at a certain point, and b) Having obviously passed this certain point its a long way back, and c) She had no halter, and d) We have 3 horses already between us and Mark cant walk.<br />
In Chartres we caused a stir, everyone was lovely bar the owner of the mare who gave us hell.<br />
We had a couple of beers, chatted to the locals and were given directions on route for a place where we could stay the night. <br />
Cortijo la fragua was 5k up the mountain track and provided us with a fenced in grassy garden with picnic tables and chairs, water points and a beautiful big covered terrace to camp in - not to mention a massive pool with a natural shower beside it!<br />
We decided it would take more than one night for the horses to clean up the area, so settled in to paradise number 3.<br />
Onward a few days later, us cleaner, the horses fatter, all refreshed.<br />
A long hard days ride, strike that. <br />
Arriving on the edge of Baza at dusk, no sign of grass or water. <br />
We have no food either and its Sunday. <br />
AND Mark had no fags!!!! <br />
You can imagine how pleasant things were.<br />
We passed a shepherd with his goat herd and I thought to ask him something, didn't, regretted it, then got a second chance.<br />
I spotted a massive pile of new forage up a side road, asked around and was directed to the returning shepherd and said goats. <br />
He was our saviour, sold us forage, gave us water and we set up camp on a (nasty) bit of scrubland nearby.<br />
Settled the horses and made it to a bar restaurant for dinner (and fags!).</div>
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In the morning we made for a quick departure but it still got really hot before we were ready, I had a minor breakdown saying I couldn't go on, but after smoking a fag myself I felt much better, sorry family and friends, I have finally blown it. A holiday perk, just until the wedding, night, honeymoon, return trip...until Im home & thats it.<br />
Cheerfully riding on and puffing away we had to do the first part of this leg through town. Rayo the brave heading the convoy, high viz's on.<br />
We had an important shopping list to accomplish and not alot of time, this was when I had the Indiana Jones feeling, bear in mind Mark still can't walk, so I have to find and bring everything (This includes water for horses & last nights hay, which I put on Rayo's back). <br />
Finding the right shops in a new town knowing legless Mark is minding 3 horses on a street corner is stressy. <br />
Mission accomplished, we're on our way again. <br />
Mark promises a lake, grass, a bar and hot springs at our next stop and though it was a long ride, mostly tarmac, he was spot on, here we rested at paradise 4.</div>
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After making a huge electric fence paddock we took the horses down to the lake where they wallowed like hippos.. <br />
I got on Rayo bareback and he strode into the water and when the ground ran out he began to swim!! Something I've always wanted to do, it was beautiful, he seemed to <u>take</u> huge strides lunging upwards and forwards, rising and sinking into the water.. Another special moment with my horse, Ok, you can walk a dog etc, but when you're on a horse and doing something really together, sharing the same experience, its wonderful, like when we're galloping full speed.<br />
I know Rayo has been in the sea before and it was like, he showed me, and he gave me the joy.<br />
We had a lovely few days, basking in shade, eating in the restaurant & drinking G & T. (that bit was with Mark by the way!).</div>
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Well, that was a long'un! I wanted to catch us up to the present so I can write more <i>'i</i><i>n the moment'.</i><br />
I also want to put more than two photos but it doesn't seem possible on here, so I'll be sending extras to go on our facebook page. <br />
Ciao fa now..</div>
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