From Fishing Trip to Horseback Riding

After a lovely, relaxing day yesterday, we’re off on a fishing trip today. Whatever we catch will be cooked while we go horseback riding. It costs 325 quetzales per person. Yeah, things aren’t exactly cheap here. At 9 AM, we were picked up and driven far out into the countryside, up into the mountains :) We were headed to a farm where you can fish, pick berries, see how they make coffee and dairy products, and ride horses. We were handed a bamboo rod with a line and a hook. There were ponds where they breed fish, and that’s where we were supposed to fish. It seemed like an easy task since there were plenty of fish around. About an hour later, we still hadn’t caught anything. Honny was close, but the fish slipped off and back into the water again :) Then it was time for our horseback ride. Some of the farm staff continued fishing for us so we could have something to eat when we returned. We spent two tough hours on horseback. We rode in cowboy saddles, which were pretty hard on our backsides. Our horses were a bit skinny, but I guess that’s pretty normal compared to horses in Denmark. The ride through the landscape was beautiful. There are also many indigenous people here. We passed several tiny farms. Kids help out from a very young age. We saw many carrying heavy firewood. They tie a bundle on their backs and use a strap around their foreheads to keep their hands free. I don’t think the horses knew how to gallop, but we did a fair bit of trotting. Honny also figured out where the “start button” was on his horse. It was a bit lazy, but then he gave it a little whip. Back at the farm, a big lunch awaited us. It was wonderful since we were quite hungry. We had fish and rice with vegetables, a huge salad, and plenty of tortillas (small flatbreads). Everything was prepared outside over a fire. The farm also produced coffee. We tasted the beans that were drying in the courtyard. They didn’t taste like coffee at all… more like grain. We also tried fresh fruits from the coffee plant… they didn’t taste like coffee either :) We did taste the finished coffee, and it was actually quite good. Later in the afternoon, we were back in town, where we needed a shower since we were covered in dust. We headed down to the town early for dinner, around 5 PM, since we have to get up super early tomorrow. It’s best, or at least cheapest, to be at the markets later in the day since it’s easier to haggle the prices down. We also had some luck on our side. We bought T-shirts, 2 for 41 quetzales, and 2 sculptures or bookends for 80 quetzales. By around 6 PM, it was starting to get dark, and it’s not safe to be at the market after that, so we walked back up to the town. Our dinner consisted of local dishes. The food is tasty. It’s not as spicy as in Mexico, but Mexico does have a lot of great dishes. Both places are especially fond of mashed brown beans and guacamole. It often comes as a side dish along with tortillas.