Playing cowboy

Trip Start Jun 07, 2008
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Trip End Sep 14, 2008


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Where I stayed
Residencial Centro
(Tupiza hotels)

Flag of Bolivia  ,
Friday, August 15, 2008

Tupiza is best known to us tourists as the nearest major town to where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid met their demise. The landscape is fittingly similar to the American southwest, with canyons and spires colored a dozen shades of red. It's here that I finally decided to do a bit of horse riding. How could I not given the setting? First I had to get out of Uyuni, which proved fittingly difficult. I had hoped to take the train south, but it sold out before I attemped to buy a ticket. So I was up for the second day in a row at 5am to catch a bus south. I know I've griped a lot about the cold in recent weeks, but the first few hours of that morning take the prize for coldest of the entire trip. I was more than a little concerned about the condition of my toes, despite thick socks and shoes. Survived unharmed of course, only to have our bus get a flat about half-way to Tupiza. We were stuck in soft sand, so instead of changing the tire, they promptly loaded us all onto a second bus. My seat's leg room was so minimal that I opted to sit on the floor for the final four hours of the trip it was sunny
it was sunny
 . 11 hours after departing, we finally arrived in Tupiza, where the weather was gratifyingly mild.

The next day I set out on a five hour horse ride through the surrounding countryside. This is the first time I'd been on a horse in probably at least 15 years. I was accompanied only by my guide, 13 year old Gregorio, and his horse's 3 month old pony. I rode Tupa, a mild tempered, big brown horse. Didn't get much in the way of instruction thanks to the language barrier but I managed to figure out the basics with reins and heels before too long. Tupa didn't need much guidance anyway; he knew where he was going. We stopped to explore Caņon del Duende and Caņon del Inca on foot, but spent most of the day riding. I handled some brief episodes of trotting and galloping without much difficulty, although my, um, rear was a bit sore afterwards. A fun excursion, and I hope to get back on a horse much sooner than my last interval.

See me riding the range on flickr.
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