Our trip to Zomba-the horses

I grew up with horses. My little sister got her first pony when she was 5. Although she was more of the horse girl than I was, I still loved my horse very much. I remember us being so excited to get home after school so we could ride our horses all afternoon.

I haven't ridden a horse since 2004 when I was in the Andes mountains of Peru. I rode a wild horse bare back that had been owned at some point in time by the Quechuan people in the mountains. It's a long story....all you need to know is, it's been a very long time.

I was so excited to hear that there was horse back riding on the Zomba plateau. I was worried though that it would be a boring trail ride. What I wanted do to was gallop in an open field. Our ride was somewhere in between. My horses name was Persia, a Thoroughbred. She was kind of finicky and sassy, but I liked her. I just had to show her who was boss. After that, we got along great.

After only two attempts, I was able to get myself and Emily in a photo. Pretty good, eh?

Michelle and Maggie (the owner of the horses and stables) lead the way across the dam.

Views from the dam.

Emily, Michelle and I rode while Dan stayed back with Eli. It was great to have some girl time. We look so professional in our helmets, don't we?

Persia was stubborn. She wanted to snack the entire time. She also wanted to stay up close with Maggie and her horse. I really had to be firm with her to control her every move.




We made a loop over the dam, through the woods and around the dam. Here we are back near where we started. If you look closely, you can see the waterfall that we hiked to the day before. It's the little white dot behind Michelle and I.

We had a great time. I felt like a child again riding in that western saddle with smells of old leather. However, I felt like an old lady the next morning when I was unable to walk. Still, it was worth it.