“A person susceptible to “wanderlust” is not so much addicted to movement as committed to transformation.” – Pico Iyer
WEEK 10 | Mexico a Caballo
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The heat continued as we made out way into Veracruz on Week 10 of our long ride through Mexico.
I don’t like the heat much. You can hear about it in my audio post above. It’s hard on me it’s hard on Roxy. Thankfully we only have 3-4 weeks before we climb in the mountains again, and enjoy cool weather again – something I haven’t seen in almost 2 months.
A couple weeks ago I managed to take the backpack out of my travel gear set up. It meant I had to put more gear on the front and back of the saddle. My memory foam was wearing out and I went to get a new one on a day off in Mathias Romero. I couldn’t find any so I bought a saddle pad instead. I really should have shopped for the memory foam in Juchitan, last week, but it was so hot, my brain played tricks on me and I thought oh I’ll just get it later.
Unfortunately the new set up caused some rubbing on Roxys back last week. I fixed the issue, but am sad it happened. The bigger picture good news is that through a friend I met a Mexican man who is making wool/neoprene saddle pads prototypes as well as hoof boot and urethane horse shoe prototypes. I’m super excited to meet him in September to see how we can get his set up installed on the custom flex panels I use.
On that day off in Mathias Romero,I was offered some pasture that had a vine called pica pica. I didn’t know about this, but it is a super irritant. Roxy ended up running her face almost raw from the little spines from the plant. Funnily enough the person who offered this land is a vet who should know better. Really, he just didn’t care. This happens a fair bit as I ride through Mexico. It’s an ongoing battle between my desire to give Roxy best care, and many Mexicans who think it’s nuts that I care so much about a horse.
The culture clash in a nutshell is: For me, Roxy is first. For many Mexicans, the family or the party is first.
As Week 10 went on, I made it into Veracruz! LOTS of grass here -and unfortunately, a little more danger than Oaxaca.
Good news is in the next 3 weeks I’ve got multiple presentations lined up in various towns and cities in this state.
I’ll be visiting a few Equine Therapy centers as well.
I’d like to thank my hosts from the last week: Jose, Enrique, Valencia, Mario, Mario and Jesus.
Chris MacLuckies’ professional career began with a decade-long stint as an organic vegetable grower in Ontario Canada. His career is prolific in breadth and scope. He has farmed organics commercially, volunteered in Guatemala, ran a gardening business, raised and raced sled dogs, tended his livestock, and ridden his horse on a multi-country expedition.
Chris is a certified TEFL ESL English Teacher, author of seven books, freelance content creator, and outdoor travel gear designer.
