https://www.facebook.com/631168160342702/posts/2164669226992580/?app=fbl
https://5000milesofhope.org/perfil-xochiilt-sosa-delfin-equinoterapia-dia-86/
So we stayed at a pretty cool ecoresort in Catemaco called Rancho Turístico Xococapan
It’s run by Luis Gracia. He’s got a lot of horses and does natural horsemanship. I learned about natural horsemanship and gave a presentation.
I stayed there for 2 days and relaxed pretty hard.
Then we made our way towards Veracruz.
The roads got super dangerous and one day I think Roxy’s tail got hit by an upcoming truck who passed another oncoming truck and didn’t yield for us. I heard a noise but Roxy was in no pain, so maybe it was just wind.
The oncoming passing thing happened a lot this week and really pissed me off.
Once I leave Veracruz and head to the mountains, I’m going to start taking back roads as much as possible. For now I chose the fastest and most crime free routes north from Tuxtla, as I wanted to get out of the heat as quickly as I could. Once I get up higher, in better riding temperatures, I’m not in any rush so to speak of.
I made it Lerdo de Tejado where I met up with Xochiilt, who invited me over a couple months ago. She runs an Equine therapy center.
You can read all about it here:
https://5000milesofhope.org/centro-integral-de-monta-y-equinoterapia/
I rested up Roxy and went back by trailer to a horse parade in a nearby town. The horse parade was cool. The trailering was an absolute nightmare. Basically my experiences from that day has made me ever want to put my horse in a trailer ever again in Mexico. Basically my first misadventure involved a truck and trailer that didn’t have matching hardware or linked brakes. So yeah, the trailer came loose from the truck and almost tipped over. The second trailering was the return trip where I literally sat on a horse inside a big truck full of 10 horses. I liked the group ride, but not the drunken and irresponsible trailering, at all.
The hosts were friendly in Week 12, but the drivers were NOT! The weather cooled down a bit and I could just count my stars that Roxy didn’t die 2 different times…
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.