Back to the Mountains

I'm really not spending all my time in the mountains, but it's so beautiful it's hard not to blog about my trips up there.
Last weekend we took a horse tour up into the mountains. I didn't ride, my job was supply crew. Mary Jane took 2 riders up to a small village called El Carrizal. First we loaded the horses into the trailer and I drove them to a village called Diaz Ordaz. The three riders saddled up and off they went for a 6 hour ride up into the hills. I drove the trailer to the village of Llano Grande, about two hours of driving over the mountains. Gorgeous views! I dropped off the trailer in Llano Grande then drove the van down to El Carrizal to meet the riders. The village is very picturesque, perch on the side of the mountains.
Eco tourism is trying to take hold and most of the villages are building lovely little cabins. Each with fireplaces and private bathrooms. Really very nice. The village also had a small shed, where they set up a makeshift stable for the horses.
I brought the food for the horses and the riders luggage and breakfast. When Mary Jane, Ellen and Mario arrived we fed the horses and then went to the local trout farm and had lovely fresh trout for dinner. Umm!
I got the fires going in everyone's cabin, gets cold up there at night. Once everyone was warm and toasty, we drank some Mezcal and they told me of the day's ride. I'm hopefully going to be able to do the ride soon.
Next morning we were up bright and early. A lot of the folks from the village came to watch us feed and take care of the horses. They also had lots of questions for Mary Jane about how to get more tourists up to the village.
The villagers provided us with a local guide, who showed up on a little mountain pony complete with a foal at her side. Off went my riders, with their guide, further up the mountain to where I had left the trailer. I met them with lunch for the horses and we humans had lunch at a local comida.
We then loaded up the horses and headed home. It was a great way to spend a few days and get to know new people. Ellen is from Northern California and owns a racing stable there. You'd think she wouldn't want to spend her vacation with horses. She told us she never has time to pleasure ride at home, so she really enjoys her horses vacations. She has seen alot of the world from horseback. Mario is from Malta, he and I have a lot in common, as he has owned and worked in pubs most of his life. He now works on pleasure yachts in the Med, not a bad way to make a living!
I having a hard time believing Christmas is just down the road. I haven't been bombarded with ads, which is very nice. Hope everyone is have a great X-mas season. Drink some eggnog for me!