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CABALGATA, 2001
Click on any image to enlarge
The
Cabalgata 2001, organized and hosted by Cheryl Aldrich of Poolville,
Texas, and Guillermo More of Chincha, Peru, was an event to be remembered
for a long, long time.
Being the
very first effort on their parts, neither Cheryl nor Guillermo had any
idea what to suspect in terms of its success. Well folks, I participated
in that Cabalgata, and lived to tell the tale!
It was an
unqualified success!
The
magnitude of the task leaves some of us shaking our heads, and just being
thankful that the job wasn’t ours. Arranging for horses which would be
strong, sound, and safe: organizing routes on which we would ride, and
hotels where we would collapse, are just a few of the tasks with which our
organizers were faced.
There was a
paramedic, Richard, to monitor the well being of the two-legged animals
and a vet tech, Monica, whose domain was the four-legged ones. Thankfully,
their services, while appreciated, were not required. All horses, and
humans weathered the trek, in remarkably good shape.
There were
twenty of us brave souls who signed up, and we all managed to complete the
rides with little or no ill effects.
Roy Parks looks across
the citrus groves on Mike Mewhinney Ranch |
Dancing in the Winery |
Breakfast at the Hacienda
San Jose |
Our Bus at San Jose |
Our
adventure began on Feb. 12, when we boarded the bus for our first journey,
which took us to the ranch of Sr. Alfredo Elias. We were treated to a
demonstration of his horses, and were privileged to see his gorgeous
Laureada mare FCC Gentileza “up close and personal”. It was also a
privilege to listen to Sr. Elias talk about his years of experience as a
breeder, and to have him share with us some of his philosophies about
breeding and breed standards.
From there
we traveled by bus to the Hotel Ocucaje, where we got settled in our rooms
and had a wonderful lunch. Then the real fun began! We went to see and
choose our horses, which would be our companions for the next 5 days. I
chose mine for 2 reasons; first, his name was Sinbad, which was the name
of my beloved Mastiff who died last spring. Second, he was a big, strong
black gelding – very impressive. Well, Sinbad turned out to be as loco
as his namesake. He was a knot head, albeit an endearing one! When we were
all safely mounted on our chosen steeds, it was time to make our first
foray into the unknown, a 35km trek into the desert. Wow!
With Bill
the GPS man leading the way on his ATV, off we went. Well, let me just
say, that it was the longest 35km in history! The ride started around
5:00pm, lasting from late afternoon until early morning! The moon, which
was to light our way, went somewhere else! Folks it was pitch black out
there! There is something very eerie about being on the desert on a cloudy
night. There are no landmarks for reference, and there is the sensation of
not knowing where you are in space, kind of like floating on a sea of
sand. We arrived for dinner at the ranch of Sr. Mariano Cabrera. No one
was home! I guess they got tired of waiting for us. It was midnight when
we rode up. But the ever- faithful caterers were there and the food was
waiting. After our midnight snack, we climbed aboard the tour bus, which
had followed us across the desert. The horses were loaded onto the trucks,
which had also followed us across the desert, and we set off back to the
hotel, an hour and a half, by bus, six hours by horse.
Next
morning, after breakfast, off we rode again. This time we rode a big loop,
which took us through the local village, out into the countryside, (more
desert), via roadways, pathways, small streams, and bigger rivers, which
we forded when bridges weren’t available. We returned to the hotel for
lunch and then set off by bus for the ranch of Sr. Hugo Nieto. Some of the
group opted to go to see the Nazca Lines instead, and some stayed at the
hotel drinking pisco sours by the pool. That evening we had a special
dinner in the winery of the Hotel Ocucaje, complete with Criollo
entertainment. Ladies, if you ever get the opportunity, learn to do the
fire dance. You pin a paper tail to the back of your dance costume, and
your dancing partner has to try to light it while you dance around shaking
your tail feathers. If he lights it, then you really shake those tail
feathers, fast enough to put out the flames!
Needless to
say it was too funny!
One of many river crossings |
Guillermo shows how to light a
fire! |
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Alfredo Elias |
On Day
Three, we travelled by bus to the museum and caves at Paracas, on the west
coast, and then on to the ranch of Srs. Eduardo Risso, and Michael
Mewhinney. We learned about their state of the art farming operations,
using computerized irrigations methods. We were again treated to a
demonstrations by excellent horses, and climbed aboard our trusty steeds
for another desert ride (is there any other kind???) This one was only
about 20km. And again we followed our GPS man into the night until we
reached the ranch of Sr.Luis Gagliardi. Dinner was waiting for us, thanks
to the caterers, who have this traveling dog and pony show down to a fine
art. As usual it was an excellent meal, and the pisco sours just kept
getting better! There’s nothing like a pisco sour to wash down desert
dust, and if it doesn’t? After the first two drinks you don’t care
anyway! While we were enjoying dinner we enjoyed the presentation of Sr.
Gagliardi’s horses, including some mares with very young foals. Of
course, we women of whom there were many, all fell in love. The trusty bus
then took our weary selves back to hotel, and the horses were loaded on
the trucks for their trip back. I should mention, that if one is intending
to ride in the desert, the only way to do that is with the air-conditioned
tour bus, complete with bathroom and cooler loaded with cold refreshments
following along behind. That is definitely called living in the lap of
luxury. (There are no trees for pit stops in the desert!)
On Day Four,
we traveled by bus to Paracas once again, this time to take a boat tour to
the island of Ballestas. That trip was really special! The island is the
breeding and birthing place for the sea lions and the Humboldt Penguins as
well as countless other sea birds including the Peruvian Boobie. We saw
thousands of seals and babies, not to mention tens of thousands of birds.
It was noisy and smelly and we had a great time!
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Major Speaking at Huaca
de la Centinela |
Riding on the beach |
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From there
we traveled in old faithful, to the Ranch of Sr. Julio Peschiera, for
lunch and then, to re-mount our trusty steeds. My trusty steed didn’t
arrive! One of the trucks was late and we couldn’t delay the ride. Sr.
Peschiera generously donated some of his horses to fill in the gaps. Poor
me! I got to ride a little gelding that I could actually go to sleep on!
We rode a big loop, which eventually took us back to the Peschiera ranch,
but not before Roger, one of the few of the males species on the tour,
decided to go swimming! We were crossing a river, when Roger’s horse
suddenly found a deep spot and went in! Roger was able to hop off in
shallow water, and even had the presence of mind to rescue his wool pellon,
so it didn’t get wet! Everyone was fine, and Roger re-mounted on dry
land with dry pellon, and off we went again!
We left the
Peschiera ranch by bus, and arrived at our new hotel, the Hotel San Jose.
This was a colonial mansion, built in the 1930’s, and fit for a king.
Our hostess, whose family home the mansion had been, could not have been
more gracious. Imagine pulling into the Sheraton, or Marriott with a group
of twenty filthy, smelly tourists, covered in dust and mud, and reeking of
horse. Would we have been welcomed? I DON’T THINK SO! But we were
certainly welcomed at Hotel San Jose. We had a lovely dinner there,
complete with entertainment typical of the region, and then we were given
a tour of the hotel, its chapel and for those who wished it, a visit to
the catacombs, and the slaves’ punishment cell – Yuk! Then it was off
to bed to prepare for our last day of riding.
We started
off by visiting the ruins in a small village, which I think was Huaca de
la Centinela. Our horses were transported to this location and were tacked
up while we visited the ruins. We mounted our trusty steeds, (I was back
on loco Sinbad), and received very warm wishes from the mayor of the
district. Then, off we went! Oops! Not quite! It seems that our faithful
bus didn’t quite clear the hydro lines as it was pulling away! All of a
sudden there was a telephone pole on tilt, to which a horse was still
tied, and Guillermo and his mount were scrambling frantically to get out
of the way of the wires! Thankfully, no one was injured, including the
horses, but we decided we’d better “Get outta Dodge!” We may have
been responsible for a widespread power outage and it’s a safe bet we
wore out our welcome!
Once again
underway on our pasos, we followed the GPS man on the route which would
take us to the ocean. What a treat that was! To ride along the beach with
the waves splashing around the horses’ legs and splashing up onto the
riders! How Refreshing! That is, of course, if one could convince one’s
horse to GET INTO THE WATER! Loco Sinbad took some real convincing, but
after many leaps to high ground, he accidentally got wet and decided he
liked it! After that, he was content to go surfing. Our last stop along
the ride was at the home of our co-host Guillermo and his lovely wife Ida.
They had arranged for a very special luncheon called a Pachamanca, to be
prepared. This meal is cooked in layers, separated by banana leaves, in a
very large pot, which is placed over hot coals and buried in the ground.
It cooks for hours, and when it’s uncovered, the aroma is pure heaven,
especially to a bunch of starving, bedraggled riders! Of course, the meal
was complimented by icy pisco sours, of which I had many!
JoAnn Preston Riding Sinbad |
JoAnn & Lessa at the
beach |
Pacamancha |
Roys a good sleeper |
We were all
a little sad, knowing that the riding part of the tour was over, and we
lingered with the Mores for some time re-living our experiences. Finally
we said “Good-bye” to our hosts and our horses, climbed aboard the bus
and headed back to the big city. We made a short stop at the show grounds
in Mamacona, where the local breeders had arranged a small party to
welcome us. We were served lovely snacks and lovely pisco sours! Can
anyone tell I like pisco sours?
The return to Lima meant
that our group would split up. Some like my friend Fern and I, would
travel to Cusco and Machu Picchu. Others would stay in Lima, to tour the
city and go to the horse show that weekend.
On the 19th, our last day
in Peru, we all got together for a farewell dinner at a very famous
restaurant called, Rosa Nautica. There, Cheryl, in cahoots with a couple
of other tour members planned a few surprises of her own, including
special awards for every participant. Roger got a pair of water wings, in
case he has to bail off his horse sometime soon. I got the award for the
best rodeo rider – Thanks Sinbad!!! But the highlight of the evening was
when a very scary looking police officer came into our private dining
room, looking for one Guillermo More. The police officer then proceeded to
place Guillermo under arrest for trespassing on the ranch of Sr. Alfredo
Elias, kidnapping 20 tourists on horseback and getting them lost in the
desert! Believe me, until Guillermo realized it was a joke, the tan he had
earned over five days in the sun, completely disappeared!
Sadly, as with all good
things, our wonderful adventure had come to an end. Was it tough? YES! Was
it gruelling? YES! (About 150km. in 5 days). Was it fantastic? YES! YES!
YES! And would I do it again? IN A HEARTBEAT! When I save up enough
soles($) that is!
A very big thank you goes
out to Cheryl and Guillermo for all their hard work and planning, to
Richard for his para-medical skills and wry British humor, to Monica for
her devotion and dedication to the well-being of the horses, to Christian
our videographer, who provided us with a wonderful video memory of our
trip, and to all the participants whose co-operation and camaraderie made
being together such a pleasure! Perhaps, most importantly, our thanks are
directed to the long-suffering, overworked, yet, always-gracious chalans.
Those trainers saw to our horses’ every need. They handled the feed and
water, the tacking and un-tacking, the loading and un-loading, and we, as
riders were not expected or allowed to do anything but enjoy the ride. We
weren’t even expected to adjust our own stirrups, and throughout the
entire five days, these young men were unfailingly polite, and respectful,
always available to assist whenever needed. They made the ride so easy for
us, that getting back to reality could be painful!
To those of you who may
be considering this type of holiday in the future, DO IT! You’ll never
regret it. Just don’t choose to ride Sinbad! He’s reserved for me!!!
With much affection to
all;
Joanne Preston
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