archives
02/01/2007 - 03/01/200703/01/2007 - 04/01/2007
04/01/2007 - 05/01/2007
05/01/2007 - 06/01/2007
06/01/2007 - 07/01/2007
07/01/2007 - 08/01/2007
08/01/2007 - 09/01/2007
09/01/2007 - 10/01/2007
10/01/2007 - 11/01/2007
11/01/2007 - 12/01/2007
12/01/2007 - 01/01/2008
01/01/2008 - 02/01/2008
02/01/2008 - 03/01/2008
03/01/2008 - 04/01/2008
04/01/2008 - 05/01/2008
05/01/2008 - 06/01/2008
06/01/2008 - 07/01/2008
07/01/2008 - 08/01/2008
08/01/2008 - 09/01/2008
09/01/2008 - 10/01/2008
10/01/2008 - 11/01/2008
11/01/2008 - 12/01/2008
12/01/2008 - 01/01/2009
01/01/2009 - 02/01/2009
02/01/2009 - 03/01/2009
03/01/2009 - 04/01/2009
04/01/2009 - 05/01/2009
05/01/2009 - 06/01/2009
06/01/2009 - 07/01/2009
07/01/2009 - 08/01/2009
08/01/2009 - 09/01/2009
09/01/2009 - 10/01/2009
10/01/2009 - 11/01/2009
11/01/2009 - 12/01/2009
12/01/2009 - 01/01/2010
01/01/2010 - 02/01/2010
Al-Andalusian Conclusian
Add Your Comments   | Monday April 7 2008 This was Andaluc�a: a musical, passionate land, with fiestas, romerias, bullfights, and celebrations. This was Tierras de Al-Andalus 2008: on horseback or in vehicles following horses across rugged mountain trails by day, flamenco disco by night; wonderful new friends, Spanish tapas, manzanilla wine; old Roman roads, 6th century castles, the Rock of Gibraltar, the dusty streets of an equestrian city. Getting little sleep, getting lost, getting stuck; listening to a classical cellist, listening to Jos� Soto sing, listening to horseshoes on the cobblestone streets of an old Andaluc�an village, listening to the crashing waves of the Atlantic Ocean as horses canter by, listening to goats deep in the Andaluc�an countryside. It's not a vacation, and it's not easy, on you or your horse. You need a fit horse to come here, and a good knowledge of your horse and management of your horse over a multi-day ride to finish. You need to take a good deal of time off work: the Germans who came took 4 days to get here, spent 9 days at the ride, and will take 5 days to return home. You need a good crew and driver(s). You need an appreciation of things good - food, wine, company, scenery, history - because that is what you will get here. Don't come without a sense of humor, and don't come if you can't do without a lot of sleep for a week. The following will sound kind of like those Acadamy Award speeches where the winners try to cram in thanks to everybody on the planet who had a hand in their success; there's no way I could mention and thank everybody with Al-Andalus who helped me and gave me a smile or "Hola!" every day. But I must mention, at the least, In�s de Albert and Luis Gil-Delgado L�pez, who were two of the main cogs in Al-Andalus wheel that kept things moving smoothly along, and if they were not moving smoothly, In�s and Luis did not let it get in the way of anything. If Steph and I needed a ride, or had one more question, or wanted to get in front of a pack of horses, or needed our lost passports, they took care of it. Most of all, they most often lugged Steph's and my stupidly heavy suitcases without complaints : ) . Javier Guti�rrez Jerez and Nacho Pe�a were two of my drivers with a great sense of adventure and always a ready laugh. Carmen Gonz�lez Mart�n-Mor� and Dr. Lu�s Herrero Mateo helped me with my Spanish on the many days I rode with them (I promised I'd know more next year). And there's Jos� Soto - who came up with the idea to put this ride on. Oh, and he's not such a bad singer either. El a�o siguiente - see you here next year. |
