“Don’t worry, Elena,” said our host, Juan Rabasa, co-owner of Enduro Ecuestre, an equestrian outfitter based in San Cristobal de las Casas in the highlands of southwestern Mexico. “Palomo is the perfect horse for you. You can trust him.”
But could Palomo trust me? Everyone knows you can’t fool a horse. But fooling yourself? That’s easy.
How easy it was to forget that the ‘me’ that is seduced by exotic adventures, is only a distant cousin to the ‘me’ reflected in the morning mirror, and - here’s the rub - a complete stranger to the nervous ‘me’ perched atop an Arabian horse in the wilds of Chiapas, Mexico.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
words + pictures by Ellen Barone
When Jean-Baptiste Lamy came to Santa Fe in 1851 as the first bishop of the Southwest diocese, he bought a parcel of land along the Little Tesuque stream, a few miles north of Santa Fe, for his country retreat. Today that refuge is Bishop’s Lodge Ranch Resort & Spa, a luxury ranch resort boasting 91 years of hospitality.
I’d been plotting a Bishop’s Lodge stay for years, but never quite found the time for it. So, when a WORDHARVEST writer’s workshop took me to Santa Fe, my husband, Hank, and I extended our visit for two additional nights for a stay at the lodge. We were not disappointed.
Last summer, I enjoyed a guided horseback ride through the lodge’s historic stables, open to guests and non-guests. Trailing through piñon and juniper forests, atop scenic mesas and to 360-degree vistas that encompassed the natural beauty of the vast ranch and surrounding region was incredible experienced on the back of a gentle trail horse. Read “Call of the Mild” and learn more about that Santa Fe adventure, and more.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".