The main road passed the coastline, and we got out and walked around a few times. There was another farmer's market in a little shopping center. One booth was selling a coconut syrup powder. I thought, "why not?" and added it to our pile of edible souvenirs.
I love to look out over the ocean. One stop had a pretty walkway out to the beach. The bushes surrounding the path were covered in spiderwebs. And in the center of each web sat a very large yellow and black spider. It's a good thing I don't have a fear of spiders as long as they are staying put and not crawling on me. As long as they are on the web, I have no problems getting a nice close up view.
Shortly after, it was time to head to the ranch to meet our horses and our guide- and pet the cats at the sign up area. Our guide turned out to be a young woman from TN who had spent the last couple years living on the island. I love horses. I used to go riding at camp every summer. My horse for the afternoon was a tan Norwegian breed named Alf with a shaggy dual colored mane. Derek's horse was named Maki.
We rode on a very open trail mainly through fields and dirt roads- nothing too exciting, although the hills in the distance were pretty. My horse kept trying to munch on the grass. I hadn't been on a horse in about 10 years, long enough that my riding muscles were out of use and weak. I'd forgotten how sore sitting in a saddle makes your legs and inner thighs. After a while, we reached a hitching post where we tied up our horses and continued on foot down towards a waterfall for a picnic.
Our guide pointed out interesting things along the way such as a plan called shy grass that would actually pull away like a snail if you touched it. It took a lot of steep steps to reach our destination. Once we did, our guide set up some sandwich supplies on a big rock. We were allowed to go swimming in the pool at the base of the falls, and I came prepared with my bathing suit under my clothes. The water was pretty cold, but I had been looking forward to that part of the excursion. I was the only one in our whole group who went all the way in the water instead of just taking a footbath. It really wasn't that bad. I had a great time swishing around in the smooth water- their loss.
When it was time to go, I dried off and put my jeans and top back on. We took a different route back to where the horses were waiting. Earlier, our guide had instructed each of us to take a tether with a latch and carry them down the trail. We soon discovered what they were for.
First, we stopped in front of a ledge with a pulley going over it. One by one, we latched our harnesses to the pulley and climbed over the rocks. Next, we came to a stream with a rope over it. This time we latched ourselves to the rope and used it to guide us to the other side. Eventually, we made it back to the horses and finished our ride. We would have liked to explore more of the island, but we had to get back to the bed and breakfast in time for dinner.
Our first night at Marjie's, we had asked if any restaurants in the area did anything for Thanksgiving. This comment got our hosts thinking that they should have a meal for their guests. So we were treated to a delightful home-cooked meal along with a couple visiting from Germany plus some local friends of our hosts. They even served borscht- something I always joked about being icky, but wouldn't you know it? I actually liked it when I tried it!
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