Enough about commercialized holidays and on to what might be the highlight of my 8 wks away:

(Ok, Miss Gillian, here is your shout-out and also a warning: this post is a bit loquacious, as you say.  But I think even skimming it you'll catch the highlights!)

This past Saturday the school went horseback riding through the Andes. We drove about 90 minutes outside of the city, to this farm that can only be described as deliverance-style creepy: goat heads tacked to the front of an about-to-crumble structure, a skinned horse hide thrown over the rails of the horse pen, dogs with 3 1/2 legs chewing on recently-amputated goat limbs.  Quickly (and in Spanish) we were put onto horses and - for those of us who hadn't been riding since we we last went to the Rocking Horse Dude Ranch - taught how to ride.  Soon we were climbing single file along a trail that clung to the side of the mountain.  I won't lie, at first I was so scared that I considered staying with the dogs chewing on goat legs, but they had joined our pack up the mountain so I had to stay on my horse, who I named Esmerelda.  And yes, the black lab with 3 1/2 legs climbed all the way up on his own, what an inspiring dog.

In addition to the 3 dogs that came along to guide us on the trail, we had 4 or 5 Huaso (cowboy) guides who communicated with the horses in a fantastic mix of Spanish, Mapuche and horse-whispering. The views were absolutely spectacular and Esmerelda (potentially the oldest mare in central Chile) knew the trail so well that before long I was calm enough to enjoy them.  Honestly, words can't really do justice to the exhilaration of being high over the world, looking at the terrain from atop the most perfect guide.  All I can say is that it was utterly breathtaking, and if you ever find yourself able to do something similar you should.

Some pictures to sway you (although for the best parts, I was either too distracted or too scared to pull out my camera!):

Ascending up the mountain

From atop my fine steed:

Lily and Patricia, atop the mountain:

 

View from the trail:

These dogs walked up the entire way with us:

Annie returns to the homestead:

Esmerelda, my equine heroine (as you can tell from the massive amts of gray hair, she is getting on in years...):

After riding, I played with the baby goats:

More pics will are on their way. (Pictures of me actually riding are on other pple's cameras. Apparently there is a really amazing one of me looking completely freaked out when we first started riding and also one of a baby goat licking my face). Be on the lookout!