Our guides Selma and Rose are amazing and we were expertly paired with our horses and off we went. I love my sassy but sweet mare, Mara. Just stay out of her face and she’s game for anything – plus she has no patience and is ready to go just like my horses at home. Absolutely incredible riding through the mountain countryside. Everywhere you turn it’s a different view. Even my camera can’t capture the beauty: riding next to (or through) cattle, bulls, horses, rivers, forests, boulders, open land… you truly get a feel for this region. Our aperitivo stop included a full delicious spread, pumpkin broth, and sherry but then we just rode to the next lunch stop where we were served incredible homemade paella, wine, and fresh cheese/chorizo/garden tomatoes. SO MUCH DELICIOUS FOOD! We somehow still had room for another incredible dinner at Parador de Gredos where I had smoked trout. Tomorrow we embark on our town by town ride with new hotels!

Oh the rain we woke up to! We donned our rain gear and headed out with our luggage and off we went to ride it out to our next village for the night! While it did rain pretty steadily in the beginning, by the afternoon it turned light and honestly contributed to such a stunning landscape. It did make for a couple of very deep and fast moving river crossings, though! Mara was in a mare mood from the rain and being the shortest across the rivers and I don’t blame her! This trip was a mixture of forests, very rocky mountain paths, and village riding. The horses were so sure footed you just trust them even in the wet conditions. After an aperitivo stop in a refuge building (so welcome after the cold rain with sherry and a hot fire), we rode on to lunch in a beautiful community center looking down on the towns that we then rode through! It was also the most incredible lunch served by our personal chef Raul- mushroom soup, fresh salad, grilled zucchini and pumpkin, the most flavorful grilled chicken and pancetta I’ve ever had, chorizo and black pudding sausage, veal and papas fritas, and carrot cake with delicious Spanish wine. There was roadwork on the original route we were going to take featuring a medieval bridge but we followed a medieval trading route instead (and still went over another medieval bridge with no sides) and made it to our next bed and breakfast for the night in Navalpernal de Tormes! We rode right up and the horses stay in the pasture outside of our window – I wish we had this in the US!!!

Ah, ¡Dios mío! What a beautiful day it turned out to be. Woke up to the soothing sounds of cattle migration, gave morning apples to our horses, packed our luggage back up and off we went back through town by horseback en route to Barco de Avila. This ride featured so many changing landscapes. A very “meditative ride” as Selma described it – with a few canters of course. The only adventure this time was a fallen tree blocking our path from the storm the night before. Riding into the hotel Hotel Izán Puerta de Gredos in Barco de Avila was straight out of a fairytale. Such an incredibly beautiful place. The horses love the pasture here and we found welcome respite in the spa like hotel rooms. I of course also made friends with a cat who followed me around while I explored the grounds. We only had a small chance to explore downtown (but caught a full moon!) before a downpour had us running through the streets to our dinner – an award winning wine shop where we were served expertly paired wine and tapas for a pairing dinner and explanation of Spanish wines. Did we leave with a bottle or many cases?? We may never tell… or share. I am sad to leave this place!

Speaking of fairytales… today’s ride included a sherry aperitivo stop at a castle! This ride was a very long but fast ride. We began at 9:45am and ended at our next hotel around 7:15pm! But oh the views and the experience of watching the same mountain go from seeming so far off in the distance, to up close next to you, to now so far behind you! This day included more beautiful bridges (also some non horsey people waving umbrellas lol), riding through many villages, long canters through the valleys, lunch break with the locals in the cutest little restaurant in a small village, making friends with dogs, and beautiful medieval castles. Pulling up (literally) to our next hotel in Hoyorredonda during golden hour as the sun was setting, feeding and turning our horses out in the paddock right behind the place, and enjoying a gin and tonic on the patio was a fitting end to a special day. Most entertaining might be herding/ponying Janto, our extra horse for the day due to a rider taking a day off. He just plodded along from village to village as all stopped to watch in awe of a free horse so well behaved. We happened to need him later on in the ride as we did some switching due to a slight lameness. Still completely blown away by the Iberian landscape and can’t imagine exploring this country any other way than by horseback!

“From race horses to mountain goats” A friend put it perfectly – there’s no other way to describe today. It was an absolutely incredible day and my favorite so far. Each day gets more spectacular somehow! This was actually our longest ride yet at 27 miles but we finished quicker than yesterday. Setting out from Hoyorredonda we descended down a bit to the flat foothills where we were able to gallop down a never ending path. Oh the fun!! I have never gone so fast in my life. Mara just kicked it into next gear and next gear and next gear! She still couldn’t catch her sister Bonita, though, who beat us all. Then we began our ascent up the mountain, with a perfect little picnic spot before the hard part! After lunch it was straight upb- you just get in 2 point, grab mane, and let them find their way over the rocks and up the mountain. We followed an ancient Roman built “road” (aka rocks), through free ranging cattle and horses all the way to the very top of the mountain. What amazing, so well bred and trained horses we have. The most mind blowing part? At the foothills Selma pointed out mountain pass so far in the distance and said we will be riding through that. We didn’t even realize it but we turned around halfway up the mountain and could look back down from a new vantage point right through that pass back at the foothills we galloped in the morning that were now so far away. Ah, Spain… you are incredible.

We completed riding 110 miles in 6 days!!! This day was a relaxing but playful, beautiful day with the sun shining down on our smiling faces for the final ride of the trip. The contrasts between the vibrant yellows and greens and the clear views of the Gredos was so idyllic as we strolled along peacefully and took it all in. We let our inner child out as soon as Selma asked, “you guys want to chase some cattle? Pick one and just go!” I was the first one out there jumping at the chance to laugh and chase and canter through the fields like a reining horse. Yet another versatility button these horses can push! We found a complete wild boar skull, grid searched a part of the land to try and find a fly stick Selma lost the other month (unsuccessfully, unfortunately), stopped to take fun group and solo pictures with the mountain backdrop, said hello to the free ranging horses and foals, and had a last canter with our partners. The best part was enjoying a gorgeous, sunny picnic surrounded by curious cattle- extra long to take advantage of enjoying a little siesta in the sun. A fitting ending ride to a perfect week. A final night back at the Parador de Gredos for one last dinner and breakfast together as our little riding family.