I didn’t grow up with horses. Never even owned one. My horseback riding experience is limited to the numerous trotting tours one can take in the major tourist areas of the country. Yet I have this dream that just won’t die and that is to be a cowboy (or vaquero, in Spanish). I long for the day when I own enough land to have a few horses and to be able to just take off riding, not having anywhere in specific to go, just riding. I will say that when I do one of those trotting tours I am not the one in the group that settles just to, well, trot. I am the one that at the first opportunity will take the horse to full gallop…..for in that fleeting moment, my dream is realized, I am Costa Rican cowboy! Costa Rica is definitely horse country. There are horses everywhere and in many of the pueblos you will see vaqueros riding their horses as a primary means of transportation. Nothing exemplifies Costa Rican horsemanship like the annual “tope” that is held in the streets of San Jose right after Christmas. We just finished the el tope in San Jose with an estimated 5,300 or more horses and their riders parading through the streets of downtown San Jose. Another great thing about being a cowboy is that you are of course more attractive to the cowgirls….and their is nothing sexier than a pretty Tica with a cowboy hat on a horse….yippee! There is something magical about being on a horse. They are such majestic creatures. So humble and gentle, yet also so powerful, graceful and beautiful. In my opinion there is no better way to see the natural wonders of Costa Rica than on the back of a horse. One day I will have my horse and go riding into the Costa Rican sunset, never to be seen again. Who was that masked man, they will ask? Hi-yo Silver and away I go….Adios!
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