As my horse trotted further into the jungle, the paths began to grow deep with thick, sticky slop. My horse, who I had nicknamed "Tico" bypassed the muck and rode to the side on the solid ground, but eventually we had to start trudging through the mud. Wet mud, so deep that when it came up to the horse’s belly I would have to pick up my legs to the side, and ride in a split position.
As Tico strained to walk through the slop he bounced and jerked from side to side. Between the pounding of the slop and the rattling in the bushes, I could hear the others farther in the distance behind me.
Tico and I started to climb the base of an unbelievably steep trail, which looked more suitable for mountain climbing than horseback riding. Small creeks ran alongside us, as Tico started to trudge through the sloppy path.
I leaned forward, resting my chest against his neck as he climbed in an almost vertical position. As one of his front legs stuck in the muck, he fell to the side and threw me to the slop. Breathing heavily, he continued to worm his way through the belly-deep mud as I crawled along side of him, spreading out my body so as not to sink into the sludge. With hands covered in filth, I batted and scratched at the strange insect that had flown up my right nostril.
It started to cross my mind that it was quite possible that Tico might get stuck. I figured it would help for me to stay off him while he battled this part of the trail, so I crawled alongside him, and looked into his bulging eyes as if to try to cheer him on. One wrong move, and we both would go sliding to the bottom of the mountain on an avalanche of slop.
As we reached solid ground Tico, in a human-like courteous manner, waited for me to climb back on him. The soft rain continued to mist us as we broke free of the clouds and continued along a foliage-entrapped plateau. I stopped to listen for the others, who still seemed to be making their way near the bottom of the mountain. Tico drank from a puddle of water as I tilted my head towards the sky, to wash away the mud that had caked on my face. Then Tico and I continued on into the void.
Tico seemed happy to be on solid ground, as he started to gallop and jerk his head back and forth. As the slop began to shoot of from the side of his legs his mane blew in the breeze. He began to run faster. We flew down the jungle paths; occasionally branches and vines slapped me in the face. I turned into a wild man, riding free into the foggy jungles, howling like an animal as the pounding of Tico’s hoofs scattered birds from the treetops.
I had lost all sense of time and location, and had almost forgotten that I was with a "guide." I tugged on the reigns to bring Tico to a halt. He wouldn’t give in. So I tugged harder, shouting out a variety of commands in Spanish and English. Making every "hah" and "hey" noise I had seen in cowboy movies, I tried to get Tico to slow down. The wind kicked back his mane into a mohawk as we continued to move even faster. My dirtied pants began to ride up my legs, and a metal-laced leather strap began to cut into my calf.
With every bounce and jerk that the horse made, the sharp metal cut deeper into my leg. I struggled to hang on as I tried to lean over and adjust the strap, but we were going too fast. Tico would have to stop, but he wanted to run like a horse is meant to run, and he wasn’t going to let some gringo tell him otherwise. For me, though, the pain was becoming unbearable, and the cut was getting larger with each bounce and shake.
The others were long gone, but we continued to race through the jungle, heading up another mountain and into the clouds. I continued to jerk on the rein with all my might; Tico’s head shot up and tried to smash me in the face. He was pissed.
After more than 20 minutes of high-speed, neck-jerking action, I finally managed to bring Tico to a halt. I immediately jumped off to inspect my bleeding leg, in such concern that I forget to tie up the rein. Tico glanced at me, with what appeared to be a smile on his face, and shot off, up the mountain and into the clouds. His pounding hooves slowly gave way to the quietness of the jungle.