Horseback riding is not something 
unseen by the mass population, though it is something that only a fraction of the world’s population has ever experienced. I was part of that population until late, when I traveled to the Mayan Riviera and paid Fifty Dollars to Ride one of God’s most incredible creations through the middle of the Cozumelian jungle.
My wife and I had never thought of it before, but then, there it was: message on the hackneyed piece of particleboard.
The stand belonged to Diego and his two compadres that rested under a thrown-together stand made of a single sheet of aluminum sheeting held up by four large tree branches dug into the soil. Their only cash register was a small wooden box on a table decorated with dominoes and beer caps. The empty bottles were neatly set in an old green beer crate.
As I asked how long and how far the ride would take, Diego responded in a Mayan-accented Spanish: “ a travez la isla”, across the island. Excitedly he sent one of his socios to fetch the horses before we could negotiate.
I half-expected nearly expired ponies, but to my surprise and awe Fidensio brought the most gorgeous animals I had ever seen. Majestic in size and disposition, the two beasts stood prideful as Diego placed the saddles over their intensely muscular backs.
As my wife, Jane, and I got on the horses we both agreed we felt like we were on top of the world. As the horses began to advance through the jungle it was as if we had time-traveled back several hundred years back in the past. I 
remembered the feeling I got when I first got behind the wheel of my first car…it was absolutely nothing compared this overwhelming euphoria. Jane said I had an inexorable smile on my face….she was right.
The jungle was moderately impressive. We traveled through tons of shrubs and small trees. Diego said Hurricane Wilma had destroyed most of the taller trees and vegetation, but that it was coming back quickly.
Half-way through the trip Diego took us to a cenote, a vertical cave filled with
fresh water that leads to an underground water cave system that eventually finds it’s way to the ocean. Apparently the Yucatan Peninsula is full of these natural highlights, that as an interesting side note, take the place rivers and lakes (as there are virtually none on the peninsula).
On our way back I became more confident with the reins and decided to speed up, apparently passing up iguanas and other exotic creatures…it was fine though, I’d get another chance to see them in the Guatemalan jungle.
