Adventure to Podocarpus National Forest Near Vilcabamba, Ecuador

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(NaturalNews) From my abundant vegetable garden at Hacienda San Joaquin in Vilcabamba, Ecuador, I can look to the East and see multiple layers of mountains spanning the valley. Clouds hover over the peaks, drenching them with rain that pours into the Valley of Longevity where it forms a river that ultimately winds its way across our ranch and westward towards the Pacific Ocean.

I've often wondered what might be found in those hills, so when the opportunity to venture into the region presented itself, I leaped at the chance. A small group of compadres decided to tackle the adventure with the help of two local guides and three horses. We gathered our gear, slapped on our adventure hats and headed into the hills.

What happened over the subsequent 48 hours was truly unforgettable... one of the most memorable adventures I've ever experienced... anywhere. I captured the highlights of it with a photo tour I've posted here on NaturalNews: http://www.naturalnews.com/phototou...

The tour began on foot, with a 45-minute climb to the entrance gate (the "green gate"). Passing through the gate, we met Angel and Mauricio, our two guides who had already packed our gear, food and water onto three horses. Two of the horses were available for riding, so as we marched into the depths of the Podocarpus national forest, we took turns mounted on the horses versus walking on foot.

As the hills grew steeper and more treacherous, I came to discover a great new respect for our horses. They marry incredible muscle strength with an astounding sure-footedness that saved us more than once. Somehow, these horses are able to memorize and calculate the terrain directly underneath their bodies so that, when they walk, they place their rear feet in precisely the right places, well outside their vision, relying solely on their memory of the location of each rock, gulley and section of dirt. With one step completed, rather than lifting their rear feet and losing contact with the ground, they tilt them forward and gently drag their rear hooves along the ground, feeling their way to the next calculated step, all while carrying a hundred pounds of gear and another hundred-and-fifty-pound passenger mounted on their strong backs.

Their muscles ripple with each in-stride relaxation, then spring into tight formation with every careful placement. Steel-strong tendons enjoin their feet, ankles, knees and hips, thrusting upwards the full weight of horse and gear in a kind of vertically-mounted biological suspension bridge of tendons. The entire mass of muscles is powered by huge nostrils bellowing oxygen-rich air through massive lungs enriching a thumping heart that gushes blood through the animal at twenty times the volume of a human heart. The physiology of a horse scaling a cliff is mind-boggling...

Watching these horses climb up the loose rocks, deep gorges and steep inclines of the trail was, all by itself, and awesome experience. I'll never look at horses the same way again. They represent an amazing class of natural mechanical technology -- and they're powered by nothing more than grass and water!

That doesn't mean riding them is effortless or comfortable, of course. When your horse is scaling steep inclines, you're working with him by shifting your body weight, distributing your mass between saddle and stirrups while easing your horse's burden by centering your gravity as needed. Horse riding isn't passive. It's very, very active, which is one reason why it's one of the best exercises for your back and abs, by the way...

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