Hi,

I received an email from Pepe and Lucia as you asked for names of people who took the Classic Ride recently, I took the ride myself last year, in November.  That's no problem at all - it's one thing going on a standard holiday, but I think it's important to be able to verify facts and find out about a place when you're looking at spending thousands and travelling half way round the World!

I really did enjoy, and would definitely go again (although being an artist, I might not make it for a few years - got to save up!) and honestly can truly say it was worth every penny.

So where to start - well, the weather was fabulous for a start, which was a blessing in comparison to the thought of the same month in the UK.  I went in November/December time and came back really quite brown. It can start out ever so slightly chilly first thing because you'll be up early, but once the sun starts to come up, you'll be wanting to shed as much clothing as possible. I was always in a t-shirt by about 9.30. I actually found the best thing I took was a sleeveless fleece jacket. So wear a couple of layers only (plus whatever you take off will have to be fixed either to you, or the horse!!).  It can go chilly again in the evenings as well, but they light open fires in the sitting room for you and closed wood burning stoves in the room, whilst you have dinner, so even on a December night, I was quite comfortable. Also there was no rain.

The food was both of very high quality and really interesting - none of the nonsense you might expect from so called Mexican restaurants - every day there seemed to be different vegetables, meats and everything was cooked so freshly - in fact when you stop for lunch it's really quite a spectator sport watching all the different dishes being created, often totally from scratch (yeah - even the Guacamole!). It was brilliant. So much so that I would really strongly advise that you take two pairs of jodhpurs of different sizes. So foodwise - a complete dream and always so fascinating. There's a great deal of attention to detail also - for instance one day you may ride past a picturesque trout farm and in the evening eat such wonderful freshly prepared trout which was collected from the farm that day - tying everything together beautifully.

The Finca, where you actually stay for every night of your ride, is so pretty and full of character with much attention to detail. There is a games room although after you have ridden all day, eaten dinner and been for a swim and jacuzzi you might not feel quite up to. in that case there is a comfortable sitting room full of interesting books and an open fire to relax in front of. Most rooms overlook the courtyard which has a charming fountain and an eclectic but just magical feel. The rooms are a really big and quite cool enough to sleep in the evenings, even after a hot day. There are gardens around the infinity pool and extremely popular jacuzzi. You are even encouraged to taste whatever fruit might be growing from the trees as they have been grown especially with this in mind (told you there was attention to detail). The bathrooms are finished in handmade tiles and basins all specially sourced by pepe and Lucia. Put it this way - I couldn't find fault with the house.

Horses - the horses are great and vary in temperament and Lucia and Pepe are almost spookily good at pairing you with a suitable horse - it is quite a strange and dark art they seem to practice in this department - don't quite know how they do it, but there you go. The horses are healthy, always ready for a canter, and well behaved, not to mention sure footed which you will realise is a blessing since the views are unmissable, but require many steep climbs and downward slopes (the scenery is bloody spectacular frankly - loads of panoramic views and volcanoes and - oh just so many oohs and aahhs await you!).

Difficulty of the riding is a good question. I was a bit worried I wouldn't be up to it totally because of their leaning towards asking that you be the more advanced end of intermediate (I haven't ridden more than once a week for so very long and had a ten year break from riding before this). Actually, I was worried also that there might be times I might not feel in control  - not mad keen on the all-out gallop (such as you might find on some holidays in Africa and even Ireland) just because if something goes slightly wrong, you're stuffed, to put it mildly.

However, you'll be pleased to hear, there are no gallops - sometimes long canters, but they are of the gentle, rocking-horse type which is pretty excellent. Most of the time is spent walking and trotting, which is a good thing, since you'll want to take in the views. So, it turns out that really I would say that it's okay for any intermediate or someone who is capable of cantering in control without bouncing about in the saddle. I think the reason they ask for the upper end of intermediate is really just because of the length of time you spend in the saddle and also because apparently they've had people who've only ever ridden entirely on the flat (generally not British then, I would imagine!!) and who are not used to hacking out uphill and down again.

The grooms are patient and helpful and the hosts are so knowledgeable that if you do manage to think up a question about the history of the area and the flora and fauna, do tell me as I think this may be something of a record.

As for the Lake Valle de Bravo, your evening trip across it one day to return to the Finca is really something else.

In short - I recommend the whole experience very highly and I can absolutely vouch for Pepe and Lucia being exceptional hosts.

Hope this helps,
January 25, 2006
Anna Young