Nochevieja in Spain… Grab Yerself some GRAPES!

Of all the strange New Years traditions I’ve heard of (If my father shoves one more spoonful of Black Eyed Peas down my throat I might crack!) I still think this one is the strangest. The Spanish are superstitious little buggers and if someone tells you to do something for good luck, by god, you do it, no questions asked. For new years, this includes standing outside the town church at...

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Leaving Spain. Feeling Lost.

Let's make a deal. I'm going to share a couple of horrifically depressing journal entries that came straight from my paper journal that I wrote during the bus/plane/train rides after I left San Ambrosio. After these couple of serious posts, I promise I will go back to writing less serious nonsense. So skip these if you want, read if you dare; it won't hurt my feelings...

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A Week in my Life: Friday - Finding the Real Spain

It’s beach day #2 and an incredibly busy day. I ride Polly today, our big pregnant Welsh Cob who doesn’t work much, but who has to get out at least once a week. Jose calls her Elefante (I don’t think I need to translate that) but I love riding her. Riding her for a day on the beach is like sitting in a La-Z-Boy all day watching National Geographic. Jose and I are on our own today and it looks...

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The Biggest Tomato Fight IN. THE. WORLD.

"What?", you say? "Wasn't that like... 6 months ago, ABBEY... why haven't you already recounted what happened at La Tomatina and how come EVERYONE else who was there has already written about it?" Well. That is because I am lazy. And I had a lot on my plate. And well. Writing this post seemed somewhat daunting because it's incredibly content heavy. So rather than do it...

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A Week in my Life: Thursday - A Day All to Myself

Today is almost exactly like my Sunday, so I won’t go into too much detail. I wake up hungover today and slug myself and Smokey up to the horses to feed. Today, Rhiannon is cleaning all the rooms so I can take some of our "problem children" out for some exercise. Antonio’s here to help me today and although I’m glad to have the company, I’m worried that the headache I...

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A Week in my Life: Wednesday - Everyone Deserves a Day Off

Now I know what you're saying. Why on earth would I ever need a day off? A vacation? Every DAY is a vacation for me, right? Well. Yes. Mostly, you are right. I am selfish for even writing this absurd blog post. But, the work, however exotic and incredible it is on a daily basis, it's still work. And it's hard work, at that! Lots of physical labor and not a lot of "me" time. Usually this is...

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A Week in my Life: Tuesday - I get Paid to Ride Horses on the Beach!

Tuesday begins the same way as Monday, only I get to sleep in for an extra 15 minutes as we have less to do this morning. We only tack up 10 horses today, and Rachel stays home with her 4 year old daughter Charlie so Vinnie can come out with us on his bike to take pictures of the guests. By the time we’re finished tacking up today, I’m officially awake and notice that Mitch, one of the forest...

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A Week in my Life: Monday - The Reason Sunday doesn't bother me

Today my alarm started buzzing at 7:30 AM. Under any other circumstances, this is the part of the day where I would scream and hide dreading the day ahead of me and incapable of doing anything productive. But it’s a Monday, and that means we have a lot to do today to get ready for the ride as all of the saddles have to be put back together. I roll out of bed at 8 still wearing the t-shirt I wore to the bar last night and not...

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