My friend Pierre just got back from vacation. His dog Luna stayed at our house. Our dog Joep likes that. He is a male and Luna is his steady girlfriend. Joep shows his macho by barking against each little wren, showing his great virility. Pierre just returned from a hike in the South of Spain, where I plan to start my ponyanddogtrip in a couple months. He recalled beautifull rocky paths with only great sharp boulders, many gates to go through, many unleased (big) dogs and groups of horses. Why don’t you leave that horse home? And if you are so stubborn to take him with you, you’ll have to transport your Luka quite some sections by trailer. I say that’s against my principle. Pierre answers that many soldiers died because of principles. But I think that at least in the beginning one has to start with an idealistic concept. Some say “it’s the way, not the goal, that is most important”. At this moment for me both are still important.
Yesterday I had an appointment with Jo, the horse man. Our plan was to go to the little river Gulp, Jo riding, I walking, to make Luka water proof. But enormous rain showers had made the water of Gulp too high, so instead we decided not to go to the river but I would try to start riding Luka. Temperature near 90 degrees, very moisturous and sunny. So yesterday I sat on Luka’s back for the first time. Not for long though. Half a minute and I was rocketed to the grass. This repeated several times, before I finally was tolerated and rode my first few rounds on Luka. His great interest for the mare in the next meadow, was firmly repressed by Jo, who made Luka clear that WE decide when he may look at nice mares. I got up this morning with a sore neck and a swollen wrist. Today the same story, but I fell less often from Luka’s back and also this day I finally managed to ride on Luka for quite a while. Moreover getting on and off the trailer went much better. So there is improvement every day.
Also today I bought dogs shoes. You remember the big Dane in Vancouver? Ruff Wear is the brand. Yesterday I got a demonstration of how a GPS works. In order to evade great delays by getting lost, I decided to buy a GPS. Hours of sitting before the screen, comparing prices and possibilities, I finally got a GPS. Probably too many possibilities that I’ll never use, too expensive for what I need, too many weeks of studying the manual. But O.K. one’s got to try things. I console myself with the thought that after my ponyanddogtrip the GPS will still be usefull.
During the first week of my trip my 2 brothers want to see if I will meet their expectations. By now the first person, or may be 2, announced that they ‘ll join me one week on my trip in Spain, between Caceres and Salamanca. Great! Two other friends had the intention to go bike riding in Spain in the Extremadura and hoped to spend the evenings together with me. That way I’ll have some company. So that’s a good beginning, at least as far as company is concerned. I thinks it’s necessary to practice one week in sept. hiking with pony and dog by walking to relatives in Nijmegen (160 km) or doing a week’s hike in the Belgian Ardennen mountains to see how things will work out. Who wants to join? I make no strict plans on beforehead and I’ll take a tent, just in case. And today I still have to translate about 10 blog days in English. No deeper sorrow than the sorrow you inflict on your self .
