Day 11-Best Day in CUBA

I woke at 8am and joined Lien and Abby as they walked to the base house. At the base house we met up with David, Annie, Marie, and a cowboy. David handed us off, and we walked with the cowboy to the horses. It was interesting to see around 20 horses on someone's front yard and around the street. We all got our horses, took some pictures, and began walking down a hill with the horses until the land was flat. We got on, Abby got her stirrups adjusted and we were off. We walked for most of the trip, but when the cowboy came from the back and whipped Marie's horse, her horse went trotting. When we were trotting, Abby taught me to stand up when the horses shoulders go forward, and sit when the shoulders go backwards. I didn't understand it on the way there, and it immensely hurt my back.

We crossed a river and the horses were splashing around. Occasionally my horse would stop and eat some grass, but for the most part, it was a great horse. The man continued to whip Marie's horse with a tree branch, and all I heard was Marie yelling stop. Later I found out that the tree branch was whipping her leg and the horses bum. I felt terrible for her, but she said she was alright.

We arrived at the park quite a while later and we were all sweating. We went to the bar and I got a bottle of water. I drank it all up before we all began the hike to he waterfall. David said the hike was 45 minutes, but it felt more like 25. The hike was really exhausting because we had just come from the horses. Halfway there, a park ranger began walking with me, and I practiced my Spanish.

Upon our arrival, we went up to the lookout spot above the waterfall. We took pictures and went down to a bench to get changed. We waded in the water on our hands and feet because the rocks were so slippery. Once in, I started doggy paddling like a fool because I was afraid to touch the bottom because of animals. after a bit, I put my feet down, but immediately fell because it was so slippery. I waited for Annie, Marie, and Abby, then we reached the end of the shallow end. Marie and I debated swimming to the waterfall. We decided to swim to the side so we could find hold, but we ended up finding a giant rock underwater, kind of like an island, and we relaxed there and waited for everyone. While we waited Marie started slipping down the backside of the rock and we were laughing so hard. We then swam over to the waterfall to be in a picture taken by Bonnie up at the lookout spot. We swam around taking pictures, mostly selfies, with Anthony's underwater camera. We all went back to the rock and talked and relaxed for a bit more. When we got out, Bonnie and Bill had already walked back. David kept rushing us to get ready, but I just told him he can go and we will meet him there. We made the hike back, got a few drinks at the bar, then made our way back on our horses.

The ride back was much more pleasant, and towards the end, my horse was whipped and began to canter (when all feet are off the ground). My butt hurt terribly when we got off, but it was such a great experience. We walked back to our houses and met back outside at 3pm to go to lunch. We walked to a stand up restaurant, where there are no seats, and it was actually quite good. I ordered a hamburger, which mostly looked like a sandwich with meat and veggies, and my mom got vegetable fried rice.

Afterward, we walked to the travel agency to find out about salsa lessons. They told us to come back at 5, and Marie, Lien, Anthony, Abby, and I agreed. Finally we walked to the bakery Annie was raving about, and tried the cake, peanut brittle, a guava pastry, and orange-pineapple ice cream. My mom and I walked to the artisan market to buy a necklace and blouse that I saw earlier. In addition, we got a shawl for my mom and a necklace and bracelet for me. We walked back to the travel agency and I had the salsa lesson with Abby, Anthony, Lien, and Marie. It was quite fun and Abby's dance partner was Anthony. I felt good about dancing in public afterward... Haha. We went back to our houses and relaxed till dinner at 8.

We went out with the group following a mans instructions to San Jose, but we did not find it. I asked another person, and she asked someone else. We followed their instructions, and we could not find it either. Finally I asked a taxi guy, and he gave the correct directions. We arrived and there were no spaces for 8, but the waiter said we could wait for 30 minutes in the bar. So we agreed and hung out in the bar. When our table was ready, we went out and sat down. While we looked at the menu, we noticed a table next to is with ginormous and delicious looking pizzas. My mom went over and asked what they all had ordered and ended up talking to them. We found out they live in San Francisco. There were three brothers, 19, 20, & 21, and their mom and dad. I talked to the 19 year old, and he was telling me that he has some friends that went to Notre Dame High School, after I told him I go to Marymount. They were all very friendly and I was glad to make new friends.

When the waitress came over,  I ordered the focaccia pizza because it said oregano and olive oil, but I assumed it had cheese. Before the main meal, I got bruschetta and it was incredible. When the pizzas came, I found out that my pizza was a crispy flat bread with no cheese. I was really disappointed that I did not get what I thought I would get and I lost my appetite. Everyone else thoroughly enjoyed their pizzas, shredded beef, and spaghetti. Anthony, Marie, Lien, and Abby all finished their huge pizzas after Annie challenged that no one would finish their pizzas. After dinner, we stopped by my house to change and use restrooms before walking to the cave, a dance club inside a cave.

Jenny, Marie, Abby, Anthony, and I walked through town at 11pm in the pitch black with glass on the ground. Anthony and my mom got out their flashlights (on the iPhone) to guide our way. It was spitting (sporadic light raining) for a while, which turned into drizzling on our way there. When we arrived, there was no music to be heard. We passed all the taxi drivers and a food stand and waited in the long line to get our entrance ticket. With our ticket, we seceded the stairs into the cave. The ceiling was immensely high and at first glance looked like the sky, but then I realized we were inside. There was a bar nestled into a nook in the cave and we all got drinks. We found a table by the dance floor and sat and had a great time for quite a while. When a salsa song came on, we headed to the dance floor and showed off our salsa moves. Jenny, Marie, and I left around 12:30 and began walking home on that dark path. We got home around 1am and my mom and I went to sleep relatively quickly.