Day 4

Mazatlan... where do I even start? Oh I know- the Federales. That's who was waiting for us when we stepped off the ship. Mazatlan isn't the safest of cities so we had to be transported through the shipping yard with the mexican government by our side. We safely made it to the "Golden Zone" and began exploring the city. Not too much to see... lots of traffic, lots of crazy cab drivers, and lots of cheap sunglasses for sale. We did what most tourist do and splurged by purchasing some unneccesary treasures.
The beach was really nice, we couldn't believe how warm the water is! I usually don't get in warm water because they are usually shark infested but I decided to let my guard down and go swimming with Neal. Of course, I made sure that there were other people further out than me so that the sharks would get to them first and that would buy to time to swim to shore... just in case.

We decided that we wanted to check off an item from our bucket list that day, horseback riding on the beach. We found a guy that was willing to rent us 2 horses for half an hour for only 20 bucks! We were sold! Neal and I hopped on Pedro and Seven (clever, huh?) and rode off into the sunset!

Not really. In fact, it was a lot different than that. Our horses really were named Pedro and Seven but it wasn't sunset and it definitely wasn't a nice ride.

The owner helped me on first, he realized that my legs were too short to fit into the stirrups. I the time, I was confused as to why he was so concerned about my foot not being able to reach. Now it makes a lot more sense.

After we both got on and settled, the owner slapped Pedro's butt and we were off. We weren't galloping but we were definitely picking up speed fast. Because I couldn't reach the stirups I was bouncing everywhere. I could barely hold on! We were both laughing at the top of our lungs as we rode side by side. After a couple minutes it wasn't too funny anymore. Barefoot and in a bathingsuit is not proper riding attire. My legs were killing me as they rubbed against the horse. I tried slowing down to more of a walking pace but he refused. I tried to be a good sport and think to myself "wow, this is amazing and beautiful and such a great experience, I've always wanted to do this" but in reality I was thinking "uuuggghhhh get me off this thing, are we done yet? can I just run next to this horse instead, my legs are killing me!"

And then there is Neal who is just loving every moment of it. As we made our way down the beach we passed a construction site of a future hotel. There were a ton of workers on the balcony and spotted us as their next target. All the workers started yelling, "Giddyup, hah, yeeehaw" and other annoying sounds that would make any horse RUN. Neals did exactly that. As soon as Seven heard the workers yelling he took off. Neal couldn't control it, and I couldn't control my laughter. Nothing is better than watching your husband take off on a horse, down the beach, while all these people are yelling at him laughing all the while Neal thinks it's the funniest thing ever and goes along with it!

I wanted to catch up with him but by that time I was over it. All I cared about was getting back to the owner so I could be relieved of my pain.

Regardless of the $20 debt and leg rash incurred from this ride, it was quite the experience and one that we will never forget. In the end, it was worth it because of the memories that were made. Would I do it again? Probably not. But it makes for a great story :)