Ramabanta Trading Post

The following blog post was written on the evening of the 20th July. Due to technological restrictions it was posted at a later date.

Early Saturday morning our group left for Ramabanta, which is further up into the mountain than Roma. The road to the Ramabanta Trading Post was windy, rolling and very beautiful.

The weather was amazing this week in Roma and the warmth followed us up into the mountains. Although we started the day with many layers on, but mid afternoon it was comfortable with only a few layers on.

Upon arrival we were welcomed by the incredibly nice staff and shown to our gorgeous rooms. While we were putting out things away, local men brought their horses to us and prepared them for our ride. Most of us set out for a 3-4 hour ride through the mountains. When I say in the mountains, I mean it. We were up and down some very steep terrian. There were some points during which I was a little nervous, like when we were headed down a long steep hill…but the horses ended up doing fine after a little prodding. Some of them were a bit more stubborn than others (like mine, for example, who was both lazy and stubborn). We ended up riding for 5 hours and 20 minutes after relying on the advice of small children as to the way back to the Trading Post. The length of the ride made some of us a bit sore. The end of the ride brought us back to a gravel road, where some of us became a bit too confident on our horses. Mike, for instance-who is totally fine-but managed to take a bit of a fall off his horse. It actually scared the crud out of all who saw it happen, it was a slow motion, lean-like fall off the side of the horse after the guide wacked his horse in the butt to hurry him up.

It should be mentioned that some members of our group skipped the horse backing ride and went with Dick up the other side of the mountain to see the waterfall. The whole group could not go because the van would not make the trip safely due to the quality of the roads, so Dick took the few people who didn’t want to ride in the car.

After a wonderful ride, we were welcomed back to the Trading Post main lodge to an enjoyed the warmth of a fire and the company of the group. We also saw some traditional dancers and musicians perform on the front lawn as the sun set. Dinner was served at 7pm and it was fantastic-and welcomed after such a wonderful and long day. After dinner most of us headed out for a little star-gazing, which was hindered by the brightness of the full moon.

Then, it was early to bed. The generators at the Trading Post are turned off at 10pm and most of us wanted to make sure our electric blankets were still on when fell asleep.