Day 9 – Laz’s brother Joe took us horseback riding through the jungle and to the top of the mountains today. Trisha was right in her element, but Melissa, Aaron (one of the guys we were traveling with) and I were quite the sight at first. I finally seemed to get the hang of it and my horse and I got along beautifully as long as she wasn’t scratching me against trees or going too fast down the mountain. The view from the top was pretty amazing as it was jungle as far as you could see. It was incredible to see the view of the river below and it was hard to believe that it was the same river we were swimming in the day before. After several hours of riding we returned back to meet up with Laz, who was driving us to Punta Gorda. The drive down was quite scenic and we were thankful for such an opportunity. We broke up the drive with a stop at the Blue Hole National Park where we swam in a pool between underground cave systems. After several hours of driving, we found ourselves no longer on a paved road and houses were far and few between. Many of the houses we passed were literally huts with chickens running around the yards. Laz was beginning to question if we were lost and I must admit I was wondering what the heck I had gotten myself into. After stopping to ask for directions, we were in fact on the right track and finally made our way to PG. We managed to locate our apartment fairly easily and had our first meal at Marian’s, which is the restaurant on the roof. It was sad to say our goodbyes to Laz, but we promised to return again.