March 7, 2007
As summer vacation came to a close, a beautiful day was spent enjoying and learning about the caballos de paso. These elegant horses of Peru are famed to be the softest riding horse because of their four step timing. (No bounce!) This breed, a mixture of Barb, Spanish Jennet, and Andalusian, was brought to Peru by the Spaniards in the 1500's. They were bred when crossing the Peruvian deserts not to have the characteristic diagonal gait like the common horse but with a broken lateral pace.
Typically a show horse, the paso retains a full flowing mane and tail to emphasize the natural beauty of the horse itself. The horse and rider wear no adornments. The rider wears the traditional white shirt and trousers, straw hat and neutral colored poncho to ensure that the focus is on the horse and its natural performance. Next time, the Spanish bull fights!
Smiling faces and warm abrazos were shared at the airport once again as the Sisters welcomed two members of our general council, Sister Lorraine and Sister Joanne, on their first visit to our South American missions. The Sisters had a whirlwind experience familiarizing themselves with the Sisters, people, places, and works of the community both here in Peru and also in Chile.
At the same time we also welcomed a dear friend of mine from SMS, Joan Pikiell. So you get an idea of our adventures AND my "superior" grasp of the language, I took Joan out to breakfast the first day and ordered her an omelete - she got a grilled cheese! I say it went just fine with her Inca Cola. Of course, a trip to Peru is not complete until you visit the monastery of Santo Domingo and learn of the lives of the Peruvian saints, San Martin and Santa Rosa.
Our visitors definitely went home exhausted but with wonderful experiences and promises of a return. It's only a plane ride away!
