Fútbol with a bull

Saturday, July 24th
I met Paul in the morning to go to the BBQ. We picked up 4 other women with whom he works with. They were all very sweet and funny. So the 6 of us set of to the the mountains to ride some horses, play some fútbol, and eat some cow. The hacienda looked like something straight out of Rancho Santa Fe (San Diego). It was so beautiful. The owner of the hacienda was an Israeli guy named Eran. He had a huge and friendly staff of locals. When we arrived they greeted us with fresh farm-made yogurt and yucca bread. It was orgasmically delishous. 
Before the horse games began, we watched a traditional Ecuadorian dance performed by local kids. It was festive and colorful. 
After consuming a ridiculous amount of yogurt, the horse races began. We played 2 different games. The first object of the game was to take a skewer like stick and poke it through a hanging ring on a string and capture as many rings as possible while galloping on horseback. Looking from the ground, the rules and game seemed simple. In actuality, it was really challenging. I obtained (loosing number) zero rings. The next game was played with two teams of 3 people. Each team member had a colored balloon attached to the back of their saddle. The object of the game was to pop all the opposing teams balloons as quickly as possible using a skewer-like stick. When the told me the rules of this game, I thought to myself this was crazy to pop loads of balloons while galloping around on horses becuase the pop sound would freak the horses out. I kept my opinion to myself and said "giddy-up!" Again, I did lousy and it just so turns out that all those years of horseback riding lessons didn't pay off when it comes to competing in horse games. Allthough I did horribly, I still had a great time. After the horse games, we played fútbol (a.k.a. soccer). This game of soccer was quite unusual and like no other I've ever played before. The reason for that is because we played soccer with a live bull in the ring. You're probably saying "what?" and the answer is yes...I played soccer in a paddock while a full grown bull (with horns and all) was running around the field trying to charge at us while we were kicking the ball around. I also need to add that since we were in a horse paddock, there was no "escaping" the bull when it charged you, the only option to get away was to climb up the fence as quickly as possible. The whole idea was insane and to prove it, my buddy Paul has it all on film. 
Once we were finished with all the competitions, we feasted on local raised and butchered cow. I have to say it was pretty good (mom/dad you would have loved every second of it). The meal concluded our adventurous animal-filled day on the hacienda. The six of us then drove back to Quito. Paul asked me how much I had seen of Quito and I told him that I hadn't seen any of it since I ran straight to his office when I arrived. He then took me on a mini tour of the city on the back of his scooter. The city is absolutely amazing as I described before. We visited the "old town" part of the city and had a traditional Ecuadorian cocktail. It was loads of fun and the perfect way to end a fantastic day. Tomorrow, I would head to the Galapagos for an experience of a lifetime.