Another well-paced day where I was given more responsibility, a good sign I'm getting used to the joint. It's interesting here, there is a lot of chivalry as I've mentioned before - like always taking a woman home, not making her do hard labour and helping carry shopping etc - but when I'm the only one of 3 guides left to do the last few hours of the day, and the evening sunset ride, it's good to feel like one of the guys.
As far as I knew, the sunset ride was always done by a guy yet today, after lunch, guide I went home and D finished at 3 as he usually does. Which left me to finish feeding the horses, clean and fill the water drums, clean up after our busy cruise ship morning, then after all that, take a couple out for a 5-7pm ride. I didn't mind, I can do all the work, and it was good he trusted me to do it. He could have asked I to stay and let me go at 5 - but I know I am preferable to D, he isn't really the best at dealing with customers.
I'd had 2 rides before the night ride, which had been quite generous in tips - one 2-hour ride with 4 people and another 1-hour with 4 people. I like the tours 1-4 people max, it allows me to talk with everyone and give good service. And I hope I am getting more of the non-cruise ship official rides because I'm better at giving that service - the cruise ship rides are SO BORING most of the time. So D can do them and I get the more interesting work.
So I got my lunch break, did some good rides and managed to show my boss I can do the work just like the boys (even telling him I didn't need any help by the Haitians that work the garden when I was feeding - I'm a big girl!). Having said that, I'm totally cool with people moving the hoses over for me and turning the water on etc. Won't look a gift horse in the mouth, so to speak.
Happened upon a horse with a badly infected eye today, so I caught her and told the boss. Hurried him a little towards the end of the day as he hadn't come up, and I thought it looked pretty nasty, so when eventually he came it was a bit scary to hear him say she had somehow scratched the whole top layer of her eye off and may lose sight permanently in it. I felt bad for not noticing earlier, but it may very well have just started pussing up today. Hey, at least I noticed at all, no one else did.
Then came the night ride. These guys were already slurring their words before they got on the horses. I actually had to hurry them up to finish their drinks from the bar so we could catch the sunset. Hey, they could normally take their time, it's just ticking away at their expense, but not when I'm working overtime and dinner awaits (still to be cooked, I mean, but awaits - days of living with a chef are over for now). But I could tell it was gonna be an easy ride to lead.
And that it was. We started with a short ride, ending on the trail that heads straight towards the sunset, then got off and I filled their glasses with champagne before hunting for firewood. Me Jane, you Tarzan. Eventually got the fire started with some bushy kindling, as the newspaper wasn't giving me much love, and set them up with marshmallows to roast. It was close to an hour before we got back on the horses, the sun well and truly in bed and the evening fire-flies giving a romantic touch to the evening.
Curved around here n there to finish the 2-hour ride off nicely, I could tell they were swaying a little so I kept it simple. My horse was also a little apprehensive riding in complete darkness, but I was thoroughly enjoying it. Not a bug molested me (such a different experience to my regular nights out here haha), the air was cool n crisp, the sky opened up above me and the stars twinkled in amongst the fire-flies. I was full of marshmallow and the beauty of nature - one happy chappy.
Their tip, plus my overtime, took my daily earnings outside of salary to $90. Pretty sweet considering I'd factored in about $150-180 of tips per week and that was just from one day. But I won't get ahead of myself, there are days when I get nothing so you just never know. That day I was pissed off it turns out they weren't tipping because of all the traffic they'd sat in, and nothing could appease them. And then the cruise refunded all their money, so Seaside got NOTHING for all the rides we did for them! What a crock!
So it really depends on how the journey is to get to us. Sometimes - well, mostly - the traffic is so heavy we have to take them through the private land next door. But the day I described before, they were pouring concrete so they couldn't sneak in the back door. All this I learn now, would have maybe made me a little more understanding instead of pissed off on that day. But hey, once you get me going...
Turned down an invitation to go to La Bamba on the beach tonight, essentially I had been work for 11 hours and I just wanted to chill out. Don't really feel like going out... but probably tomorrow night, as Thursday I'm off! Maybe I could try out another bar...
Eww, my hair smells like campfire.
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