In this speaking English lesson you’ll come along with me on a harrowing adventure. Along the way you’ll learn phrasal verbs, linking tricks and tons of vocabulary.
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Video Transcript:
What happens when you ask ChatGPT to plan your vacation?
You don’t. It’s not like sure, but it’s acting sure. You know what I mean? So, it was telling us things that weren’t necessarily true.
Sometimes there are some surprises along the way. When I was in Colombia recently, I asked ChatGPT to help me plan a trip to Tayrona National Park. Hear the story and learn some interesting vocabulary words and phrases in English.
I’m Rachel. I have a background in opera singing and I’ve been teaching the American accent to non-native speakers for over 20 years. Scan this QR code or go to rachelenglish.com/free to get my free course, The Top Three Ways to Master the American Accent. It will blow your mind. It will give you totally new ideas on how to get the sound you’ve always wanted.
You know, you get to this entrance of the park, you can take a shuttle, and then from there, it’s like a 45-minute walk to this beach.
What beach exactly? My friend ChatGPT told me about a very particular beach in the park where the waters were more calm and it was good for swimming and snorkeling. I absolutely love swimming in oceans, lakes, springs, and rivers. So, when I read this on ChatGPT, I thought definitely for sure I need to go to that one beach in the park.
So, I decided I really wanted to go to that beach, not any of the other beaches in this.
Only the best for Rachel, right?
I wanted to swim, so I had my heart set on it.
To have your heart set on something means you really want to do just that. Nothing else will be okay. It has to be that one thing you have your heart set on.
She has her heart set on a tennis bracelet. So don’t bother getting her anything else for her birthday.
I wanted to swim, so I had my heart set on it. And Puck was willing to do a 45-minute walk. She was like, “Sure.”
Woah.
I just referred to my friend Puck whom I was traveling with. Now, just a day or two before this trip to Tayrona, I went for a hike that I thought was going to be four and half hours and it was in fact seven and half hours.
Minutes after the day where you had the long hike sounded amazing, right?
To me, it was a cakewalk.
Cakewalk. This is an idiom to describe something being really easy. After training for a marathon, this 5K will be a cakewalk. This idiom has its origins in American slavery. For entertainment, black slaves strutted along in a fanciful manner imitating formal white dancing. The name ‘Cakewalk’ supposedly comes from the custom of the enslaver awarding a cake to the couple who put on the best performance. But now, as an idiom, it means extremely easy.
Amazing, right?
To me, it was a cakewalk. So, we get there and we get to where we’re waiting for the shuttle and we’re talking to the guy about our plans because we only have like four hours or so before the last shuttle comes back.
Mhmm.
I told him what we were going to do and he’s like, “That’s an hour and 45-minute walk.” And I was like, “I thought it was 45 minutes.” He’s like, “No.” And he’s like, “But where the shuttle leaves you, there’s another very nice beach that’s maybe only a 15-minute walk.” And Puck was like, “That’s what I’m doing.” And I was like, “You know what? That’s what I’ll do too.”
The word like is something that gets used in many different ways in spoken English. When telling a story, we use the phrase was like to replace said or thought. That’s what’s happening here. I told him what we were going to do and he’s like, “That’s an hour and 45-minute walk.” And I was like, “I thought it was 45 minutes.” He’s like, “No.” And he’s like, “ But where the shuttle leaves you, there’s another very nice beach that’s maybe only a 15 minute walk.” And Pook was like, “That’s what I’m doing.” And I was like, “You know what? That’s what I’ll do, too.” So, we take the shuttle to the ending point and we’re planning on doing this 15-minute walk to this nice beach. But then I realize that I can get to the other beach in time if I ride horseback. And for some reason.
Oh boy. Here we go. Here we go.
For some reason, I decide this is a good idea. So, Puck goes off to the 15-minute beach to relax and read her novel. And I will say it took me a while to decide. I was talking with the people who run the little stand where you can like hire the horse and basically, nothing they said was true.
Yeah. I was going to say, they’re selling you a story.
Exactly. They wanted me to hire the horse. They’re like, “Oh, it’s so docile. Oh, you’ll be with a guide the whole time. It’s very easy.” No one asked me if I knew how to ride a horse.
Docile means easy to control or manage, easy to teach. Let me tell you, these horses were not docile. They did not pay attention to me.
Hire the horse. They’re like, “Oh, it’s so docile. Oh, you’ll be with a guide the whole time. It’s very easy.” No one asked me if I knew how to ride a horse. I mean, I have ridden a horse, but it’s been like 3 to 5 years. So, I get on the horse. I’m like a little iffy if it’s a good idea, but I’m not that comfortable on a horse. But, I’m like, you know what? Let’s do it. I want to see the speech. Let’s have an adventure.
Iffy means doubtful or uncertain.
I’m like a little iffy if it’s a good idea, but I’m not that comfortable on a horse, but I’m like, you know what? Let’s do it. I want to see the speech. Let’s have an adventure.
So, they put me on the horse and there’s a guide. I didn’t realize that he was going to be behind me, which makes sense because they wanted to be able to watch me. But then that had like me leading the pack and I was like, “This feels very weird.” And it just takes a while to get used to being on another animal. And so when I get on, they’re like, “Okay, this is how you go move left. This is how you move right. You’re good.” And I’m like, “Okay.” So we’re, we’re walking along—
But how do you know? Is there a trail to follow?
There’s a trail, but I mean it splits. It’s not just a single trail. This is in a pretty dense forest, honestly. Um, but the guide behind me is like telling me where to go.
Dense means crowded closely together, compact, hard to penetrate. So the trees and other vegetation were very close together, very dense.
Not just a single trail. This is in a pretty dense forest, honestly. Um, but the guide behind me is like telling me where to go. But at one point, the guide behind me is like, “Okay, stop. Stop here.” But they hadn’t taught me how to stop.
Stop, stop, stop!
So I go over my shoulder. I’m like, I don’t know, stop. I know left and right. And so he’s like, you know, he showed me how to do it, so I stopped. But the other thing is it was the rainy season. So this trail, I mean, in some places there’s mud 18 inches deep, and the horse’s legs are like…
Oh, that dear horse and also scary.
Yeah. It’s like a little bit more herky-jerky. And also, it’s not it’s not remotely flat.
Herky-jerky describes something that’s not smooth or graceful. It’s full of sudden, irregular, or unpredictable movements.
Yeah, it’s like a little bit more herky-jerky. And also, it’s not it’s not remotely flat. There are these huge boulders. It’s like as steep as a staircase, going up, going down like his hooves are.
But they had told you it was flat, right?
No. At the, ChatGPT had told me it was flat. These people hadn’t said anything about that. But the horse’s hooves are like slipping on these muddy boulders and.
I would be so scared.
And I try I tried to take some video of it at one point because I was like, I want to be able to tell this story, but, but I really needed to be holding on with both hands. So I’m doing video for like 10 seconds and I just dropped the phone.
What?
I mean it’s attached to my wrist, but I’m saying like, the video filming is over. I’m like holding on for dear life. So,
Holding on for dear life is a phrase that we use to mean holding something very, very tightly as if one’s life depended on it. So in this particular case, I felt like if I did not hold on to the saddle of that horse, I was going to fall off and who knows what was going to happen to me.
Let’s say I’ve just left my hotel room with my son and I need him to hold the key for me. I might say, “Stoney, here’s the key. hold on to it for dear life.”
So, we can also use it that way as an idiom when it’s not actually a life or death situation.
The video filming is over. I’m like holding on for dear life. So, after, you know, 20 minutes of this, I start feeling a little bit more comfortable.
Okay.
And then we get to a fun part and I’m like, this is amazing. But then it turns out that in order to get where we’re going in the amount of time that the guide wants to spend, you can’t walk on the flat part. You have to like trot and gallop a little bit.
So, at this point I’m like, Okay, I’m on lesson like 104 of horseback riding, but I haven’t even had lesson one yet. So he’s, he’s behind me. He keeps telling the horse to go faster. And the horse, the horse is paying attention to him and I’m just like I’m shaking like crazy and I, I didn’t I was just like, “Muy rapido!” Tengo miedo! Like I every Spanish word I knew I forgot. So I’m just like saying the most basic too fast, I am scared and he stops and he’s like, “Here trade me horses. This saddle’s better.” So I’m like okay. So, and he also takes my backpack, which was also like making me feel unsteady. So, we switch and we continue to trot gallop and I eventually start feeling somewhat comfortable with it. And then I’m like, okay, it’s actually kind of fun. I kind of felt like I was an extra on Outlander. Have you seen that show?
I’ve seen like the advertisements for it.
Yeah. There’s lots of horseback, right?
So, you must have been more like in a rhythm galloping by then because trotting you’re like this. The galloping is kind of more smooth and fun. I mean—
So eventually, I did get more used to riding the horse and then I pictured myself as an extra on the show Outlander. So, I get to the beach and there’s another horse stand there and I’m like, I need to go back at 4 because I want to make sure I can catch the last shuttle because if we don’t catch the last shuttle, then we have to walk like two or three extra miles.
Okay, we don’t want that.
No. To get out of the park. So they’re like, “Okay.” Okay. And I go and I enjoy the beach and I go swimming and it is great. But I actually looked later at Puck’s pictures and it was no different than her beach. I mean, sure, I probably wouldn’t have swum as much there, but—
Swum is the form we use for swim in the present perfect or past perfect. That is, we use it with have, had, has. I so rarely use this tense that I had to stop and think about it for a second to make sure it was right.
I mean, sure, I probably wouldn’t have swum as much there, but I should have stayed there.
Yeah.
I didn’t. But anyway, so I come back at 4 and I’m like, I’m ready for my horse. There are guides there. There are horses there, but like apparently none of them are for me. So she’s like, okay, sit down and wait. So, I’m waiting and it’s, you know, 4:10 and I go up and I’m like, “How’s what’s the horse situation? Can I get a horse pretty soon?” She’s like, “Sure, yeah, sit down.” It’s like 4:20, 4:30 and I don’t have any cell signal. I have no way of getting a hold of Puck and letting her know where I am or that I’m coming or that I, you know, haven’t drowned.
I’m okay.
Exactly. Um, so I finally go up to the lady and I’m like, I have no sill signal. I, My friend is waiting for me. We need to catch the She’s 71. She’s not going to want to walk three extra miles to get out. Like, you know, playing every card that I can to like have this person have pity on me.
Playing every card means to try everything. To use all available resources or strategies to achieve a goal. It implies going all out in an effort to succeed.
Walk three extra miles to get out like, you know, playing every card that I can to like have this person have pity on me. So, she’s finally like, “Okay, fine. Here, get on this horse. And there was a guide who was helping a family of four get on their horses. And I assumed I was going to be in their party. Yeah.
Be in their party. That means to be in their group, to be together with them.
I was going to be in their party. I get on this horse and the horse just starts walking. Like he’s so trained.
Oh my gosh.
And, and I now know how to stop the horse, but this horse doesn’t listen to me at all. So, this horse just starts walking into the woods.
And he, so now, you’re on your own?
I’m on my own. And I know that there are some turns in this woods, but I don’t know what they are.
Oh my gosh.
So, luckily—
Stop it. Just stop.
Yes. Also, take the It’s starting to get dark.
No, it’s not.
And I don’t have a flashlight. So, luckily—
Were a little scared?
Yes, I was.
I’d be terrified.
I mean, because the horse was paying zero attention. And I was like, I hope he knows the way. I hope he knows the destination I want to get to.
Right? Like, hopefully he doesn’t go, I want to go home.
Right. Or I’m going to go to this other park entrance where I have no way to ever find Puck again.
Yeah.
Um, so luckily these two other guys also come up behind me. They’re also, I think, in the same group, but that family, you know, they’re taking their time. They have two little boys getting them all set up. So then these other guys come up and I’m like, “Do you know where you’re going?” And they said no. And I said, “Are you going to—
At least you’re all in it together.
Exactly. And they were going to the same place that I was where I was meeting folks. I was like, “Let’s please stick together.”
Yeah.
“We’re all in this together” expresses solidarity and unity among people. Often when everyone is facing a common challenge or situation. It emphasizes the importance of collaboration and support during difficult times or in a difficult situation.
Are you going to—
At least you’re all in it together.
Exactly. And they were going to the same place that I was where I was meeting folks. So I was like, let’s please stick together.
Yeah.
Um, so they, I’m so thankful to them. They, the one spoke very good English. I mean, I could speak some Spanish, but it was just helping me feel calm.
Yeah.
And they kept engaging me in conversation even though I was like obviously so uncomfortable.
Yeah.
Because this horse just he wasn’t as steady. Like it felt like his one leg kept giving out and you know, it kept kind of falling like that and like as I said he would listen. I know. And I couldn’t stop him. So anyway, me and these two guys like we’re going to stick together until we get to where we’re going.
Yeah.
And both of these guys have obviously ridden horses much more recently than I have. They’re much more comfortable on them. And again, I mean, we’re going up and down these slippery, muddy boulders and I’m sliding. At one point, my horse is coming down a hill and decides to stop and eat something. So, they’ve stopped. And you know, when your horse is going down, you have to lean way back and feel. And I was just like—
You don’t want to go down the sliding board.
No, no. I was like trying to get it to move and it wouldn’t move. And I was just like, “Oh my god, how, how am I even going to get through this?” Anyway, he eventually we do get going, but there were all of these moments where I felt like I’m falling off the horse.
Did the other two stop while when—
They tried? Yeah.
They tried? The horses all just want to do what they want to do.
They tried to stick with me more or less. But Lisa, there was one guy who was like very comfortable on the horse. Very good. And at one point, we’re walking along and his horse bucks him off.
Oh!
He bam! Lands on the trail and his horse takes off running.
No.
Yeah.
Have you ever been bucked off a horse? My gosh, I hope not. And I’m like, what is happening? So, his friend with his horse gallops up, catches that other horse, and brings that horse back. And the guy gets on his horse. He’s like, “It’s fine. He’s fine.”
But what if that had happened to you and you were alone?
I know. So, at this point, I’m like, “Oh my god, I might die here.” So, you know, I’m getting more and more nervous by the minute. It’s starting to get darker there. It sounds like there’s some monkeys fighting over a territory at some point. Like, there’s some crazy sounds coming out of.
Yeah, monkeys can make some crazy noises.
Yes. I was just like, “Oh my god.” So, we we’re walking along about 5 minutes later, the other guy’s horse bucks him off. He lands on a boulder. It’s like crunch. I’m sitting there being like, “This is the the worst thing I’ve ever witnessed.” Like, what has happened to this man?
Unbelievable.
So, he’s there sprawled on the boulder.
The definition of sprawl is to sit or lie with the body and limbs spread out awkwardly. So, when his horse bucked him off, he was sprawled on the boulder.
Un—
I know.
believable.
So he’s there sprawled on the boulder and he’s like and I’m like, “No, it’s not, it’s not.” Like you guys have both been bucked from your horses like I’m just waiting.
So then you’re like this is a matter of time. Oh my gosh I’m going down.
And I’m thinking like, I mean it’s just the worst case scenario. I’m thinking about that guy who got bucked from his horse and like lost the ability to walk.
Yeah.
I’m referring to the actor who played Superman here, Christopher Reeve, who became paralyzed from the neck down after a horse riding accident in 1995. Yes, I thought about him a lot on this ride home.
I mean, yeah. So, I’m feeling quite uncomfortable.
Oh, I would be so—
But what can you do? You’ve just got to get where you’re going.
Right.
So then eventually, this other family and the guide do make it to us. So now we’re all traveling together in a group which is great. So he can help us make sure we’re like getting the turn there. There will be places where the trail will split, you know, like there’s a boulder, so you can either go around this side or do that. And like I said, my horse would not pay attention to my directions. I was always trying to get it to go in the, on the split that was like the least up and down.
Right.
And at one point he’s like heading up the mountain and I’m like yanking it not to and the guide behind me is like, “No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.” Like, and I’m trying to not. I think he knows that my horse isn’t listening to me. But then once I get up—
Was the no, no, no, no for you or the horse?
Yes.
It was for you. You were guiding it along or.
Yeah. Well, I mean, it was just wanted you to get—
Yeah. And you’re like, I’m trying to go up there.
And so, but then once I was up there and there was like no coming back, he’d be like, “Estabien. Estabien.” I was like, “No, it’s not.” It wasn’t okay. And now it’s okay.
And at one point he was really there was a pretty big drop off. Like we’re talking like the trail at that point was like, Okay, it was maybe this wide.
But it felt this wide.
Yeah. And his, his hooves, he’s not surefooted, you know, and I’m just like, “Oh my god.”
Muddy.
Exactly. I survived that. And so then the family is in front of us and my horse is getting really close up on the horse in front of it and that horse doesn’t like it. So that horse is kicking.
No!
Kicking back trying to hit my horse in the face. So, then my face, my horse is constantly like—
Oh my gosh.
Going like this trying and I’m just like oh trying to hold on. Anyway, I made it back.
You did.
I did. I never got busted for my horse.
This is insane.
I know.
This is insane. I cannot believe every little part of that.
It was more adventure than I bargained for. Um, I won’t do it again.
I’ll believe that when I see it.
But yeah, it just like I just kept being like, “You’ve got to be kidding me.” You know, it was just like one thing after another.
One ridiculous thing after another.
But I mean, what, what a good tale, you know.
Those kinds of adventures make for really good stories, but they’re not fun when you’re in them.
No. And this the best part was I get back and I look at pictures from the beach that Puck went to and it was like the exact same looking beach that I went to.
And she had a great she had a great time.
Yes. She walked 15 minutes flat to get there. There was a restaurant there. She had like passion fruit juice. Um, but yeah, and then we flew home the next day. I mean, I will say just being pushed that much out of the ordinary was granted I was scared for part of it, but just it was it’s such a special at this point in my life. I feel like, I’m so solid in in the way I live my life, the kinds of trips I take, this kind of thing. To go do something like that far out of what I would normally do was sort of very refreshing, I would say. And I’m glad to know that I can still have an adventure like that.
Right. I wonder what you would think if you had been bucked off the horse.
Oh my god.
If you would still have that opinion.
No, the story would be so different if I had been bucked off the horse.
I am really glad all like that saying, all’s well that ends well.
Yeah.
So, I’m really glad you’re here with me today.
Yes. And I can show you pictures.
Stop doing these things.
I know.
I like hanging out with you.
I know. When we got off the horses, I took a picture with the two guys. I’ll show it to you. We were all just like, but we made it.
You made it.
And we made it before dark. It wasn’t like pitch black before we got back. And you know, we caught the last shuttle out. Yeah. It all worked out.
No problem.
No problem. Estabien. Estabien.
Well, before we went traveling with our kids when they were young to Costa Rica, we said, you know, when you travel, sometimes things just don’t go well.
Yeah.
But a good way to get yourself thinking this is okay is just to say, “This is just the way we like it.”
Mhm.
So, that trip was just the way you liked it.
Just the way I like it. On the edge of death and danger.
Well, thank you for sharing that with me and I’m glad you’re here.
Yeah, me too. And I will probably not ride another horse again in my life. I just I don’t know that I need to.
Yeah.
What, what’s your, would you ride a horse like on a trip?
Well, you know, it’s interesting because when I was a kid, I got on my friend’s horse and the thing took off and it wouldn’t listen to me.
Yeah.
It took me down over this bank and I was like, you know, kind of that feeling. It went home. It didn’t want to do anything that we had in mind for it. He was like, I’m done with this. I’m going home and you’re coming with me.
Did your friend catch up with you?
I, I don’t remember anything else about it. I think she did.
Okay.
Was this Oregon?
Yeah. I was scared.
Yeah.
I mean, riding a horse looks easy. It looks like no big deal. And then you’re on the horse and you’re like, “Oh my god, this is crazy. Why am I doing this?”
Yeah. And there was no path or anything. He just went down over the bank like, “I’m going.” But then I do remember that feeling of once like the trotting feeling and then just like that that kind of fun rhythmic feeling of the galloping that’s kind of. You kind of have to give yourself over to it in a way that’s like, I can’t control this so.
Right. You can’t fight it so you kind of have to move with it.
Yeah.
But yeah, I did ride a horse in Dominican one time and it was not that great.
Yeah.
Like the stirrups kept sliding and I was like, I don’t know enough of what I’m doing to even know how to adjust that.
Right.
And then you just feel like you’re at the mercy of the guide. Like, come help me. Come help.
If you have one.
Yes. If you if your horse hasn’t taken off on you.
If you get to have a guide. I will say that night when I was trying to fall asleep, um, my calves were um, cramping because of all the tension I’d had in my legs.
Oh, yeah.
And I was pressing down with my toes so hard in order to just give myself a little bit more stability into this.
Yeah.
But yeah, I woke up once or twice with my calves just in—
My word.
Yeah.
Here’s what’s funny. That kind of cramping is called a Charlie horse and it happened to me after riding a horse. The calf is the muscle at the back of the lower leg and it’s the same word that we use for a baby cow. When my son learned this, he cracked up and kept slapping my leg and calling it his baby cow.
Yeah.
Yeah. Your legs were like, “Okay, you took me on that long walk.”
Yes.
You took me on this horse.
Yeah.
Your legs needed a vacation after your vacation.
Totally. They’re like, “Get back to your regular life where you do nothing but sit in it.”
Oh boy. Well, I bet there are some people that have some good horse stories.
I bet there are. Hey, put it in the comments.
That’d be fun to know.
Got a great horse story? Drop it in the comments.
Alright, that was fun.
That was fun. Thank you, Lisa.
You’re welcome.
Can you believe that actually happened?
No.
All of it.
I want you to stop it.
I know. I’ll be less adventurous next time I’m traveling.
Yeah.
I’m lucky that I got to go on such an adventure and that everything was fine. No injuries. I made it home and my nervousness never got out of control. If you missed the video where I talked about the rest of my trip to Colombia, including meeting one of my students, you can find a link to the video in the description.
Don’t forget to check out rachelenglish.com/free to get my free course, The Top Three Ways to Master the American Accent. Keep your learning going now with this video. And don’t forget to subscribe with notifications on. I love being your English teacher. That’s it and thanks so much for using Rachel’s English.
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