Monument Valley

Before we even left for the USA, Monument Valley was one of the sights I looked most forward to, because it is one of the things that first come to you mind when you think about America. Well, I wasn't going to be disappointed.

Our motel was located in Kayenta, the town that's nearest to the Valley. The town itself was pretty run-down. Two or three motels, a McDonald's, a Burger King, and a supermarket were the main attractions there. Moreover, it was awfully hot there, so my first action was to go and buy SPF 50 sun protection that kept being useful in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. According to my boyfriend though, the worst thing about Kayenta was that it's located on Navajo land, where the sale and purchase of alcohol - including beer - is strictly prohibited.

Monument Valley itself is a must-see! Everybody knows one or two of the rock formations from western movies, but there's so much more, like ancient pictograms or pueblos.

We did a three-hour jeep tour in the evening and luckily we had an awesome guide who showed us a lot of marvelous hidden places. One of the best things was that we had our guide completely to ourselves, while other groups consisted of 10 or more people. In the end of our tour we met up with a second small group in a huge dome of rock. There our guide played the flute and the guide of the other group sang traditional songs. That was one of the most beautiful moments of the whole journey!

For the next day we booked a horseback-riding tour that led us around some of the large buttes on Mustangs. It was my first time sitting on a horse, and although it was a great experience my back still hurt three days later. Nevertheless, I would do it again right now if I could. Riding by the famous rock formations on horseback like John Wayne did in his movies is a unique and indescribable feeling, and once more we had an excellent guide. We started the tour in the early morning so we could see the sunrise after we had already seen the sunset the day before. The different colors the sun paints the rocks in are absolutely breathtaking! And thanks to my newly acquired sun protection I survived this adventure without third degree burns.