And even though I've been back for over a month, I still havend worked my way through all the pictures that were taken on the trip (about 3000-4000, everybody was really great about sharing their files).We, a work/riding friend, and I had booked the “Adventure Trail” with “cheval-en-pyrenees”, two weeks of trail riding. 220km through the Pyrenees Mountains spending the nights either in Gîtes (guest houses) or out in the mountains in tents.
It was a wonderful experience! So much fun! It was a real adventure, challenging at times but never too much to handle. We rode on Mérens horses or Castillon, both native breeds to the Pyrenees. Sturdy little horses, similar to the British Fell or Dales ponies, mostly black (the Mérens) or dark bay, bay in color (the Castillon).
We flew from Germany to Toulouse where we were picked up at the airport. Most of the group was from Germany or Austria and on the same flight as us, so we met everyone at the airport before getting in the van that would take us the two hour drive to Camurac, the starting (and final) point of our trail riding adventure. There were nine people in the group (plus our guide and a cook/driver), age 28 to 50, mostly women, two men.
Most days our luggage was transported to our next over-night stop by car, by our cook and driver Clovis. But on some days, when we were staying out in the mountains overnight, everything we needed was packed up in our saddle bags and onto “Tartine” the pack mule. (la belle mule, because she was very pretty).
The accommodations on this trip were (mostly) clean but very simple. We slept in rooms of three to 8 people, mostly bunk beds with shared bathrooms. The food was very french. Most days Clovis cooked for us, he also prepped our lunches every day. But no matter if at a gîte, a hotel or the camp, cooked by Clovis or somebody else the food was always really good and plenty.
Breakfast was always a simple affaire; we got up early to feed the horses first and then got back to some coffee, bread, jam, honey, orange juice and the occasional croissant. Lunch was a packed lunch we took with us in the saddle bags. It was always some kind of salad with vinaigrette, bread, jambon (ham) and cheese, a simple dessert, served with, of course, red wine. After arriving at our destination in the afternoons, there usually was a bit of cake or cookies and some refreshments, soda or a beer. And dinner was always a big affaire, aperitif, appetizer or salade, main course, cheese, fruit or dessert.
These were the basics from our lovely trip, from now on I'm going to kill this tread with pictures:
Meeting the herd:
- P1030777.JPG (229.44 KiB) Viewed 14908 times
Yep, they all basically look the same... "My" horse for the two weeks was a gelding called Levantin, and I'm not sure if he's in thet picture or not...
On day one grooming and tacking up took some time, since there was a certain way to put on pad, saddle, breastplate and crupper we all had to learn first.
Done:
- ready day two.JPG (180.12 KiB) Viewed 14907 times
Taking off, day one:
- take off first day.JPG (226.57 KiB) Viewed 14908 times
