Arrival at Can Grau, a guesthouse located at the base of the Pyrenees, facing the Medes Islands nature reserve. We have thirty years’ experience in horse riding holidays, and this is  the ideal place to start the year on horseback and an original way of discovering the region. We will begin with a fantastic home-cooked dinner and a description of the characteristics of our Andalusian and Arabian crossbred horses, a combination of the best of each breed. You will be given an introduction to the week’s program and the opportunity of a one-to-one conversation with Ramon, in order to pair every rider with the right horse.

After breakfast and a short briefing with our guide, we saddle up the horses and are ready to depart. The horses are fresh, and we enjoy long canters through the Alt Empordà pine forests. After every hour we pass by another beautiful village, castle, church, arches, tunnels, old wooden doors with wrought iron knockers… the beauty of the stonework of the past. As the afternoon draws in, we can sense the proximity to the coast and we eventually arrive at the large Mediterranean gulf of Roses. The assistance team is awaiting us and has prepared all for the horses’ rest.

Most probably one of the best ways to start a new year! After a late breakfast, we will join our horses and tack up again for the ride. We leave Vilafreser crossing an oak forest, accompanied by scents of thyme and rosemary. Our destination for today is Besalú, a medieval walled village. This ancient capital is a jewel of Romanesque architecture set between two rivers. We cover many miles amidst the wilderness of La Garrotxa, through fields, open meadows and forests. Our hotel is in front of the spectacular medieval bridge and we’ll have some time to wander around and absorb the unique atmosphere of this special village.

From Besalú we head straight into the forest and over the surrounding hills. We ride through a typical Mediterranean brushwood forest, thick with bushes and calcareous soil. This is a rocky area with old buildings of traditional rural architecture like shelters for herders and small stone walls. Up to the Fluvià, out of the rolling hills and onto the plains, we canter and gallop through olive groves and along wheat fields. Our destination is a charming small hotel, a restored original Catalan country farmhouse, where we will enjoy a delicious home cooked dinner.

After breakfast, we tack up and leave the hotel southwards through Catalan Mediterranean scenery, crossing the small villages of Galliner and Vilamarí. We enjoy spectacular views over the coastal plains and the foothills of the Empordà region. Crossing pine and oak forest, we stop for a rest and to have our daily picnic. For the last part of today, a gentle ride until we arrive back at Can Grau, where we shower our horses and enjoy a delicious dinner.

Breakfast and departure. 

Friends forever more! See you next year!