HORSEBACK TRAIL RIDE IN CATALUNIA
INDICATIVE ITINERARY *
Day 1 - Welcome ! In the evening upon, you arrive at the equestrian farm of Can Grau. The country cottage, name is « Masia » in Catalan language, is located in the Empordá region in the middle of nature, hidden from busy people and curious. It is a more than two hundred years antic Catalan farmhouse converted into a rural guest house for tourism and horseback activities. After a homemade cooked dinner we will explain the program of the week and we will talk about the characteristics of our crossed horses of Spanish and Arabic, the best of each breed. You also will have the opportunity of an individualized one-to-one conversation designed to find the ideal horse for each rider.
Day 2 - Cervia de Tera. After a good breakfast, we prepare our horses with the help and recommendations of the guide. Today the route will take us to some beautiful poplars and beech forests, next to the Ter river. It is quite followed by fields and forests, crossing the village of Medinyà below its castle where you can see views of the region of Girona to the Gavarres mountains. After a delicious picnic next to the river, we have a pleasant return to Can Grau alternating small paths with immense meadows and dense and varied forests. During the journey we cross the village of Cervià de Ter where we can go around the Castle. Upon arrival, we can enjoy some relaxing moments in the gardens of Can Grau, or in the company of the horses that graze in the meadows of the farm. For dinner, Anne has prepared an excellent homemade meal in the Catalan style.
Day 3 - Sant Marti d'Empuries. After a copious breakfast, we prepare our horses direction to the beach, which we have been looking forward to since the first day. The beach ride will be early tomorrow, and we have a long day in the saddle today. The horses will spend night closer by the seafront and we will return by car to can Grau this afternoon. We descend gently along paths surrounded by meadows, passing through Saus, Ventalló and Palau Borrell, to have our daily picnic next to the private Castle of la Garriga, in Sant Feliu de la Garriga. After lunch, we pass through Viladamat and Albons, alternating trot and some canter. It seems that our horses are smelling the sea breeze. We leave behind Mas Vilanera and its old mill, very close to the town of L’Escala, to reach Sant Martí d’Empúries. This beautiful village is located at the end of the beach where we can apreciate the Old Greek dock, from the 6th century BC, and where, a few meters away, we will leave our horses in paddocks enabled for this purpose.
Day 4 - To the beach ! We get up early for breakfast, and then move to where we left the horses yesterday afternoon. We trot our horses along a stream for a few minutes until we reach the sea, at the beginning of the bay of Roses. We will continue galloping up the beach, stopping from time to time to enter the sea, until we almost wet our feet. After a long eight kilometres of golden sand and sparkling sea, we return inland, through fields of fruit and rice fields, towards Vilaür. We continue riding, now, between forests and silent streams and stop for picnic next to the lake of Valveralla, which allows us to relax horses and riders. We return to the mountain ridge to reach Can Sort, where we will leave the horses tonight to return by car to Can Grau.
Note that the beach is not allowed to riders at Easter and in Summer.
Day 5: Vilaur – Galliners – Can Grau. After breakfast, we prepare our horses and leave Can Sort along the paths of the dense Mediterranean forest, following the mountainous ridge, with spectacular views over the harmonious chain of fields and meadows. We arrive at the river Fluvià, next to the town of Báscara and its famous racecourse, where we will test ourselves at a gallop. Then, we continue between olive groves and cereal fields, we pass farmhouses and churches, and finally another gallop on wide roads through the oak and cork oak forest, which takes us to Galliners, where we will have our picnic. We finally arrive at Can Grau passing through the small town of Vilamarí. Once our horses showered and in the meadow, we will enjoy an amazing moment together with a glass of cava to celebrate our pleasant experience in these lands in the company of horses.
Day 6 - Adios ! End of your stay after breakfast and departure.
* Indicative program that can be modified if necessary. Note that the beach is not allowed to riders at Easter and in Summer.
