Horse trails

In the evening upon your arrival in the town of Sant Jaume de Llierca you will be driven up a winding track to Can Jou, an 11th century Farmhouse perched high up on a ridge overlooking the Pyrenees.

THE WELCOME

Here you will meet the family, the guide and the Can Jou team.
At dinner we will go over the week's program, you will be told about the special characteristics of our Andalucian trail horses. After dinner you will be given an introduction to the weeks programme with an opportunity for a one-to-one conversation designed to find every rider their perfect horse.

Finally you will discover how to play the 'Champagne rules' under which anyone found guilty of holding up the ride at any point is obliged to buy a bottle of local cava for the group that evening, making for lively dinners!

Today we saddle up and ride out through the mountains, during the morning we pass through scented oak forests above beautiful ravines that so characterise this mountainous region known as the Garrotxa.  After lunch on the banks of the river Fluviá, we continue through scenery of rolling hills and pine forests dotted with interesting little villages with Romanesque churches.  This region is steeped in history.

By now the stamina and agility of the Andalucian horses starts to become evident.

In the evening a delicious super awaits us, you will taste the fine regional cooking, prepared by our hosts Miquel and Magalie of Mas Torrent, a charming rural Inn.

Today is a long day in the saddle, with lots of long canters and gallops through the lower Empordà pine forests.
Every hour we pass another beautiful village, castles, churches, archway, tunnels, old wooden doors with wrought iron knockers, the beauty of the stonework of the past.

As the afternoon draws on you can sense the proximity to the coast and at last we arrive at the Mediterranean, the beautiful Gulf of Roses stretches before us. Our hotel for the night is right on the beach.

After an early start, we trot our horses 1 km down to the beach.  The long curve of the bay of Roses stretches before us, kilometers of golden sand.  Here we enjoy some excellent canters and gallops on the beach.  We will stop every now and then to take the horses into the water, they love it!

After the beach ride we head inland again following the river Fluviá, past a bird sanctuary where we can see flocks of migrating birds.  The terrain is flat, dotted with peach, pear, and apple orchards.  The pace today is lively.  By lunchtime we arrive at our destination in Castellon d´Empurias.  From here you can easily go down to the beach and have another afternoon-evening swim.  Or you can go to Figueres to visit the famous Dali-museum, or explore Castellon d´Empurias and do some shopping.  Castellon d´Empurias is a lively cathedral town where we can enjoy some excellent tapas and cold drinks on one of the terraces and sample the local nightlife.

After an excellent breakfast on the magnificent roof-top terrace of the hotel overlooking the cathedral with the Mediterranean on one side and the gentle curve of the Pyrenees on the other, we saddle up again to continue our journey back to the mountains.

Today the riding is spectacular, once more a lively pace as we trot and canter out across the plains, through fields, meadows, and Mediterranean woodland rife with the scents of wild herbs and flowers.

In the afternoon we ride through olive groves and vineyards and past the lake of Boadella, on the edge of which we find our accommodation for the night.  "La Central" an art nouveau palace of blue ceramic tiled towers, a haven of peace and tranquillity, an exclusive Spa Hotel, renowned for its delicious cuisine, hydro-massage pool and relaxing saunas, very welcome after 4 days in the saddle.

Now the stamina and agility of our Andalucian horses becomes evident.
The morning starts with a long ascent back up to the craggy peaks of the Alta Garrotxa.  This is a region of cork and oak forests where the Rioja region comes to buy its wine corks, once again we are in a different type of countryside, a beautiful mountain wilderness.

Before lunch we lead our horses along a winding forest track.  Then a picnic with a glorious view over the varied and beautiful landscape that we have ridden through.  By evening we arrive in the enchanted valley of Riu, a paradise of mountain meadows surrounded by craggy peaks, where the goat herds are watched over by hungry vultures and eagles.  Here we stable the horses for the night, and return to Can Jou for another delicious supper.

Back to the horses again by car.
From here the view is spectacular, majestic peaks all around on every horizon.  The morning is spent winding our way down into the gorge of Sadernas, above a gushing mountain river of crystalline water that has carved out splendid forms in the rock.

Lunch is wonderful, a picnic by a Romanesque bridge that spans a huge rockpool, a swim before lunch is a must.

In the afternoon we are down on the flood plains which we cross at a lively pace to climb once more back up to the heights and our base Can Jou where a warm welcome and a delicious supper awaits us.  After six days of riding and adventure we toast to the horse and our new found friends, and to life.

Happy and relaxed, we sadly say goodbye and "hasta pronto amigos".