Fresh & Saltwater - Mountain & Sea Trail

Thank you for the experience on the Fresh and Saltwater Trail in hot June 2018. The organisation was great. It started with Daniela, who reserved a space for me on this ride at short notice. She sent me all the information and details as well as good directions to arrive by motorbike so that I did not have any issues finding the peacefully situated hostel in Crespià. This is where I met my nice group of fellow riders and my roommate, who was also a lucky choice! Each time, the accommodations were something special, never bog-standard, always beautifully situated, clean, cosy and charming. The hosts were friendly and there were often possibilities to go swimming in a pool or a nearby river. En-route, we never missed out on a bathing opportunity – fantastic in 30°C. A special highlight was swimming with the horses in a lake. I would like to say thank you again to my amazing Dinamico, a great horse. The food was a real treat every time, no matter if it was in the accommodation in the evening, from the saddle bags during the ride or a picnic served by Manel. Always local dishes, freshly prepared, tasty, varied and plentiful. In addition, water, red wine, cold sparkling wine, coffee – there was everything we could have wanted.

Manel, our trail assistant, was a piece of gold. Always in a good mood, always there, constantly helpful and reliable, no matter what we asked of him. For him there are never any problems, only solutions; he is a real treasure. I often admired Niki, our guide, for her patience and calmness, even when she explained something for the fifth time because someone just did not get it. She was always there to help us getting on the horses, and she continuously helped some people tacking up their horses to make sure nothing went wrong. It certainly required some skills to keep our group together. Moreover, she always made sure that the horses were alright, no matter if it was during the ride or in the evening in the paddocks. The horses were simply great! Friendly, enduring, sure-footed and well-behaved. I would have loved to take my PRE Dinamico home with me! What a wonderful horse, well-trained with good gaits and a dynamic forward thrust (he lives up to his name!), but easy to handle and a comfortable ride. A truly reliable horse, self-confident, friendly, attentive, and he was careful with placing his hooves in difficult terrain. Fearlessly he mastered anything without any problems. My all-terrain horse at home in the Black Forest, Germany, would have surely showed me the red card more than once on this route.

The route was exciting, and the terrain was a challenge leading us through diverse beautiful landscapes. The last day was quite long, after 8 hours in the saddle we could not wait to reach the sea…the only issue was that some riders had not read the trail description and the physical requirements well, or they had simply overestimated their abilities and some members of the group struggled. Even the best organisation or tour description is powerless against this. Some riders lacked the necessary knowledge of responsibly handling their horses as well as tacking them up. Thanks to the friendly horses theses riders did not get lost in canter. At least two people would happily let themselves be carried by their horses, which led to unsatisfying situations and a lack of control. My conclusion: all in all, I have collected wonderful impressions and experiences at Panorama Trails. I drove home happy and full of beautiful memories. On the way back, I would have liked to exchange the saddle of my motorbike for Dinamico’s several times.