We did the 5 day hike Libbiano with our donkey Penolepe. Penolepe was not yet used to hiking without other donkeys, so it was quite exciting. Would she dare to do it without a friend? This experience was certainly useful for Tinne as well. In the end, we thought it was a successful walk with Penelope and gained a strong bond with her.
The walks were sometimes spicy because it was about 30 degrees, besides, Penolepe had a punishing pace at times, but if we found the uphill going a little too fast we let her go for a while, and she would be waiting for us again a little further on. She always stayed loyal to us.
What my daughter Norah enjoyed so much was taking care of the donkey. Both on arrival and departure. At each agriturismo we were kindly welcomed with water and fanta to quench our thirst, but the first thing to do was to un-saddle the donkey and stall her in a special area set aside for her with hay and water. Then, when she is no longer sweaty, she is combed, brushed, hooves scratched clean, oil applied to the legs against the flies and an occasional visit. Especially a cuddle before bedtime.
Delicious Italian food was waiting for us in the evening.
The people at the agriturismo were extremely friendly and helpful. What we really liked was sleeping in a large cotton tent with lovely beds. In the night it was nice and cool and we slept fine throughout.
During the hike you will pass beautiful spots. You walk along riverbeds, on narrow paths through forests, on hilltops with a lovely breeze with beautiful vantage points over the Tuscan landscape.
Thanks especially to Tinne for her helpfulness in figuring out bus routes back to Pisa. We were on public transportation and do not speak Italian.
We will not soon forget this hike with donkey.
Highly recommended.
Mitte August startete unsere Familie zu dritt unsere 5-Tages-Donkeytrekking-Tour. Unsere begleitende Eselin war Carolina. Während der erste Tag nur eine erste Einführungsrunde gemeinsam mit Tinne beinhaltete, ging es am zweiten Tag richtig los. Jeder Tag war ein eigenes Erlebnis und wir haben uns recht schnell mit Carolina angefreundet. Insbesondere ab dem dritten Tag ging es einige schmale und stellenweise steilere Pfade bergauf und bergab. Das tolle an Carolina war, dass wir sie auf diesen Wegen problemlos ohne Seil zwischen uns laufen lassen konnten. Carolina hielt gewissermaßen unsere "Herde" zusammen. Sie hielt an, wenn ich voranging und zwischendurch stoppte und wartete, wenn Maxi und Uli etwas zurückblieben.
Alle Unterkünfte were super, die meisten sogar mit Pool ausgestattet und wir wurden am Abend immer mit 3 oder 4 Gängen wundervoll bekocht. Auch das Frühstück war immer sehr gut und reichhaltig.
Da Tinne uns mit Karte und Garmin Navi ausgestattet hat, war es auch in etwas unübersichtlichen Gegenden immer problemlos möglich, den richtigen Weg zu finden. Vielen Dank, liebe Tinne, für die tolle Organisation und die wundervolle Tour mit Carolina. Das war ganz klar unser Urlaubshighlight und wir kommen gerne wieder!
In July 2020 travel was not to be taken for granted and despite our enthusiasm and early booking in January we hesitated for a long time before leaving. The fact that we would be spending whole days in nature and that in Italy the Corona measures are strictly followed, combined with Tinne's reassuring message about the measures on the donkey trek, convinced us to leave anyway. And we don't regret it... On site, everything was well organized, the training with our little donkey Fiamma was immediately a nice acquaintance and Tinne explained everything clearly. After an overnight stay in the lovely Landuccia we left the next day: beautiful nature, day trips that varied between pleasantly challenging and extremely relaxing, very nice agriturismos for the nights, delicious dinners and breakfasts! We walked between 4 and 8km per day and met virtually no one (except for one encounter with the temporary owners of Salveggia). Tuscany took on a new dimension for us, the walks in the varied nature combined with taking care of our sweet little donkey Fiamma and the obligatory dip in the pool in the afternoon made it a fun, active vacation even for an almost five-year-old in summer Italian temperatures. Thanks for the excellent organization, Tinne!
In August, we went on a week's hike with Stella. We thought it was fantastic, adventurous and it was spicy at times (it was about 10 degrees warmer than 'normal')! Beautiful nature along the way, you are really away from everything and one with nature, your family and the donkey. Our daughter is just 4. She did walk a few km a day herself too, but very nice that she could sit on Stella her back most of the time. We did the 7-day with rest day and really enjoyed it. We took longer on the day hikes than we expected beforehand, but still happy with this choice! The accommodations are super, which is nice that they are also so different. The food is delicious and the people at the accommodations so friendly and helpful. Also all credit to Tinne, she was very helpful when our daughter was sick!
This summer we went on a fantastic trip with donkey Fiamma! What an adventure! The walks are sometimes tough, but because the children take turns to ride the donkey, they are easy to do! The route goes off the beaten track and that makes it extra special! The accommodations are really good, the tents and pools are nice and the food is downright fantastic! We were received with tremendous hospitality. An adventure we wouldn't have wanted to miss and a great addition to our tour of Tuscany!
We look back on a wonderful trip in Tuscany. We enjoyed the donkey, the beautiful nature, the delicious food, the beautiful accommodations, the wonderful weather and the hospitality of the Tuscans. For the second year in a row we were out and about with Stella. A sweet Donkey that we will definitely miss again the next year.
Hello Tinne and co.
We really enjoyed our four-day hike with Fiamma, a somewhat stubborn but sweet donkey. Every time we passed a bunch of delicious wild fennel she needed some prompting, even so when it went up steeply, but that was not only true for the donkey, also for our youngest. After the suffering (hot!, steep) and adventure (forest trails, river crossings, wolves(?)...) we could appreciate even more the hospitable receptions and tasty meals. It was an unforgettable luxury adventure 😉
Dear Tinne,
What an incredibly fun way to get to know the Tuscan countryside! On day 1 we and the donkey had to get used to each other and the heat and altitude differences were a bit disappointing, but the following days we really enjoyed being on the road together and the beautiful nature. Also the agriturismi were fantastic: very friendly people everywhere, nice swimming pools and great food! Many thanks for organizing.
regards,
Marco, Maaike, Pieke, Aart and Feikje
Our hike was beautiful but very adventurous. Somehow our gps took a different route as planned 16km instead of 9km with our 2 and 5 year old children. We also took a number of wrong turns which made it a long trip. But it was very beautiful and the kids loved it! I think we had the two sweetest donkeys there are, Fiamma and Stella.
hello Tinne,
Actually we would prefer not to post a comment to keep all those beautiful locations to ourselves, but that would not do you much honor. So there you have it: it was a vacation just made for us, a lovely donkey (Carolina) that loves everything, beautiful surroundings, very hospitable places to stay, amazing food, a thousand thanks for sharing this with us. Definitely see you again.