Weeks without a supermarket, the cell phone is switched off. Amazed tourists and hospitable locals: Cornelia Rieck and Frank Fritsche, who teach at the German School in Porto, hike through the mountains of Europe with their two daughters, their two dogs and their two donkeys during the holidays. They spend their vacations where the air is thinner, the water colder, the sleeping place more uncomfortable and the mind clearer. The idea is old, they say. At that time, without children, who are now 7 and 11 years old, but with a dog, they had already hiked, but in the long run the dog food became too heavy. When they were planning a six-week tour in the Pyrenees, they initially wanted to rent a donkey, but no one gave their animals. "My husband wanted a llama, but that was too exotic for me, so we bought a donkey",says Cornelia Rieck.
Their tours differ from those with rented donkeys, because they know their routes and usually only run from one accommodation to the next.
"The most beautiful tours so far have always been those on which we ran completely differently than planned after two or three days," says the chemistry teacher.
At the beginning they thought they would have to tell their four-legged companions where to go.
"But a donkey is clearly superior to us in terms of intelligence and instinct in the mountains, in its area."
Keeping it takes a lot of work
For the sake of the animals, the family lives in a village 30 kilometers outside of Porto, where the donkeys Micoud and Balou have a large paddock to themselves. Keeping a donkey requires a lot of work. In addition to feeding, cleaning, grooming and mucking out stables, the animals are dewormed with a paste every two months; They have to go to the farrier every four months, and once a year they are vaccinated against equine flu and tetanus with a multiple vaccination. The life expectancy of a donkey is around 30 years. If you buy such an animal, you have to know that it is not a decision for a week, but for a lifetime, emphasizes Frank Fritsche.
They have now made nine tours, each lasting between one and six weeks, in Andorra, the French and Spanish Pyrenees, the Picos de Europa in northern Spain and the Alps. "The first two or three days are really hard for everyone, nobody has the stamina and strength," explains Rieck - only her husband, the well-trained trail runner, sees it differently. At the beginning of their hikes they run ten kilometers and 300 to 400 vertical meters daily, on the last days it is 10 to 25 kilometers with 1000 meters of ascent. Your stages last between one and eight hours. Routine is important to them on their tours. Every morning when the sun is on the horizon over the tent, they get up and have a hearty breakfast. Then they roll up their sleeping mats and fold their tents, which can take two hours.Before starting, the donkeys must be checked and the luggage must be saddled up in balance. In the evening it works the other way round: the donkeys are unsaddled, the tents are set up in such a way that they stop even when the weather changes. Before going into the tent after dinner, you have to bathe. "Only those who have bathed are allowed to spend the night in the tent." “You cry, you cry, because that really hurts,” says Cornelia Rieck. "Anyone who shower for weeks in mountain springs knows how nice a warm shower is."Before going into the tent after dinner, you have to bathe. "Only those who have bathed are allowed to spend the night in the tent." “You cry, you cry, because that really hurts,” says Cornelia Rieck. "Anyone who shower for weeks in mountain springs knows how nice a warm shower is."Before going into the tent after dinner, you have to bathe. "Only those who have bathed are allowed to spend the night in the tent." “You cry, you cry, because that really hurts,” says Cornelia Rieck. "Anyone who shower for weeks in mountain springs knows how nice a warm shower is."