The LaRebenne Team | |
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Henri Faur President | Coming from a Pyréneén family, I have been travelling around the Pyrénées since I was a child. After a career in the commercial sector, I decided to change my life by undertaking a Mountain Guiding Diploma. In 2001, with my diploma in the bag, I decided to set off for Morocco with the idea of setting up hiking routes. |
Fleur Michenaud | Originally from Anjou, I trained as a guide-interpreter-public speaker. Passionate about horseback riding, I decided to combine my passion and profession and did this for several years in the Cadre Noir de Saumur. Then? I set off to discover Ariège and start a new life. I joined the LaRébenne family 10 years ago. I respond to all of your requests and point you in the direction of the circuit best suited to you, manage your reservations and tweak your stay to ensure that you have a trip without any nasty surprises. We do this because for us, it is the small details that make beautiful trips. |
Jonathan Gauthier | Several years ago I set up my base camp in the Ariégoise Pyrénées. I enjoy leaving them behind for new adventures...and then returning to them and exporing again and again. I will be your logistician on mountain bike and cycling trips, or, equally, your guide on certain walking or snowshoe hikes (Mountain Guide). |
Marion Cottin | Coming straight from the land of the Côteau du Layon, where I grew up enjoying the gentleness of Anjou on foot, by bike...Since my childhood, I have had a taste for travelling and I want to share everything that I discover through my work. At the end of my course at the University of Tourism in Angers, I joined the LaRébenne family. Hiking, cycling, mountain biking friends...I am here to listen to your needs and provide whatever you may require to meet your wishes, help you to concretise your trip and make your wishes a reality! |
Loïc Gallot | Having been settled in the Ariégoise Pyrénées for several years, Loïc will share the best single-tracks and 'players' on the LaRébenne mountain bike trips, from the Pyrénées to the Sierra Nevada in Spain! Mountain Hiking and Biking Guide, he will accompany you over the summits and share his passion for his profession. |
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The Story
Coming from a Pyrénéen family, I have been travelling around the Pyrénées since I was a child. After a career in the commercial sector, I decided to change my life by undertaking a Mountain Guiding Diploma. In 2001, with my diploma in the bag, I decided to set off for Morocco with the idea of setting up hiking routes.
After a great trip and meeting lots of people, I left Morocco without having found what I was looking for. I had an address book full of contacts but these relationships were all based on financial contacts and not real exchanges. Feeling a little disappointed, I set off on the return journey and then, at the foot of Tizi'n Tichka, I stopped in front of a fossil shop, one amongst many. Out of this modest building came Lahcen Telhaoui, giving me a powerful and direct look. He greeted me and invited me in to drink some tea.
I spent 3 days in his company, in the middle of a village amongst his people. As time went on, and over many conversations putting the world to rights, we got to know and trust eachother.
From there, the great adventure began.
6 months later, I returned to Morocco to set up our first circuit: The Four Valleys. I set off with Lahcen, Omar the muleteer and my friend Gilles. Everything was exactly as I had imagined it: the landscapes, the encounters with the mountain inhabitants, the muleteers.
Then, a revelation: late one afternoon we arrived at a gite in the middle of a village. We were perched high above the valley. Sat on the terrace, I observed life moving around me. The sun slowly setting, the colours warming. In the terraced field, children were leading their flocks and their songs floated up the valley. I had tears in my eyes; what happiness!
Since then, our ambition has been to help you experience these emotions as we did. To consider you not as clients, but as friends for whom we reserve only the best. It is for that reason that we design our own circuits. We are not re-sellers. We are producers without middle-men.
Whether in France or abroad, we try to prioritise the spirit of travelling with the smallest number of vehicle transfers possible. This is key to fully immersing yourself in the region.
Of course, we are motivated not only by finding the most interesting stages but also by the idea of a caravan: a team progressing together.
Since 2002, an official travel agency: LaRébenne is a registered travel agency, recognised by the Atout France (organisation of the management of authorisations). We are guaranteed by Groupama up to the amount paid by clients and are insured in RCP by the MMA. We are registered with the Tribunal de Commerce in Foix.
Independent
Over the past few years, the world of trekking has changed a lot. Large financial groups have bought out the biggest travel agencies to create veritable travel factories. They use their economic power and influence to obtain scandalously low prices from weak providers.
We refuse to subscribe to this practice because, in the end, noone wins.
Why ?
A team (secretary, guide, gite or hotel manager, refuge guardian, muleteers and others) which is paid correctly, will be happy to welcome you and give you a unique stay. They consider you as a friend. You will be in a position to experience profound emotions and human encounters. It is difficult to explain but it works very well!
Our prices
Our prices are designed to be fair, taking into consideration the interests of the client, service provider and the company.
Fair tourism? It's in words...and deeds! Far from the catalogues with their 'charters', we promote fair tourism on a daily basis through simple and concrete acts, with long-term partners and local providers.
As far as possible, the LaRébenne teams live in the valley or region which you will discover.
Fair pay for partners
We pay our providers directly, without delay and at a fair price. Compensation which takes into account their needs and those of their families.
Contrary to Tour Operators who impose their prices and conditions, we negotiate tariffs, without using our economic power, prefering instead to place great importance on the quality of services. A guide or a cook who is properly paid will add another dimension and human quality to your trip.
The Environment
A few simple gestures: in the desert, we don't waste wood, we prefer to leave it for the nomads. We use water from the well rather than mineral water (less waste). We pick up our litter during our hikes in the mountains.
In France, for picnics we ask hikers to bring a tupperware box, a knife, a fork and a water bottle. That way, we avoid unecessary waste.
Welcome to LaRébenne!
SARL LaRébenne au capital de 5000€ RCS de Foix
10 rue de la Comédie 09000 Foix
Tel : 05.61.65.20.93 / 06.81.53.77.75 / 09.77.89.93.37
contact@larebenne.com | www.larebenne.com
Certificat Atout France : IM009100007 | N° de TVA : FR33502157076 00014 | RCP : 115 769 365
Garant : Groupama N° 4000714358/0 | N° SIRET : 502 157 076 00014 | NIF : FR33502157076
Some documents