Toulouse. Gérard Garcia and his donkey Réglisse, in the footsteps of Robert-Louis Stevenson
A former butcher at the Marché Victor-Hugo in Toulouse, Gérard Garcia regularly escapes on a solitary pilgrimage. With his donkey Réglisse.
“No, I didn’t experience a heartache that I would have liked to soothe in the Cévennes mountains like the writer-traveler Robert Louis Stevenson in 18790, but these walks with my donkey Réglisse do me a world of good.” This reflection by Gérard Garcia, a former butcher at the Victor-Hugo market, now retired, recounts another episode in his life. After a busy existence, he has chosen for seven years to leave regularly with his 16-year-old donkey, born at home, among horses and other animals: “Three weeks ago, we left for Florac in the Cévennes to do daily between 20 and 25 km, which for a good walker like me, is not huge. It was a great adventure. Some time ago, we walked Robert Louis Stevenson from Florac to St-Jean-du-Gard. A journey where at each stage, Réglisse made a stop in a meadow. An essential place for this animal, which is not always easy to find.”
Walking with his donkey
Walking is a necessity for Gérard Garcia, conducive to chosen solitude and serenity: “Walking on the hunt for negative thoughts. We reconnect, we embrace nature. I leave with my van and then when I feel like I get off and leave with Réglisse for our journey. Through these walks, we learned to know each other, to approve of each other. A donkey is a very sensitive animal that knows what it wants. For example, if fatigue is felt, he will stop and nothing will be able to make him start again except dialogue and hugs behind the ears. Réglisse also “followed” the lessons of an educator to learn to obey the orders of his master “he was gifted. Fifteen days were enough. And then there are the expected rewards like tender grass in the meadows, of course, but also carrot candy and bread. “Do you know that donkeys are afraid of water. This genetic fear linked to predators goes back a long way. Well Réglisse is the only donkey in the world to have crossed the Lot without fear… A small ford stream, it’s true!