Half-day bike ride to discover the heart of Porquerolles Island

Born in Toulon, Frédéric Durand spent his childhood in Cuers:

I've always been interested in everything to do with nature. That's what led me to study natural sciences first, then geology in Nice and Nancy. And I really don't regret it, because it taught me a lot and served me well. It was fundamental to everything I did afterwards! You might think that destiny is partly a matter of chance. But maybe not.

After completing his studies, Frédéric joined a design office in Montpellier. From 1990 to 2000, he worked in Eastern France, the French West Indies and French Guiana.

And then I stopped because I wanted a change.

In 2002, on the advice of a friend, he took his diploma as a mountain leader.

I discovered this profession 20 years ago and I'm very happy to have made this choice. I'm self-employed, working with partners such as specialized travel agencies, tourist offices, accommodation and leisure facilities like Cycle Porquerollais, with whom I work on Porquerolles.

Based in the Hyères region, Frédéric's influence extends from Marseille to Menton, via Briançon.

The walks I propose are all about discovering nature and natural environments, but also the cultural heritage that surrounds us. Our job is to give meaning to discovery.

For him:

A guide is a go-between... Meeting people and talking with them is important: you bring something to the table, but you also enrich yourself through contact with others. As I spend more and more time in and around Hyères, I welcome people into my home, sharing my world and my perceptions. We share this spirit with the Théry family from Cycle porquerollais, who were looking for someone to develop their range of bike rides on the island. They wanted to develop a range of routes based around sport, but also around discovering the island's cultural heritage. So together we studied a number of routes that would take you to different parts of the island: the capes, the forts, the Moulin du Happiness, the vineyards... As an independent guide, I've been a partner of the Park since 2004. And I'm very happy about this partnership, because thanks to the Park's training days, I've learned a lot and it's helped me to evolve.

What does he think of the Esprit Parc brand?

I'm interested in maintaining this link with the National Park and with the other players in the network, which is very well run. It also recognizes the quality of our products. In fact, we're the Park's relays in the field. It's up to me to get the message across. It's also what we call interpretation; in other words, putting visitors in the right frame of mind to make them question their relationship with the place they're in. Getting them to be in a sensitive state in order to establish a link with, and around, living things. Be present to yourself and to the place around you.