Donana National Park is located on the Atlantic side of Spain in Andalusia near Seville. In 1994, Donana was designated as an UNESCO World Heritage Site and is a Biosphere Reserve. Covering more than 334 miles, the park has glorious beaches and is compared to the Camargue in Provence, France.

In 2011, American archaeologists claimed to have found that the city of Atlantis was located in the center of the park at Marisma de los Hinojos. It is thought that a tsunami had swept the city of Atlantis to sea.

My friend and I were spending time outside of Seville, Spain for a Train & Trail stay at Epona Equestrian Center. The week-long stay included a daily hour-long dressage lesson, and a three-hour trail ride. Alternate days included a field trip to Donana National Park for a beach ride.

Taking a van from Epona, we drove to Donana National Park and arrived to the “Aquiler de Caballos” or Horse Rentals. Our mounts were ready and waiting in the paddock area surrounded by stalls. Each horse was tacked up in a traditional Vaquera Spanish saddle covered with sheepskin for comfort.

The day was picture perfect with azure skies and seas awaiting us to enjoy the day with our four-legged friends. Upon entering into the park, lovely scents began to hit our noses as our horses hooves crushed and brushed along the wild lavender, rosemary and thyme.

The trail intertwined through the low-lying brush and each step brought us closer to an ocean view.

Heading over the sand dunes

the first view of the ocean took our breaths away.

We headed down to the beach for our gallop in the sand.

If it had been warmer weather, we would have been able to take a swim with our horses. My horse was desperate for water and kept wanting to drink the ocean salty water. I really wanted to let him drink, but that much salt wouldn’t have been good for him.

The least we could do is to have a picture taken of us in the surf. For some silly reason, I was worried about getting my boots wet. The water was nowhere near my feet.

Alas, our stay at Donana National Park was brief and we had to say adieu to one of the prettiest and pristine beaches I’ve ever seen.