Doñana Day Trip

In my classes at UW-Platteville I loved learning about the National Parks and nature of Spain. I love hiking and visiting State Parks in Wisconsin, so this weekend I decided to visit Doñana National Park in Andalucia. I found a guided tour online which was essential because you need a special license to enter into the park. I was picked up in Sevilla in the morning, and our tour was a group of five people and a tour guide. It was interesting to meet the other people in my group because it was one lady from India, one from Germany, and a mother and son from England. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and took us all over the park. We saw red deer, wild marshland horses and cattle, storks, and many other animals but the highlight was the flamingos! I have never seen wild flamingos so that was a real special experience for me. We had time to get lunch and explore in Rocío, a little town with a beautiful church that many people do a pilgrimage to every year. After lunch we headed to the coastal part of the park where we hiked the sand dunes until it started pouring rain! Our walk was cut short and we began our trip back home, but the views made it worth it. The whole park has such diverse ecosystems and it was so fun to explore a place I have learned so much about!