Riding a spirited Lusitano through the Cabo de Gata Natural Park in eastern Andalusia

“Hiiha!” calls Antonio, and off we go at a brisk gallop through the desert-like landscape. Antonio’s English could do with a bit of work, but that doesn’t detract from the riding experience with this Andalusian cowboy. ‘Hiiha’ and ‘bam-bam’ (accompanied by a mischievous grin) are understood by horses and riders alike, and so everyone always looks forward to a spirited gallop.

Antonio has a knack with horses and never tires of praising them – they’re all ‘super horses’, as we’re able to see for ourselves from the very first minute. I’m delighted to be riding a purebred Lusitano. ‘Inca’, as the tall, golden-coloured mare is called, turns out to be a real Ferrari. With her long legs, she makes quite a ‘bambam’ as we race across the plain. Yet she’s also a truly reliable horse, and I immediately feel at ease with her. You can tell that Antonio places great importance on horsemanship.

But Antonio and Anna are also very kind to their guests. The atmosphere is brilliant right from the start. Apart from me, there are two other couples from England taking part, as well as a Frenchwoman who is a repeat guest, joining us for the second time.
Right from the first evening meal, the atmosphere is lively; everyone is looking forward to a lovely ride, and we’re also delighted with the hotel, situated right on the beach in a white fishing village. In the evenings at the beach hotel, we’re treated to delicious meals by a very funny and friendly waiter. It’s quiet in November, so we enjoy particularly personalised service and have every wish fulfilled, even at the hotel bar.

On the first day, we set off on a day’s ride. This takes us through the semi-desert to several beautiful coves and a long sandy beach, where we enjoy a particularly spirited gallop. At Cabo de Gata, apart from in July and August – when it’s too hot anyway – there’s no problem riding along the beach.
After a lunch break at a deserted hacienda, we continue through the lunar landscape along sandy tracks. The return route takes us through agave fields and along a steep coastal path, where the horses demonstrate their sure-footedness. In high spirits, we reach the large paddocks. With only around 30 days of rain a year and very mild winters, the horses live outdoors all year round.

After a convivial evening and a restful night, a sunrise over the sea awaits us in the morning. At 9.30 am, Antonio picks us up and takes us to the stables. Today we’re riding inland. After riding up and down through the red hills for a while, it’s time for a ‘super canter’ through a dry, winding riverbed, covering at least 4 km. We gallop the whole way, with a few short trotting sections in between. Antonio isn’t the only one beaming with joy. His superb horse is now quite relaxed too – a thoroughbred simply has to run. The horses are real machines; they apparently never get tired. Today we have lunch at a ruin in the middle of nowhere. Not far from there, we meet an old man who lives like a hermit with a few animals in the remote hinterland. He’s delighted to have a natter with Antonio. After lunch, we head further into the mountains. Here we come across the film sets from Indiana Jones, including a dilapidated saloon. In the red mountains, we discover several caves that were once dug for gold mining and also served as film sets. We ride through two of them and find ourselves between huge rock faces.

We continue along the old gold-mining trails. There’s apparently still quite a bit of gold in the mountains, but gold mining eventually became unprofitable and water too scarce, so the area has long since been abandoned. After a peaceful ride through the impressive rocky landscape, we reach a hilltop overlooking the village of Rodalquilar and the deep-blue sea in the distance. At the edge of the village, on the sandy plain, is Antonio’s second ‘stable’ with a few paddocks and a round pen. After a long day’s riding, I’m looking forward to a shower first thing today, before meeting up with my fellow riders again on the garden terrace for snacks and an aperitif. For dinner, Anna picks us up in the jeep and takes us to a seafood restaurant on the beach of a charming fishing village. All sorts of seafood and fish are served here, accompanied by plenty of wine.

We sleep soundly tonight and almost miss the lovingly prepared breakfast. Fortunately, everyone here is very relaxed, so it’s no big deal if things run a little late. It must be down to the lovely weather; in any case, everyone is completely at ease.

The final day’s ride begins through a surprisingly green valley dotted with tufts of bristly grass. Soon we follow a well-trodden path up to a hilltop overlooking the deep-blue Mediterranean. With this stunning panorama as our backdrop, we now head inland for a short stretch and then back towards the sea, moving from bay to bay. We continue on to a viewpoint and down into a small palm oasis. The coastline is now flatter, and a long sandy beach stretches for several kilometres to an old castle. We pass through a fishing village and ride up to a ruin, where we enjoy our delicious lunch – always prepared by a restaurant – whilst taking in the views of the mountains and the sea. After a siesta under the Andalusian sun, we set off on our final leg. First, a few more gallops await us on the wide coastal path. Then the path becomes rockier, so we take our time to enjoy the view over the cliffs. Soon we spot San José, our starting point. Nestled idyllically between the mountains, it lies on the coast with its snow-white houses. A narrow path leads straight down to the farmyard. And then it’s time to say goodbye. Once all the horses have been well looked after, we enjoy an aperitif before heading to the hotel.

Here we enjoy some olives and a beer at the bar before moving on to dinner. Anna and Antonio say their goodbyes now, as they have plenty of work to get on with first thing in the morning. Wine and tequila are doing the rounds, and just as our lovely landlady is slowly getting ready to close up, the atmosphere is at its peak. Our fellow travellers from Cornwall even start dancing, but it’s no use – we have to clear the restaurant and, as it’s unfortunately too cold outside, we soon go to bed.
In the morning, we enjoy one last breakfast with a sea view, then we all head off in different directions – we’re off to Granada for two days before flying home from Málaga. Loaded down with souvenirs and full of lovely memories of wonderful people, marvellous horses and stunning landscapes, we set off on our journey home.

Jessica Kiefer, november 2025

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