El Rocio

So, you've probably never heard of El Rocio. That's because no one goes there. The irony is that they should.

The hot spot in town (Ermita del Rocio)

El Rocio has a booming population of 1200, and borders Donaña National Park - one of the most famous parks in Europe. The park was directly behind our hotel. So Matt had a 2 minute walk to some of the best birding in Spain. Massive flocks of flamingos, spoonbills and various shorebirds nibbled in the mud. It was gorgeous, even for the non-birder of the twosome.

Sigh...

Our arrival proved to be grueling. The bus dropped us off at an unmarked bus stop in front of a local restaurant. No tourist office. No map. Sand streets. And one very heavy roller bag. Sidenote to future travelers, roller bags are a beautiful thing unless they are aren't. And when they aren't, they suck.

Watering the sand

Needless to say, we bulldozed our way through the sandy streets to our hotel. They say that in El Rocio hoof prints outnumber tire marks. So true.

The local parking lot

Although El Rocio is small, it is inundated with approximately one million visitors who come to see a small Virgin Mary (Virgen del Rocio) statue during Pentecost in the local church. No motorized vehicles allowed! The pilgrimage to El Rocio (Romeria del Rocio) includes many from larger Andalucian cities as well as many from the brotherhoods of El Rocio.

Tribute to the virgin, much soot included

These are essentially fraternities for grown-ups - brotherhood houses included. They arrive, they drink, they celebrate, and they all try to 'steal the virgin' from each other. And when the festival is over, they return the virgin to the church, and head home leaving El Rocio in peace for another year.

We loved it here. We'll be back for sure.