We have arrived at El Rocío on the weekend of the Fiesta de la Luz, La Candelaria and decide to go down to the town to see what’s going on (and find some churros and chocolate for breakfast). This weekend finds members of the ‘brotherhoods’ or ‘hermandades’ gathering from all over Andalucia to bring babies born in the past year to be blessed at the Santuario Nuestra Señora del Rocío. The main festival is at Pentecost when millions make the pilgrimage, arriving on horseback or horse-drawn wagons for the procession.
We return to the Visitor Centre and ride along some of the trails across the protected areas of the Parque Natural de Doñana, managing to see some Glossy Ibis really close to the boardwalk with spoonbills, moorhens, storks, various ducks and flamingoes from some of the bird hides. Returning to El Rocío we find a couple of shops but struggle to ride on the sandy roads in the town! It takes so long to get back to the van we decide to try out the restaurant on the campsite, and are pleasantly surprised.
