El Rocío

We went to El Rocío this morning. A most singular town.

El Rocío belies its size and has just 700 inhabitants. Most of the buildings lining the dirt roads are empty for most of the year. However for just one week in May each year one million pilgrims make their way here and the place teems with life. Google it and Wikipedia will tell all.

Today there were sufficient visitors to make the town feel lively enough. The sun was bright and hot, bouncing off the water where numerous fowl were swimming and feeding, whilst storks were wheeling overhead.

The church and the famous Madonna were just astounding but cameras were forbidden.

It was difficult to pick just one photo and I am looking forward to assessing them on the computer and writing up the blog. In the end I plumped for this one of numerous eateries. The quaint shack with cactus really invited me in. I also liked the promise of an entire bottle of Manzanilla with the €20 menu del dia. Maybe next time.