Yesterday, we left Trujillo in the morning and drove south to the Andalucia region of Spain, to the small and unique town of El Rocio. It was another sunny day and we birded at a few stops along the way. El Rocio is located on the edge of Donana (spelled and pronounced with a tilde over the first n) wetlands, a national park. We arrived around 5 p.m. which is peak tapas time and happy hour. It was also Andalucia Day, a holiday for the region that commemorates the start of the provincial autonomy. So there were lots of people in town, probably many who came for a day trip from Seville.
One thing that makes El Rocio unique is that the streets in the town center are just sand, not paved. That’s because lots of the locals ride their horses into town at tapas time to socialize on horseback. They also have horse-drawn carriages that families take rides in, drinks in hand, talking to other people they know who are also in carriages or on horseback. So the downtown is a crazy mix of horses, carriages, and cars. And bars all over the place with places to tie up your horses while you go inside, or high bars where you’re served drinks while you are still on horseback.
Dinner was at 8 p.m. before the hotel restaurant got busy with Spaniards. A macaroni starter, tuna steak with vegetables, a cherry mousse for dessert and of course…what?…WINE! The bars were still busy and loud after dinner, but with ear plugs I brought along, I had no trouble getting to sleep. I think the bars were quiet by 3 a.m. or so.
This morning was foggy to start, but cleared up and was sunny by noon. After our buffet continental breakfast at the hotel restaurant, we drove to more wetlands and the coast near the city of Huelva. And we saw lots of birds. Pau is an excellent guide who knows just where to go to find lots of birds, new species each day. Today we saw many shorebirds near the Atlantic and in the wetlands.
The other unique thing about El Rocio is the pilgrimage/commemoration that takes place here every May. A commemoration of the miracle of seeing the Virgin Mary in a drop of water, which happened here at some time in the past. Evidently, thousands of people come here at that time each year. Two of the Spaniards in Vaughan Town last week told me about it. I haven’t researched it myself, so take that story with a grain of salt.
Lori's Travels 