This festival is new to me, looks like a great close-to-the-ground travel experience opportunity
Quote:
It has grown into one of world’s largest, most unique Catholic pilgrimages. For days before Pentecost weekend, about a million people do the “romería del Rocío” in swirling clouds of dust that’s as pervasive and natural as the faithful’s devotion.
see also the photo essay here:
El Rocío appears difficult to reach unless you have a rental car. One of the contributors from Barcelona (I believe) likened the town to something out of the old west. It’s on my “to visit” list the next time I’m in that area.
El Rocío is a small hamlet in the province of Huelva, southwest of Spain. It´s not "San Rocío", as there´s no saint involved here, but a huge pilgrimage to the small church where the Virgen del Rocío is kept (practically every Spanish town has its own "Virgin", normally named after where she "appeared", and many women take their name from the name of the local Virgin). It´s of course much better to visit it off season, this small town is on sandy terrain and the beaches nearby are really outstanding, as well as many towns in the area. Spaniards are not much Catholic or religious any longer (mass attendance is around 14% and civil weddings around 90%), but we do love our traditions, many of them linked to religion.
There is also a good, fairly new hotel in the town now, owned by the Kaizen group, who own Don Ramon in Sevilla and Palacio Maria Luisa in Jerez--both of which are wonderful hotels.
