We arrived to El Rocio, España on Monday afternoon and needless to say, it felt like we stepped back in time five or six centuries. As you will see in the pictures, the town of El Rocio has been preserved quite nicely and really holds a nostalgic feel of how the town probably look centuries ago. It really reminded us of our visit to Villa de Leyva in Colombia and how the town also maintained a lot of its former colonial look. Most of the streets in the town are not paved and made for a nasty walk Monday night as it was raining. El Rocio is famous for the Hermitage and is the destination of over a million pilgrims who annually visit the town. Pope John Paul II even visited this small outpost in 1993 so its importance as a pilgrimage destination is unquestioned.
We stayed in a wonderful little campground just outside the town for the low cost of 20€ a person. We ate lunch at a quaint little restaurant where the picture of the trip was taken. Izzy decided to order some fish and by mistake, she asked the waiter what he recommended. That was misstep number one. Misstep number two was blindly ordering what he recommended without looking the word up in the dictionary as none of the seven of us knew what type of fish it was and two of us are pretty fluent in Spanish. As we were munching on bread and salads, the food started coming out two dishes at a time. After a few of us were served, Izzy's plate arrived and on it was a giant cooked squid on a plate. If you see the word choco on the menu, that is what it is.
After lunch, we wondered through the town and at times back in time. The Hermitage was established by Alfonso the Wise around 1270. He expelled the Moors from the area and fell in love with the now National Park of Doñana because of its large deer population and natural beauty. He had a church built and named for the statue of El Rocio. Over the years, it's undergone repairs from damage suffered by the likes of earthquakes and fighting. It's an amazing place. Just outside the church, we saw a lot of people buying lottery tickets and then taking them into the church and to pray that Rocio would bless their ticket with luck. The Spanish really know how to put their religion to work.
After this, we headed to the area's other main attraction, the Doñana National Park. It's home to lots of wildlife such as the Iberian lynx and tons of species of birds as well hiking. As we drove in, we saw signs warning of us of the lynxes but we never saw one. We parked at the hunting lodge or Acebrón Palace built by Luis Espinosa. For a few Euros, you can take a stroll through the palace or stroll around the lake and nature trails taking in the views and fresh air for free. We chose to do both.
We finished our night by playing some games, eating a wonderful meal at a local restaurant, and preparing for the long haul back to Madrid. Upon returning to Madrid, we were pleasantly satisfied with the fact that our extra insurance purchase would be put to good use in fixing the tire that was damaged on the way to Seville Friday night and all ended well.
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