El Rocío

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I've spent almost three weeks in El Rocío now.
It is a very unique place.

I spent two of those weeks as a volunteer with the annual bird ringing project in Doñana. That was a fantastic experience. My colleagues were brilliant, very patient with an Irishman whose Spanish is not as good as it should be, they all had great English, and who didn't know the scientific names for the birds we handled. I have a lot of homework to do.

I got to see several lifers, cettis warbler, reed warbler and garden warbler. And become more familiar with species I see at home.

It's been wet and windy since Saturday so I stayed put. I did get to see the lynx again. So it was well worth it.

The rain cleared yesterday so I took the opportunity to cycle to Acebron and Acebuche. The palace at Acebron is spectacular. Unfortunately the trails at Acebuche were still closed. So I have yet to see the lagoons there. Maybe tomorrow.

When I arrived here the lake, Madre de las Marismas was a parched grassland. I have been very fortunate to see it transform into a thriving eetland in the space of a week. There are thousands of birds on it now.

As I said, El Rocio is unique. The horse rules here. Sandy streets and hitching posts outside almost every property. I have never sat on a horse before. More than one person has expressed disbelief at this, Irish and never been on a horse, on my travels. So I decided El Rocio was the perfect place to remedy this.

Today I signed up for a two hour trail ride into the edge of the forest and around the town. Luckily my horse, Gavilán, was great. To me it felt like being thrown in at the deep end. I was very nervous for the first ten minutes or so. Then I got more relaxed and really enjoyed it.

I don't think I've earned my Stetson quite yet, but I'll definitely give horse riding another go.

For now it's back on the bike. Time to move on from El Rocio.

The birdlife here is amazing at the moment. I plan to do the next blog concentrating on the birds.

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Photos

Ermita de el Rocío
This was the view of the church from the park every morning when we went to set up the mist nets.

Lynx.
There is a location right on the edge of the village where you have a reasonable chance of lynx spotting.

Sunset at Matalascanas
Only 15km down the road.

Wheatears at Matalascañas.
Come on. Morocco is just over there.

Statue to Los Tamborileros. El Rocío
And to birds!

Palacio de Acebron
About 10km from El Rocio. Magnificent buildi g.

Where's the handkebars?
Not the view I'm used to.

This is what a cyclist looks like on horseback.
Me and Gavilán.