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Published: October 14th 2018
"If your mind is empty it is always ready for anything; it is open to everything" Shunayu Sukuki
How true this is. When we set out this morning we had an idea where we were going but little idea what we would find . So this morning I say to you "Hey Up Cowboys" Think Rawhide, think Wagon Train, think gun toting horse riding cowboys and coralls. You are going to need your imagination where we are going today and where you will find Gabby holed up. So where in the World is she? El Rocio - in Andalusia. A place with no tarmacced roads. All the roads are sandy. The wind blows the sand down the street . Where the horse is more prevalent as a form of transport than the car.
In the heart of the Donana National Park we are parked up on a sandy plot in Camping El Rocio. There are hitching posts for horses everywhere. It is not a bad campsite. In fact we have been here before as Glenn reminded me as we drove down the dusty roads. Reception was miserable. As I remember it was last time we were here.
It took a while for the receptionist to find us a pitch on the almost empty campsite . The toilets and showers are good and it is open all year round. There is a small supermarket on site, a bar and a restaurant, Later we will go for a meal there but first how did we get here?
It wasnt the plan to come straight here. ,It was another hot and dusty morning and we had plans or some sort of a plan. We wanted to see the gypsy town of El Rocio population 700 which swells to over a million when the gypsies and cowboys hit town for the fiesta and the parade and veneration of the virgin of El Rocio. It was further than Glenn wanted to drive so the plan started with us stopping the night part way there at Camping Merida . Another campsite we have used in the past . Glenn told me I would definately remember this one when I saw it.
We set Silly for the journey and set out arriving some hours later after negotiating rush hour in Merida . The reception was closed and the notice on the door
suggested we parked up, found a spot and came back at 6 pm to register. Ok we thought and as we drove round the dark and gloomy tree shaded site I started to remember it. The sandy soil, the pine needles everywhere. The lovebirds and the guinea pigs were still in the cages. They looked sorry for themselves caged up. The swimming pool was greener than I remember it and I know I never swam in it last time. It looked as if it had not been cleaned for years. The first electricity box I tried failed to work. Rather than move I juggled a few fuses. Nothing happened so I moved on to a second box. That would not work and we suspected that they were closed off for the winter. A further disconnection took place and we drove to our third parking spot and third box . This one was still not working. By now I had found a Dutch couple and asked if anything worked . It appeared that there had been a fire and the electricity was off. No-one knew if or when it would come on again. Nothing left to do but try the bar
and have a drink. They offered us Tapas . With our eyes closed it was a concoction of eggs, potato and fish . With our eyes open it looked like pigswill. Not the nicest of tapas we have ever tried . In the end Glenn decided that it was time to leave. He preferred to drive two more hours to get to El Rocio where the welcome we hoped would be better.
So that is why we are currently sitting outside on the terrace talking to our neighbours. An elderly man whom I thought was Scottish, His wife was celebrating her birthday. He told me and I thought he was joking that the menu del dia was 10 euros inside and 12 euros outside. I never did work out why it was more expensive outside . He discussed the beans with jam and asked if I had any idea what beans and jam might be. It turned out to be fried tinned beans with jambon - spanish ham. I might just cook some when I get home as they were really tasty . Glenn chose a salad I picked the beans which to be fair were very tasty. I
drank gin and tonic and ate meatballs spanish style for my main course. Glenn chose the pork . The meal was quite good and as conversation flowed it turned out the couple came from St Martins not far from where I used to live . He asked if I knew Stans Shop - famous in St Martins - what an odd conversation to have in the middle of Spain. The waitress brought a cake out for our neighbours, lit a candle and sang Happy Birthday in Spanish . I paid our bill . The waitress undercharged me and came running after me with a different bill and then chased us again with an ice cream for each of us in her hands. It was a lovely evening spent in interesting company. For once we didnt sit like Billy No mates.
The next morning I woke suffering from vertigo and giddiness . Was it something I had eaten last night? Was it the gin or too much of it? She did pour rather a lot in the glass. Was it the low pillow on Gabbys bed? Was it watching the TV from my low captains seat? Looking up gave me
vertigo. I wobbled my way down the van ,prepared breakfast. This has become easier as I have got used to the cooker and what I can cook on it.
After breakfast we set off slowly down the sandy dusty road in to the town of El Rocio. Walking was purgatory with the vertigo and the heat. Eventually we had to sit in a cafe and have a drink just to get off the hot and dusty street. El Rocio looks just as if it has come off a western television set. You can just imagine Clint Eastwood or John Wayne appearing round the corner. It is not hard to imagine gun slingers shooting it out around the white gleaming buildings and their horses hitched up to the hitching posts. We saw one man training his horse . Riding up and down giving it commands . It was like a wild west scene. He shouted at the dog snapping at the horses legs.
The highlight though was the church. Pure white outside it gleamed in the sun. It looked as if money was pouring into it by the second and it was being spent wisely beautifying the building. It was a pilgrimage church for the gypsies and travellers and they poured money in during the fiesta . . Inside was much the same . Open and clean. White everywhere. Not a trace of dark wood in sight. Not an organ just silver chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Wow we thought there is some wealth in those lighting fittings. The gilded altar shone. Around it were hundreds of baskets of flowers. Lilies all fresh and looking as if they were replaced regularly . Folks standing in front of the garish saints and apostles . Taking selfies or pictures of the very serene Virgin of El Rocio. She was perched high up but it was clear to see she was removable and her crowning feature was her face and her hands. Porcelain and so beautifully made. She is carried round on a huge silver bed which was locked up behind bars. We stopped to look at it . Glenn was on his way out and started to put his hat on when I called him back to look at it and to light a candle to the virgin. He forgot his hat and left it on - a cardinal sin, Before we could turn around he was tapped on his shoulder and told to take his offending hat off. Slinking out was all we could do and hoped we had not offended the gun slinging cowboys too much .
There isnt much to El Rocio just the church and a couple of streets but it was worth the drive down to see something a little different. Now what it would look at fiesta time is another thing. All those horses, carts, wagons and colourful costumes it would be a sight to behold .
So after our visit we could say yes our minds were empty when we walked in and when we left we were so glad to spend a morning with not a wall nor a castle in sight.
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jackieandchris2011
Jackie
El Rocio
Wonderful place, especially when its Pentecost! Been there 2x now and its a very moving place! Also worth doing a trip into Donana (spelling?) National Park. Enjoy your travels!