Andalucia November 2000
Don Porter
12/14/2000 |
Parque Nacional Coto Doņana, El Rocío
|
|
The Guadalquivir River flows south into the Atlantic from Seville. The last
40 miles goes through a broad swampy marshland, where nobles have set up hunting
estates and lodges for many centuries. This century much of the marshland, with
adjoining forest and dunes and beaches, has been preserved as the National Park
of Doņana. This "everglades of Europe" is home for lots of wildlife,
especially featuring millions of migrating waterfowl. Unfortunately, the rainy
season starts after we were there, so the marshes were fairly dry and the birds
were mostly elsewhere. We did see, in a tree, an Imperial Eagle, but it was
not very close. The town of El Rocío is on the edge of Doņana, and is the home
of the annual pilgrimage "Romeria Doņana" when lots of rowdy hermandades
(fraternities) gather to carry the statue of the virgin around and party.
