This town ain't big enough for the both of us.

No, you're not mistaken. This guy is riding
 in a cart in a plastic lawn chair being pulled by a mini tractor.  Unfortunately you
can't see the beer in his hand.

Dirt road and horses and big fancy churches, oh my!  My roomies and I decided to take a day trip to a small town called El Rocio.  I really had no idea what to expect, just that I knew it was small and pretty because we passed it on our way to the beach back in October.  So we hopped on the bus and went to check it out. Stepping off that bus was like stepping into another world.  First off, this small town is famous all throughout Spain for its grand church with a giant ornate statue of the Virgin Mary, or La Virgen del Rocio.  Every year, 10 weeks after Easter, millions - yes millions - of people from all around Spain flock to this tiny town for the pilgrimage of El Rocio.  The only paved road was the main one that came into town.  Otherwise, the town is full of quaint dirt roads.  But before you notice the dirt roads, you can't help but be distracted by the horses - they're everywhere.  Kids on horses, adults on horses, carts being pulled by horses, everything from mini ponies to giant Clydesdale.  It was as if I stepped out of Spain and into a Clint Eastwood movie...not that I've actually seen any Clint Eastwood movies (sorry, Dad).  Anyways, we went into the church to see what all the fuss was about, and it really is quite impressive, inside and out.  There was a mass of some sort going on, so we stayed for a few minutes then left to explore the rest of the town.  The was a big lagoon type thing with flamingos in it and lots of cute ceramic shops.  Overall, a really pretty little town. It was actually kind of annoying that people were driving around in cars, because there seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the flow of traffic, at least none that I could figure out. Horses really were the center of the culture though.  Everyone was dressed in super preppy horse-riding clothes and there were even bars with spots outside the were reserved for people on horses. The bars were raised so that people could set their food and drink down without ever having to get down from their horse.  I was really blown away, but I also felt really out of place.  I had enjoyed our few hour stay, but I have to admit, I couldn't wait to get back to Sevilla.

Me outside of the famous church.

The inside view of the church, and up front you can see La Virgen del Rocio in all her glory.  








Here we have some pretty equestrian aficionados enjoying a beer.

Little man, little cart, little pony.