We moved on to our next campsite, Camping Roche in Conil de la Frontera, on Friday 20th January. The site is set on the edge of woodland, several sandy beaches and the local town: all are within easy cycling distance from the camp. The only downside is that being set in the countryside does mean we are awakened by cocks crowing, before the crack of dawn, from all the surrounding farms. Always assuming the nightly cacophony of dogs barking hasn’t prevented us from dropping off in the first place. That said, it’s a pretty nice place to be and very warm and sunny to boot.
Today is the festival ‘Romeria of San Sebastian’, a religious procession and pilgrimage in honour of the local patron saint, which is held every year on the Sunday nearest to 20th January. The procession moves the saint from the small town of Conil to the pine forests of El Colorado, with local people following on foot, horseback or in carts adorned with flowers. It’s a big day for the locals and everyone turns out with their family and friends. This celebration is also known as the "Feast of the Palm Heart".
The procession takes most of the day, setting off from Conil at around 8.30am and not passing our campsite until around 12.30 with a couple of miles still to go before they reach El Colorado. It moves at a very leisurely pace and everyone is very jolly. This may be partly due to the fact that some of the carts have barrels of wine on tap at the back. There is a tradition of those processing to wear a small glass on a string around the neck so they can help themselves to liquid refreshment as they go. We watched from the front of a local bar and it took a couple of hours for the procession to pass by us.
The procession arrives
People of all ages in traditional costume on horseback, and the horses are pretty well turned out too
It’s a very noisy affair with strolling pipers, singers and, of course, a lot of drumming
Everyone turns out
Watching from the comfort of the bar terrace These jolly fellows insisted on having a photo taken…?
On the way back to camp Angela saw a long line of caterpillars on the path and commented on this to some fellow campers. They told us that they are processionary caterpillars and warned us that they are dangerous and have killed many dogs and other animals as well as causing real health problems for humans. We had never heard of these before, but it’s a real problem in areas where there are pine trees as this is where they build their white cotton-wool like nests. If the caterpillar is stressed or threatened it can eject its hairs which act a little like harpoons and can penetrate or irritate any exposed skin. Dogs are particularly susceptible as they will pick up the hairs on their paws and then lick them as they start to itch. This then leads to the hairs being transferred on to the animal’s tongue and can result in itching, swelling, vomiting and even death. They also cause severe, long lasting itching and skin irritation in humans as well as respiratory problems.
Any time from February to April,the caterpillars make their way to the ground in a long chain. searching for the next place in their life cycle and it was one of these chains that Angela spotted, before looking up and seeing a nest. Nests have to be removed by specialists.
Processionary caterpillars in the nest Processionary caterpillars on the move
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