Locals from the town of Almonte started the procession of the Virgen del Rocío at just after five past three this morning after a nearly two hour wait, invading the hermitage, and jumping the gate, according to tradition. The procession started slightly earlier than last year when it began at 3.14am following several unsuccessful attempts by some of the town's more elderly pilgrims.

Thousands of pilgrims have flocked to the sanctuary of the Blanca Paloma (White Dove) in Almonte (Huelva) for the procession that will continue until midday today. The tradition is for the pilgrims to make their way to the sanctuary during the week prior to Pentecost by horseback, cart or on foot through the surrounding salt marshes, sleeping under the stars.

This is the third time in three weeks that the Virgin has been paraded as this year coincides with the 'Venida de la Virgen' (The Coming of the Virgin), which occurs once every seven years. As a result the icon has been kept at the Asunción parish church in the town and not at the sanctuary, where it normally reposes. The first procession was on the 21st May, when, like today it was dressed as a Queen. The second was five days later, when it was dressed as a shepherdess and paraded from the town to the sanctuary in a ceremony lasting five hours.

From tomorrow the 105 Brotherhoods taking part will begin their journeys back to their home towns located throughout the provinces of Huelva, Cádiz and Sevilla.