The Virgin of Carmen is the patron saint of fishermen, and on her feast day the whole village turns out to honour her. Her image is shouldered through the streets of La Cala and carried down to the water's edge, where local boatmen take over. From there she's lifted onto a fishing boat and brought out onto the sea, with people lining the beach to watch her go.
It's an unhurried, heartfelt sort of fiesta rather than a tourist spectacle, so come for the atmosphere as much as the procession itself. The date is fixed at 16 July each year, and there's nothing to book or pay for. Just turn up, find a spot on the sand among the families, and watch a small coastal community do something it has done for generations.
