Obviously each of the towns holding their own celebrations will adapt the proceedings according to their own traditions. Since 1981, for example, when local scuba divers placed an image of the Virgin on the sea bed, a part of the tradition in Malaga has involved divers paying their own respects to their underwater patron. In Puerto de la Cruz in Tenerife doves are released when the Virgin is taken onto the boat.

Always fascinating for visitors, the Día de la Virgen is similar to many of the traditional Spanish festivals in that it manages to combine religious devotion with a seemingly endless capacity for partying – without any sense of incongruity. Being held in the middle of a Spanish summer, barbecues on the beach feature strongly in many places – and very late nights, of course.

Alicante, Nerja, Estepona, Port de Soller, Torremolinos and Almería are among the larger towns that enjoy notable Día de la Virgen del Carmen festivals, along with smaller places such as La Cala and Rincon de la Victoria near Malaga. All of them follow the same basic procedures, whilst acknowledging their patroness in their own special ways.

Always a stirring celebration, and often profoundly moving, Día de la Virgen days are amongst the most important celebrations in Spain, often uniting visitors and local inhabitants who together symbolically acknowledge the need for protection for ‘those in peril on the sea’.