Going all the way back to September, I went to a running of the bulls type even in a little town 10 minutes from Toledo. There were a good 10-12 of us students probably who went. One of the guys, Willie, who also went to Grenada with me, decided it would be a good idea to actually run with the bulls! Afterwards he said it was the one of the biggest adrenaline rushes he's ever had in his life! This little town, called Olias del Rey, was having a festival thing and on Saturday morning they did the bull run. It was cool to see. Nothing like the most famous one up in Pamplona, but for a first-timer, pretty cool. They had the path blocked off with a tall iron barricade, but with wide enough spaces between the bars for people to slide through, but narrow enough that a bull couldn't go through. The runners were being chased by the bulls, which were released one at a time (there were 3 total I think? If I remember right...) but some of the braver guys would hang back and provoke the bulls with red sweatshirts, towels etc...to get the bull to chase.
 |
| They had plywood attached to the barricade around the outside edge of the corner |
 |
| Waiting |
Along the same lines as the running of the bulls, I have also seen a bullfight. This happened one Sunday in October. 10 of us went up to Madrid to see the last bullfight of the season. It was a two hour event with six bulls each getting their own 20 minutes and matadors in their characteristic sparkly outfits with red and pink capes. Four of us stayed for the whole two hours, and the rest left at the end of the first half. It was really interesting actually, and I have to admit, I enjoyed it. It wasn't anything like I expected. Yes, at the end of the ordeal, there were six dead bulls, but I had no idea how much of a production a bullfight really is. It was like a work of art. A dance. It was very methodical, rhythmic, intricate. It flowed. Towards the end, the main matador looked almost like he was seducing the bull. And at the end, morbid and ironic though it may sound, when the bull had lost enough blood and lay down to die, someone would come out right away to slice through it's spinal cord, putting it out of all misery.
And then, a few weeks after that, I went on another day trip adventure, this time to see the windmills that the legendary Don Quixote fought against in his epic saga....and much to our surprise, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza were there!
"At this point they caught sight of thirty or forty windmills which were standing on the plain there, and no sooner had Don Quixote laid eyes upon them than he turned to his squire and said, 'Fortune is guiding our affairs better than we could have wished; for you see there before you, friend Sancho Panza, some thirty or forty lawless giants which whom I mean to do battle. I shall deprive them of their lives, and with the spoils from this encounter we shall begin to enrich ourselves, for this is righteous warfare and it is a great service to God to remove so accursed a breed from the face of the earth.'
'What giants?' said Sancho Panza.
'Those that you see there,' replied his master, 'those with the long arms some of which are as much as two leagues in length.'
'But look, your Grace, those are not giants but windmills, and what appear to be arms are their wings which, when whirled in the breeze, cause the millstone to go.'
'It is plain to be seen,' said Don Quixote, 'that you have had little experience in this matter of adventures. If you are afraid, go off to one side and say your prayers while I am engaging them in fierce, unequal combat.'" (
 |
| Got turf? (yes, this really is turf...not grass.) |
I think this is enough for now. Plus the fact that my computer is going to die on me soon and I need to do some homework on it before it dies. Happy Wednesday! Look again tomorrow for a special Thanksgiving edition! Love you!
No comments:
Post a Comment