Bullfighting

Disclaimer. If bullfighting or the idea of it upsets you skip this page.

Not really caring what people think of me, the idea of paying money to attend a bullfight might seem sick to some but the three of us in discussing the trip had agreed to visit one, if only to say we'd been and witness it for ourselves. It's not a taboo subject but it is interesting how many people have seen it for the same reason. One of the main attractions during the fair is the bullfighting and today was the first day.

Tickets were bought online in advance. The locals can order from the venue ahead of the online tickets being released so don't be too surprised if it looks like lots of seats have sold out when you do get in. Take ID and the email to the ticket booth to the left to collect your tickets. There were lots of touts offering us tickets outside but I can't vouch for how good they are.

The entrance was mobbed with thousands of people queueing for the security checks where the water is taken from you but you can buy more inside; drink up before you go in. They also sell cushions but we coped fine without them.

When buying tickets be aware that there are "sol" and "sombra" seats. Go for the latter as it means you're sitting in the shade.

The opening ceremony had one of the matador chaps ride in and offer something to someone in the crowd. In my ignorance I'll assume he's someone famous. 

The format to the bullfight seemed to follow the same pattern. The bull that is already bleeding from a stab to it's back is sent into the ring where it is teased by the brightly coloured matadors who then try to stab it further in the spine with pairs of spears.

Then two horses are brought each carrying a man with a large spear The horses are armoured and look to be blinded so they can't see what they're going into. The bull is then encouraged to get close at which point the spear is pushed down into its neck deeper than those previously. Sometimes the bull gets under the horse and lifts it up in the air. I can only assume the padding does it's job although we did see one horse limping as they left.

Then it comes down to the main event matador who is either on a horse or on his own teasing the bull with his cape. To be honest the best bit of a bad event was the horse control which was quite amazing to see. It is worth mentioning that at this point the damage has already been done to the bull and it is already dying.

Eventually the matador having stabbed it some more then goes for a more fatal blow with a sword which he puts into the bull horizontally. This renders the bull all but dead which struggles to stay up until it finally collapses, at which point a fat man with a dagger then comes in and does one final stab which kills it properly. The salesmen then flood into the arena selling their wares whilst the bull is dragged off by two horses and the ground is tidied up.

Lets just say there was a resounding cheer from 3 Europeans when one of the bulls caught the matador and flipped him up in the air, but it was a tiny momentary win in a battle the bull can't win. As soon as there's a sign the bull is getting an upper hand the other matadors rush in to distract him.

Obligatory pano. You can see that the sol side isn't as popular.

and that was the bullfight over and done with. We left very early on not wishing to see more than we needed to to confirm our suspicions that this isn't a form of entertainment that can be condoned in any capacity. Throughout the fights we were really wanting the bull to go for the man, not the cape. It's worth mentioning that the crowd were friendly, and welcoming of us. We had a family in front of us and when the first bull died the son broke down and had to have events explained to him by a consoling mother. I can only imagine the Spanish equivalent of "that bull died for your entertainment" wasn't said. 

Completely unrelated. How many sandwiches in this pack, which I bought on the way back to the hotel?

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