the+BULLFIGHT

=**PLAZA de TOROS de MIJAS**= Sunday morning we took a “stroll” up to the Shrine of the Calvario which is situated above the village on the side of the mountain. Built in 1710 it was used by the barefoot Carmelite brothers as a retreat (we reckoned, being barefooted, after scrambling up this extremely rocky path they would need weeks to get over it). It is only opened a couple of times a year (Easter Friday and Lent) but the view is spectacular! After our bit of religion in the morning we prepared ourselves for the “other” Spanish religion – bullfighting, in the evening. It was quite expensive but we decided that we had to see this great tradition, which is so part of their culture, whilst we had the opportunity – if we really didn’t like it we could always leave. Mijas has a small, square shaped ring perched on the edge of a bluff. Being so small full scale bullfights cannot take place so picadors, mounted on horses are not possible. Basically it is limited to fighting of 2 year old bulls called novillos which are fought by young beginning bullfighters called novilleros – many of Spain’s greatest bullfighters have fought here over the years on their way up the ranks to fight bigger bulls in bigger bullrings. The young bullfighters were definitely young but the bulls looked big and fierce enough for us (and we were 3 seats back above the wall!) The bulls are tired somewhat by men who wave pink capes which it chases in vain from side to side of the ring – the cape-wavers dash behind barriers as the bull charges. Two “banderilleros”(?) stick pairs of darts into the bull’s back before the matador finally enters the ring flourishing his red cape. These guys have //attitude// to spare! They salute the crowd, goad the bull and generally //perform//.
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We saw three bullfights, each taking about 20-30 minutes. When the bull is almost completely spent the matador is given a sword which he has to place deep between the bull’s shoulders to kill it. The first two did OK but the third guy (who up until then had been excellent getting numerous “Ole’s”) had a few problems and had to try 4 times before succeeding. Despite that we actually enjoyed the spectacle, admired the courage and bravery of the young bullfighters and appreciated the sense of tradition surrounding it. We finished off the day with dinner and a few drinks in a bar watching Real Madrid playing Serville with the volume set at LOUD!!