Day 32 - Sevilla

 One month anniversary of being on the ship all together!  We hug it out at breakfast.

The first thing we do in Cadiz is book a train to Sevilla.  Many SASers are on the same train, and we see many of them getting kicked off.  It took us a while to understand, but it turns out the seats on Spanish trains are numbered.  I find this odd and inconvenient, and in the end it was useless.  Halfway through our journey, a number of people start walking through the car looking for seats.  A kid in the neighboring car vomited, and now all the people in that car were looking for new places.

We arrive in Sevilla and search for a particular hostel that is as difficult to find as Platform 9 ¾.  We circle the square where we know it must be several times in search of building #29 ½.  Buildings in Spain aren’t numbered.  We are carrying overnight packs, and we are tired and frustrated and running out of options.  As we are about to give up hope and make camp on the street, we see a sign – a tiny sign – for the hostel tucked away behind a corner and down an alley.  We get checked in at last and explore the best hostel I have stayed in yet.  We book a room for 10 people.  There are three of us; the rest of the beds are vacant.  We have the whole place to ourselves, including the fridge, washing machine, and bathroom, complete with bidet.

We rest up and take care of business – food!  We find a table outside and order paella, a tradition Spanish rice dish usually served with shellfish.  Because Emily is allergic to shellfish, we order a variation: short pasta with meat prepared in the same style.  It is strangely reminiscent of Rice-A-Roni.

Next up, a bullfight!  We had a little drama, but finally managed to get tickets to the bullfight at the last minute.  We had arrived just in time, as the season was closing today.  We were a smidgen apprehensive, but mostly very excited!  By the end of it, we were horrified.  Abby and I could not condone a bit of it, but Emily could find the art in it.  I will not try to convince one way or the other, but it is a very controversial subject, and bullfighting is now banned in several regions, including the Catalonia (Barcelona) and the Canary Islands.

For those that are interested, here is what goes on: First the bull is presented to the matador, who does a move or two but is then quickly joined by other toreros, like assistants.  The group waves their capes to prompt the bull to charge and begins to tire him out.  I was previously under the impression that bulls charge readily, and the art was in avoiding them.  In reality, it is difficult to get the bull to charge, and the art is in motivating him.

The toreros then try to get the bull to charge his horns against a wall while they hide behind it in a space too small for the bull to get through.  An additional feature is that the entire ring has a step built along the bottom so the toreros can hop over the wall to escape from a charge.  A short while later, two men enter on horseback with long lances.  The horses are blindfolded and heavily padded.  One of the men stabs the bull in the neck with the lance, paralyzing the muscles that the bull uses to charge his horns up.  This is done twice and by the same horseman.  This understandably angers the bull, who will usually charge the horse violently.  Once the bull downright lifted the horse off the ground and refused to let it down.  The toreros come in with their capes to try to distract the bull away, then the horsemen leave.

The next step involves stabbing the bull in the back with barbed sticks.  The matador trades in his cape for two sticks, runs up to the bull, and jabs him in the back.  Then he runs for his life.  The other toreros try to distract the bull, but during this stage the matador often hopped over the wall to safety.  Two or three pairs of sticks are jabbed into the bull’s back in this manner.  By this point, the bull is very tired, breathing hard, and bleeding rather heavily from his injuries.  Finally, the matador takes on the bull by himself.  He tries to get the bull to charge as many times in a row as he can.  This is especially difficult because the bull is exhausted.  When there has been enough of a show, the matador brings the bull in close and stabs him in the back with a sword.  The sword punctures the heart or aorta of the bull, who then falls to his knees, then to the ground.

Immediately upon the death of the bull, a train of horses with bells on them is brought in, the bull is roped to them by his horns, and they parade him around the ring.  The entire process is repeated for five more bulls.  The meat is donated to children’s orphanages.  If a matador performs particularly well, the crowd will wave white handkerchiefs at the president of the bullfight.  This entreats the matador to keep an ear from the bull.  The crowd waved their handkerchiefs a couple times while I was there.  Two waves lets him keep both ears; three, the ears and the tail (this is very rare).  The president also has the power to pardon a bull, which spares his life so that he may breed.  I did not see any bulls spared.