Note to self: when you are about to upload some pictures and a box pops up that says "Are you sure you want to permanently delete these files?" think before clicking OK. This happened before I transferred the pictures to my computer, so I couldn't even find them in the recycle bin. So if you want to see pictures of Ronda, Google it: https://www.google.es/search?q=ronda&espv=210&es_sm=93&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=FyaRUt_AFeSk0QXo3YGgDQ&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=666#es_sm=93&espv=210&q=ronda+spain&tbm=isch
My trip today was really cool though. We took a walking tour and saw really pretty mountains and bridges, the Arab Baths, and the Plaza de Toros. I learned some interesting things about bullfighting here. I knew that a lot of Spaniards are disgusted with bullfighting, and hate that this is what their country is known for. But then other people think that it is an important part of their culture. Today I learned what really happens during these bloody spectacles.
They take bulls that have been out in the fields their whole lives, "living like kings" in the words of my tour guide, and put them in little dark cells for a few hours. I got to step inside one of them. It was pretty small for such a big animal. After being deprived of sunlight for a few hours, the bull is mad. This is all that it takes: they don't need to drug them or anything else like that. As soon as the bull sees the sunlight again, he charges, right into the bullring. Then the torero gives them an initial strike with a spear to test out the bull's reaction. If the bull refuses to fight, they send him to the butcher. So, although they are purposely making the bull angry and provoking him, they don't actually force him to fight. The other good thing is that it's possible for the bull to "win" the fight. If the torero surrenders, they send the bull to the veterinarian, and then after he is healthy again let him go back out into the fields. I don't think this happens very often, but at least it's a possibility. The bull is not sentenced to certain death. Also, it's a requirement for there to be a human hospital and a bull hospital on the premises at the Plaza de Toros.
I'm sure the actual fighting and killing part is really brutal (people have told me that it's hard to watch), but apart from that, the bulls have a pretty sweet life. The part that actually bothered me most was when the tour guide told us that until the 1920's, the horses didn't have any sort of protection, and during the course of the fight, one bull would kill up to eight horses. But the arenas were getting way too bloody, so they made a law that said the horses needed to wear a protective garment. In all, I think bullfighting is a dangerous and disgusting thing that I would never want to witness or be a part of (It reminds me of ancient Rome, where people would watch slaves fight each other to the death for fun. I just don't get the appeal.), but it's less cruel than other things that people do to animals or even other people. These bulls have way better lives than the animals that are born into factory farms or puppy mills. I thought it was cool to see where it happened, and how it was an exciting show for some people.
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