Sierra de Aracena & Bullfight

On Friday, I went on an excursion with my group to Sierra de Aracena. We woke up early and got on the bus for the 1.5 hour journey up to this mountain range of the Sierra Morena. 

We arrived in the village of Aracena to begin our two hour climb to our lunch spot. 

The sky looked very ominous, but we all came prepared with raincoats. As we started our walk, we were greeted by some happy pigs in a big pig pen. If you knew me between the ages of 8-13ish, you know that I was completely obsessed with pigs. I even didn't eat any pig meat for about five years! Needless to say, you can imagine my excitement.

The hike was... LONG. We went at a pretty quick pace, and there were so many rocks and other rough terrain that made it hard to ever look up from the ground. However, we took occasional stops to appreciate the stunning, mountainous scenery around us.

Olivia, Kathleen, Me, Caroline

One of the coolest parts of this hike was the random animal farms we saw along the way. Besides the pigs in the beginning of the hike, we saw cows, donkeys, horses, dogs, cats, and more!

We stopped for lunch in another small town up in the mountains. All of our host moms had prepared bocadillos (sandwiches) for us to eat. Eva (my host mom) always comes through with the food. My chorizo & sharp cheese sandwich on a soft baguette was just what I needed to refuel for the second half of our hike!

After an hour-long lunch break, we started back up again. Of course, we stopped to get a picture of our awesome crew. I can't say enough how thankful I am to have met such awesome friends so quickly! They have made everything so much easier. Love my Sevillanas! :) (That means you, Carolina!)

The next day, Saturday, we slept in and had a calm morning at home in preparation for the event later that day: the bullfight. Our student group (API) had gotten us tickets for the show, and we knew that it was too big of a part of the Spanish culture to miss. So, we got dressed up and went to the Plaza de Toros, the bullring in Sevilla that I mentioned in my last post. The building is so beautiful and so "Sevilla."

Plaza de Toros- I actually snapped this picture from the bus on the way back from Sierra de Aracena the day before!

Clara from BC!

Selfies in anticipation!

I was a little nervous about seeing six bulls be killed. My host mom tried to help explain some of the cultural aspects: the order of events, the music, the costumes, etc. It definitely helped to try to think about it as more of a cultural show, rather than just animals getting murdered. That is not to say that it wasn't sad, but I am glad I stayed the whole time to get to know about something that has been an important part of my new country's culture for centuries. I'm not sure if I'd return though...

One of the torreros walking around the ring after what was considered an exceptional match.

And then we danced the night away in the rain...

¡Chao!

A