Seville's Plaza de Toro
 
 
On a scorching hot afternoon, we decided to have a cooling stroll along the Guadalquivir during some free time. Dot and I walked aimlessly along the riverside. We had no destination in mind. Eventually, we came upon the bull ring.
 
We stopped, and discovered that there was a "Museum of bull fighting" inside the grandstand. The museum routinely scheduled tours, and one was about to begin. We bought a ticket. The museum tour included access to all of the facilities--stands for the spectators, holding pens for the bulls, stables for the horses and donkeys, etc. Seville's bull ring is a large place.

 
The entrance ticket (below left) was an art piece in its own right. The charming senorita who escorted us during the museum tour spoke only Spanish. But she did her best to explain the displays and exhibits. We saw a lot of bull fighting paraphernalia. And it wasn't hard to understand the display (on the right) honoring the one--and only--matador who had met his death on the sands of Seville's ring.

 
Until we toured the bull fight stadium, neither Dot nor I had reflected much about the extreme courage that a person must have to enter the bull ring and confront the enraged animal. We felt a bit of awe and admiration when we saw the chapel that each matador visits before going out onto the sand. The chapel helps bring home the life-threatening seriousness of the activity.

 
But the biggest emotional impact came when we visited the place below. Then we truly realized that a mistake in the bull ring isn't at all like a mistake in other sports. Fumble a football, or drop a pass, and you might get cut from the team. But make a mistake in the bull ring, and you're likely to get CUT in a much MORE DRASTIC way! Dot and I were speechless to discover there's an operating room under the stands where surgeons will work frantically to save the life of a gored matador. THAT really emphasized to us the fearless disposition required of a bull-fighter.

 
 

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