Plaza de Toros
The bullring in Ronda is one of the oldest and most venerable in all of Spain. Underneath the seats (opposite the business end, where the bulls are kept) is a museum of bullfighting. A few years ago, a film was made here of Carmen, with Placido Domingo.
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I went through a Hemmingway stage. After I read Death in the Afternoon, I felt a slightly horrid fascination with the idea of bullfighting. I saw a bullring from the outside in Portugal and got a bit of a shiver from it. So the bullring in Ronda intrigued me.
The entrada to the Ronda bullring and museum of bullfighting is a bit steep (10 euros), and Craig balked. I said, no way was I going to travel all this way and not see the Ronda bullring because of a few dollars. He came with me.
At first, I was taken with the yellow packed dirt and the circle of seats. But when I got inside and began to see the chutes and ropes, I had a somewhat sick feeling. It felt like I was taking a lighthearted tour of a death camp. Craig said it was animal cruelty pure and simple. I was glad we went, but I couldn’t help feeling the same.
The next morning, we drove to Jerez en route to Sevilla. Jerez is wine country - sherry country to be precise. But instead of visiting the bodegas, we headed for the Real Escuela del Atre Ecuestre!
Next: Jerez de la Frontera
