After a wonderful (and very windy) family picnic yesterday, several of us decided to “walk off the calories” climbing to the top of nearby Pico Matius Simao, a tall rocky outcrop near Altares, towering above farmlands, villages, and the on the very edge of the Atlantic ocean. Up there we met a very friendly farmer who helped us identify distant sights, gave us directions to another great trail to hike, and described some of the recent storm damage which washed away streets in nearby villages. Never got his name, just a very friendly guy showing some Canadian friends around his island.
The next time I saw him he was desperately grasping a cement power pole on the main street while an angry bull tried to vent it’s hostilities on the guy hanging above the bull. Perhaps an explanation is in order?
After the man’s group left the Pico (in a classic VW Beetle – I’d say circa 1968 to 1970 or so) they were off to nearby Quatro Ribeiro to watch one of the islands 5 street bullfights for yesterday’s Portuguese holiday. It was a small crowd (about 1,000 or so), winds had died down somewhat, and four bulls. The first bull was easily tired out, the second charged toward a crowd behind a cement wall and broke a tip off a horn, and the third bull had energy and charged toward the same crowd, egged on by several skilful folks teasing with umbrellas and red cloth. The gentleman in question was leaning on a power pole in a yard about 1 meter above street level, protected by the cement wall, when the bull decided he’d had enough. Mr. Bull jumped over the wall, chased some of the folks around a nice family’s front yard, and then spied our farmer friend by the power pole. Bull charged, and our new friend clambered up the pole, where he hung on for about 3 minutes before the bull was pulled back into the street.
You’d have to understand the Terceira fascination with street bullfights (Search YouTube for Terceira Bullfights, there are many there!). Bullfights are an island tradition dating back to the middle 1400’s; they provide sport for the people, do not harm the bulls, a great social environment, a boost for local economies, a great chance for young guys (and some not so young) to show off for girls, young ladies and wives, spend a few hours and have days worth of conversation.
If someone had told me 25 years ago that I’d be sitting on a wall around a church built in 1451 watching a friendly farmer get “treed” by an angry bull for holiday fun, I would have been EXTREMELY skeptical. Yet here I am, loving it, sometimes having so much fun getting to know people, history and culture, and yes, drinking a bier or two with friends and family.
Makes me wonder who I’ll meet next, or where:)