Accidental Bull Fighting

While you might be getting tired of hearing about the bull fights, the islanders are not quite finished.  In fact, there is a few more weeks in the bull fighting season.  Ryan and I personally thought we were done for a little bit after the one at our house, but it turned out, that was not the case.

That Sunday night we decided we NEEDED some local made ice cream from Sao Mateus, which is one of two places that makes their own ice cream on the island for sale.  Sao Mateus is a cute little town just west of Angra, which is the major city on the island and a UNESCO world heritage site.  Off to Sao Mateus we went, but as we approached, we found some major traffic and realized we just drove ourselves into a mess of cars parked all over the place in hopes of catching this extreme bull fight.  I say extreme, and you will see why.

We had to park a little further past the bull fight are because there was no where, and I mean no where to park in this village.  But, the location was beautiful and we stopped to take some pictures.
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They have a great walking path at this location.
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I also stopped to take a picture of their very colorful spirit house.
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They have a great looking church here.  Actually, the island is very Catholic and there is a church just about everywhere you look.  But some are more attractive than others.
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The ice cream place happens to be across from the church, which makes for a great place to sit and eat outside.
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I went with chocolate chip and caramel.  They were both good, but the chocolate chip was more like ice milk.
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We decided since we wound up in the middle of this craziness that we would stay because it was late and likely only 1 bull remained, and the location was insane.  They let the bull go out on the boat docks in their little marina area.
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I am very lost when it comes to the US and the whole food truck thing, but I keep reading about this on blogs, and I imagine this is similar:
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There were tons of carts with traditional foods, and while most bull fights have 1-2 of these with beer and bifana sandwiches (a pork sandwich), this location allowed for multiple carts to set up shop with a variety of foods.

It might be hard to see, but the bull is loose across the way.
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Some people were in the ocean before the bull even came near them.
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Others were out in boats and rafts floating in the harbor.
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Here are some more videos.  I nearly had a heart attack when the bull wrapped himself on the peg and then fell in the ocean, but I was glad to see the rope was let loose and the bull was not hung, but rather had to swim to shore.  It is in one of these videos, and I stopped it when the bull fell, but then started again when i realized the bull was not with a broken neck.







This last shot was taken as we were leaving.  I love how the locals decorate for festivals and genuinely have a good time, despite the occasional bull accident.
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QUESTIONS:  What was the last festival you attended?  Have you eaten from a food truck recently?

10 comments:

Beth said...

Looks like a crazy event for sure! They sure do love bull fighting in the Azores!

Rachel Lauren said...

HAHAHA I love it! That looked like an awesome bull fight. (why did I type bifanas first??)

As for food trucks, they haven't quite hit Baltimore yet. A lot of other cities have a lot of cool ones. Baltimore has a burger wagon, which is owned by a burger joint in town. And a new burrito truck called Curbside Cafe! I tried the burrito truck at Hampdenfest last weekend and it was GOOD! They have a lot of vegan options, which is nice cause food truck usually brings to mind, unhealthy and greasey, so a healthy option from a food truck is awesome. I got a grilled veggie/tofu burrito and a edamame/corn/black bean salad. They also had things like channa masala burrito! hmmm. Hampden had/has(?) a grilled cheese cart.. I'm not sure if the guy still does it though.

Oh, and Chris wants to open a Bifana truck in Baltimore.

Unknown said...

I wish we had some more food trucks! there's Koopers (burgers) and one with cupcakes...but that's kinda it. Koopers does a lovely turkey burger and also has sweet potato fries, yum!

Someone who lives in my house, who is not me but whose name rhymes with CAT does not really enjoy crowds, so we haven't been to a festival in a while! BOO!

sophia said...

YES! That's very similar to food trucks here in LA, though I don't know if they also use social media like the ones we have here.

You always have the best fun, Melinda! You're not missing anything!

Jessie said...

Oh my goodness! My heart just about stopped when I saw that bull thrashing on the corner of the dock and then disappear! I'm glad the bull was ok. These bullfights are crazy! I think I would be a little nervous stumbling onto a bullfight.

Well, at least you had ice cream :)

Simply Life said...

ooh this makes me want to find a festival around! that ice cream looks so good!

Gina; The Candid RD said...

I love these videos!! The culture there is just so different from the US. It's really amazing. You know, I would be interested in running with the bulls if I have a body of water to run into in order to escape!

I have not eaten from a food truck in YEARS. They aren't very prevalent around here and most of them come out realllly late, which of course means I don't see them because I'm in bed :)

Special K said...

I had a donor kebab a month or so ago from a truck...very good hummus...

Hey! I found a three day cooking course in Italy in the winter that I was going to check out. Maybe THAT would be a cool thing to do together. I am still interested in Istanbul for New Years Eve if you'd can consider it.

Ameena said...

I can't watch these videos because the idea of bull fighting just makes me so sad...sorry, I don't mean to put a damper on your amazing adventures but I am such an animal lover and I can't bear to see them so confused and hurt!

I'm stepping off my soap box now to say that I don't get the food truck craze. I have never eaten off of one and probably won't because if I'm going to eat out I like it to be served to me while I'm sitting down in a restaurant. :)

chow and chatter said...

wow this is really funny poor bull

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