Ever since I was young, I had always known that bullfighting was a very important part of the Spanish culture.  I had seen pictures of bullfights and bullrings and was eager to learn more about the tradition once I arrived in Spain.
       After arriving in Spain, my Spanish host family taught me that there are two types of bull-related events that Spaniards attend.  The first one is a traditional bullfight, or una corrida de toros, and the other one is a mock-bullfight, or una capea.
      Since I've always been a bit of a squeamish person, I was delighted when my Spanish host family invited me to see a capea in the outskirts of Toledo instead of a traditional bullfight.
      The following are photos I took of the capea's most exciting moments!  Take a look and experience it for yourself!

 

       In the middle of the afternoon, the capea's action paused allowing all of us time to get something to drink and just relax in the afternoon sun!  Here are some photos of my Spanish host family and I enjoying the afternoon as well as the beginnings of a barbecue that occurred later that evening.

       Soon after enjoying the delicious barbecue, night began to fall and the capea's main action slowly ended.  After a very long but extremely fun and educational day, my host family and said goodbye to our new friends before beginning our journey back to Toledo.
      Well this is all for now, I hope you have enjoyed my tenth post!  In my next post I will explore the enchanting Spanish tradition of Flamenco!