A recent trip to the Spanish town of Peñíscola, on the Costa del Azahar, coincided perfectly with the annual fiestas. This means two weeks of non-stop partying in Peñíscola, plus traditional fun and games.
One of the events we saw was the annual bull running. No picadors or matadors here, just the townspeople out for a bit of bull baiting and a chance to show off how brave they are.
First off, the Daddy Bull gets wheeled out. He's an old timer who goes into the ring at the end of each bull's session to guide them back into their "paddock".
The first bulls to go in are just babies still, which means that the women of the town have a go at running with them. One unsuspecting Granny got mown over by an irate bullock, but apart from that incident nothing major happened.
Then the action hotted up and the women had to leave the ring. Only men and their rather spectacular Euro-style mullets allowed back in.
One by one the bigger, angrier bulls were then unleashed and the men got to show off how nimble and courageous they are by leaping off wooden platforms and into the ring.
It was a lot of fun, and a great taste of Spanish life. If you have a chance to go to any Spanish fiestas you should!
