Palavas se trouve pres de la mer. C'est une petite ville toujours en vacances, pleine de touristes. Samedi, il y avait aussi des concours avec des taureaux et des vaches sauvages. Les guardians de Camargue ont montre comment ca marche a la ferme chez eux. Les fermiers ont accompagne les taureaux dans les rues. Tres genial.
Montpellier is near the Mediterranean Sea and so on Saturday, my hostess very kindly offered to take me to the beach. You can see the length of the beach from the photos I took in both directions. We just about walked the full distance you can see.
Then we visited the town of Palavas. There was a real holiday, party mood in town.The reason became obvious. There were competitions in the arena with up and coming bull fighters and also farmers from the Camargue showing their skills in herding these bulls and wild cows with their world famous horses. In spite of barricades lining the streets, many risked injury or even death to run behind these wild animals. The activities in the arena were tame in comparison but one of the young contestants was injured when he landed on the horns of the bull he was flipping over. There is great pride in these activities and it is one way to prove your courage to your peers. Even very young children were copying their heroes in the arena during the break. Yes, I went to a bull ring! I was told there would be no violence. What I saw was animals being teased and played with, certainly no weapons. I'm not sure how much they enjoyed the teasing.
No comments:
Post a Comment