Black Bulls and White Horses Part 3
As the last bullfight was ending we slipped out of the stands and headed over to the south gate of the town wall. We knew that as soon as the final bullfight was over the bulls would be run back through town to the field where we started the day. When they come through the gate they will run straight down a long street and out the north gate. There were heavy steel barriers on both sides of the street. This might be something to see.
When we got to the inside of the south gate there wasn't much of a crowd yet. I had a really good spot right next to another photographer but then I made a big rookie mistake. I wandered over to the barriers where Jeanne Marie was watching and didn't realize how fast the people from the arena would cram in here and how few of them would stay behind the barriers. I lost my good spot and was now jostling around with this mob of a couple of hundred insane people, trying to get a clear shot at just a few seconds of action. I say insane because once again we underestimated the level of risk they would take just for the fun of it. Two gentlemen in particular, both well into middle age, thought it was fun to stand right in the middle of the archway until they could hear the thunder of the hooves, and then run in front of the bull and horses to the sidelines. This of course did nothing for my pictures.
Below is a video of the first run of the bulls as they flashed by.
Again we were shaking our heads. We could hardly believe what we were seeing. Everyone wanted to touch the bull, especially his horns.
I finally got into position to get some clear shots.
Notice all the people in the background in the picture above. They are all inside the steel barriers which is about to lead to some interesting encounters. You see, the gardians have to guide the bull around this left turn through the archway. It didn't always go as planned.
"Ooops! What happened to my bull?" Mr. Bull didn't make the turn. Now he's out there with those three hundred people inside the barrier.
Below we get another bull that didn't make the turn. You can just see his tail disappearing past the arch. This time the consequences were not so benign.
The victim did get up and hobble off on his own steam. Three of the nine bulls got loose in the crowd. Below are pictures of the third. None of this seemed to persuade anyone to get behind the barriers.
So that was our excellent adventure in Aigues-Mortes. If you want to see more of the festival I've attached below some youtube videos. The first one has footage from the entire 11 days including the opening ceremony. The second one starts off slow but it picks up around the 5:50 mark. Then shortly after that point you will be seeing footage from the day we were there. The third one is from 2022. I think you will have to copy & paste the web address into your browser and they may open in the middle of the video. You can just scroll it back to the beginning. Check them out. They're fun. But we warn you, they are also quite addictive. And there are plenty more to be found online.
Jeanne Marie made me include the picture below. That way I couldn't whine later that I didn't have any fun.
Only one more day for us in Provence.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iv2mF-BWzqg&list=PLpfTmBFH19HjSJOEdqKSw00DJWKcT8Cgm&index=3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8mAI-a2piw&list=PLpfTmBFH19HjSJOEdqKSw00DJWKcT8Cgm&index=1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SfmGiyWoms&t=12s
