Running of the Bulls?

Easter Sunday, 23 March 2008
We were supposed to avoid the running of the bulls, right?

I’m certain our title has you tremendously curious but first you will have to wade through the diatribe of our morning and early afternoon, both of which were fairly mild. The Easter Bunny found us here in Osuna, at #28 Navalagrulla and left some treats behind for the kids. With plans to visit El Torcal in the afternoon, we managed to get everyone up and out in their Sunday travel best to attend mass at 8:30am. When we arrived at church at 8:28am to find all the doors locked, we were concerned that we misunderstood. A local chap informed us that mass was at 9:30am so we dashed home, waited, then came back to find the doors still locked but that same chap also waiting outside. Did the padre oversleep? We then chased a few older fellows in suits, thinking that, surely, they MUST be on their way to mass. They weren’t, but he told us without reservation that mass is at noon. This time, we returned home and napped and did eventually make it to mass early enough to get good seats. Our second row seats however did little to facilitate our understanding the homily but those of us with a keener grasp of the language hopefully gleaned a little more meaning. I was only able to discern Maria Magdelena and Alleluia. So, with God now on our side, we were ready for the next REALLY entertaining adventure….

We went hiking at El Torcal, a breathtaking natural park of limestone rock. After a twisty, bendy, fun, frightening drive to the entrance, we embarked on the “green” path—the one of lesser difficulty and length. When this trail met with the “yellow” path—which added an hour and was a bit more demanding of our skills, the kids carried on, leaving the adults no choice but to follow. I consider us all to be relatively athletic and strong but, during this march, the kids certainly were more nimble. We climbed rocks, slid through mud pits, squeezed through a cave, and climbed huge hills to find ourselves in front of the most beautiful landscape we have ever seen! The kids hiked every meter without hesitation or complaint. As we neared the end of the trail, I bustled ahead with Claire after a brief photo session atop some rocks, proclaiming we’d meet the others at the park station. They took longer than expected to return and, when they did return, they looked rather stressed and unwound. A herd of bulls had stumbled upon the Derzak-Arnold posse, clawing the earth and seemingly mounting an attack. Unaware of the potential danger, Caroline had at first proclaimed, “Look! Cattle!” The group managed to scuttle onto rocks and everyone avoided being impaled but we quickly drove home for a change of undergarments and a comforting meal of Chef Lee’s paella.