Portuguese Bullfighting
Ok. Ok.  I'm not even sure I can
explain this and give it justice.  
One of the coolest things we did
on our Portugal trip was see a
traditional Portuguese bullfight.

Portuguese bullfighting differs
from the Spanish version in that
the bull is not killed in the ring, but
wrestled to the ground.

The Bull, its horns padded or
sheared, first faces a mounted
toureiro in 18th century costume,
who plants farpas (darts) in its
back in a superb display of
horsemanship.

An eight-strong team of
mocas-de-forcado then moves in
and overwhelms the bull by brute
force, pinning it to the ground
between them.   But it's even
crazier than that.  One of the eight
brave unarmed men puts on a little
green hat, approaches the bull
alone, coaxes it to charge by
yelling "Toro, Toro, hey, Toro" then
grabs onto the bull's head and
rides it into his 7 pals who then
take the bull down.  Totally insane!

We had killer seats too.

Behold! Some pictures...
(click on image to enlarge)
Random Info

Daily wine
intake: 4
Bottles

Cities visited:
Lisbon,
Fatima,
Porto.

Portuguese
Women: Very
Sexy.

Portuguese
Women: Not
very friendly.

Female Irish
Tourists: Very
Friendly.

Avg. Daily
Temp: 100+
Degrees.

Air
Conditioning:
Rare

No smoking?:
Only in
churches.

Bathing Suits:
Optional

Sueca:
Very Fun.

Portuguese
Bouncers:
Nazi's.

Mike
Cournoyer's
choice of
airline food:
Hindu
The Portugal Crew.  Mikey, Claudio, Erick, and Dave at one of the most
beautiful beaches in the world.  
Claudio and Erick cheer on Portugal in the World Cup.  
Forca Portugal!
The Bullfighting Arena
The Pageantry
The Toureiro
Lovely Plaza in Lisbon
Insanely brave Portuguese man takes
the brunt of the Bull while his pals await
the oncoming fury.
8 men, 1 Toro, hours of fine European
entertainment!  What a blast!
3 wannabe Portuguese Explorers.
The Temperature topped 105 degrees 5 times during the trip.  We're
not sure if this is Erick trying to cool off or an attempted suicide.
Only true pharmacy dorks can appreciate a sign like this.  
Portugal
2006
"Still Crazy After All These Years"