Madrid, Spain

On the train to Madrid, I ran into a couple of Kiwis (New Zealanders). We hung out for much of my very strange time spent in Madrid. Our first strange experience was when we went looking for a hostel. One wild goose chase took us through a park that was littered with used condoms. After dodging the 10,000th condom on the long walk, we decided to not search any further. We finally found a decent place right downtown and after cleaning up, went to see if we could get tickets for the first bullfight of the bullfighting festival. That was an experience in itself since we were pretty much mobbed by very odd scalpers. We found the entire experience very funny for some reason. We got tickets from the actual ticket booth where we found out that several of the scalpers in question were very gay and took quite a liking to us. A few hours and a few beers later, we were treated to our very first bullfight.


Me and the Kiwis ready for the bullfights. We had a good view, but had to deal with the blistering heat for much of the time (you pay extra for shade, not closeness to the floor).	The beginning of the bullfight. First, guys come out to taunt the bull. Men on horses stab the bull with long spears, then picadors use the ceremonial daggers to further weaken the bull. Finally, the matador comes out to finish the job.

The picador scores a direct hit on the charging bull.	There was not a seat to be had in the entire place.

We were not very impressed with the bullfight. We found it boring and sad for the poor bull, who never even has a chance. It would be better if the bull and the matador faced each other alone...and the bull was on rollerblades.

We decided to leave after the fourth match (the matches don't vary at all) to catch the final Champions League football match between Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen in a local pub downtown (the actual match took place in Glasgow, Scotland). It was standing room only and was very hot. The enthusiasm for the game was contagious and I gained new respect for a game I had previously thought as boring. Real Madrid won 2-1.


Before the end of the game...	...and after.

After the game, we followed the crowds down to the Plaza to watch the festivities. Initially, everyone was partying peacefully, but eventually things turned ugly, and the riot police moved in to break up a growing riot, which we were caught right in the middle! People were throwing beer bottles and rocks, cops were beating people with batons and shooting rubber bullets, and we watched everything from the sidelines. More than a few times, I had to run with the crowd as either cops or the riot vans would rush the crowd in an attempt to disperse them. It eventually worked. The riot was over in a few adrenaline-filled hours.

Check out this riot report on ESPN's SoccerNet.


We watched the action from the relative safety of the centre boulevard.	Partiers set off fireworks right in the middle of the crowds, sparking short-lived panics.

Time exposure of running rioters. Hard to see here, but riot cops are in the background shooting rubber bullets.	The next day was a letdown of sorts. Back to the usual sightseeing.

A military palace.	I believe this is actually a bank!

I spent that evening having many drinks on a patio on a plaza that was the geographical center of Madrid (which itself is in the geographical center of Spain). Early the next morning (too early), I was off to Algeciras on a high-speed train so I could catch a ferry across to Morocco and then to Marrakesh.