Bullfighting Ecuadorian Style

You know the classic image of a bullfight? Some Spanish man in tight sparkly leggings with a funny little hat that looks a bit like mickey mouse ears dancing artfully around an enraged bull waving a red cape. An Ecuadorian bull fight is absolutely nothing like that. It's way way better.

Instead of the one master of the bulls who has spent years training and studying the art of an ancient ritual you have a dozen regular working joes ready to face death against a bull pulled straight from someone's field and shoved into a makeshift ring surrounded by cheering fans.

These country farmers turned bullfighters boost their courage by drinking lots and lots of alcohol. Once they are too drunk to be afraid of the bull anymore they all pile into the ring and start taunting. There are no swords and no red capes just a crowd of drunken men trying every trick they can to irritate the bull into charging and then desperately trying not to get gored.

It is both incredibly dangerous and really really hilarious.

I had the chance to witness this spectacle on a recent trip to the northern sierra and it is officially my new favorite public sporting event.


This guy is trying really hard to get away.

Worth a thousand words

Just a short post with some photos.

I do a lot of baking in my new apartment. In part because I have so much free time and in part because a lot of delicious things that are easy to buy in the states like bagels or wheat bread are harder to find here. This is from the day I made cinnamon rolls for a river picnic.

Ecuadorians are in absolute awe of baked goods. Even something as simple as chocolate chip cookies amazes them and I've found that giving out baked goods to my neighbors and coworkers is a good way to be instantly liked.


My apartment has a small gap between one of the walls and the ceiling. It's nothing too noticeable and isn't really big enough for any creatures to get in except for moths. Every night dozens of moths flock to the glow of my living room light bulb. Usually I squish them without mercy but this one landed on my fridge and was so pretty I decided to spare it's life and take a photo instead.
A bird's eye view of my town.