I took a detour on my way to the beach today and came across the bullfighting ring. Ok, that in itself is not something new. There’s a lovely one in Barcelona which they’ve turned into a shopping mall, where I like to climb up to the rooftop terrace for the wonderful views. But it didn’t take long for me to realize this bullfighting ring here in Malaga is certainly not a mall but rather still a place where actual bullfighting occurs. They even had advertisements for their events, stating the number of bulls that would be present. As a Taurus, I found that rather triggering. It had not occurred to me that it’s risky to be a bull in Spain. Also, it was interesting to realize once more that I’m in such a different place than Catalonia (where bull fighting has been outlawed). Best hide my horns and my Taurean temper.
Once I made it to the beach, I saw a ferry that goes to Africa. Africa, in fact, is not far at all. You get an occasional reminder of this by looking at some of the trees, their trunks bulbous as if made up by a cartoonist with too much imagination. Of course, a lot of the plants we have in Texas are present here too, but they are lusher, bigger, wilder, because this is a warmer place. I saw gigantic plumerias, plumerias grown the size of trees.
Why am I writing all this? Bull fighting, a boat to Africa, plumerias the size of trees? Because this really strikes me as a place between worlds, a crossroads of climates and cultures. I’m lucky that I get to spend the Winter Solstice here! Surely it’s a wonderful place for a transformation. Even if, as a bull, I best be on my best behavior.
(In case y’all are curious: It takes 5 hours and 15 minutes to get from Malaga to Melilla, which is where the ferry goes. It’s about 120 miles away.)
