Simancas - January 2015

There are photos of a bloody dead pig ahead.

You have been warned.

 Simancas from the river

On the weekends Ross and I like to explore places outside of Valladolid.  It is tough with not having a car here so we are limited to places we can get to on the bus and or train.  This is great because there are so many places to go but as we have been here for 10 months now we are running out of places to visit that are suitable for a day trip.  We have now started looking for specific things instead of cities, for example castles!  Which is how we found out about Simancas.

Simancas is a very small town just outside of Valladolid.  From the terminal we grabbed a bus for 1.40 euros and took a fifteen minute trip out of town.  It is so close and we had no idea there was a castle basically within walking distance.  Since we had never been there before we asked the driver where to get off and he said it would be the second stop (Segunda Parada).  Turns out this stop was on the side of the highway which seemed a little strange to us but we got off the bus anyway.

Castle gates

We could see the castle right away from the highway and were excited to be able to check it out.  When we looked online the site said the castle was only open from Monday to Friday so we assumed we would not be able to get in so we were surprised when the gates were open.  This was probably my least favourite castle we have seen.  I know how that sounds but when so many cities have castles you can be choosy about which ones you like.  From the outside it looks ancient and interesting but unfortunately they only let you walk one upstairs hallway and it has all been completely re-modeled so it doesn't even feel like a castle.  Also they use it as some sort of archive for things we could not understand so we were not very impressed. I'm certain if we spoke Spanish it would have been more interesting.   However at least it was open and there was a bathroom.

I want to point out the bathroom was a little strange.  It was a unisex with several stalls.  Some of the stalls had toilets and some had urinals but they were all in the same room.  It made me very uncomfortable.  I like privacy in a bathroom, its weird enough having other females around I don’t think I could have used it if there was a man in there.

Old town charm from the castle

The town itself is beautiful, but quite small and there did not seem to be a whole lot to look at.  We began to think we would be struggling to find something to do until the next bus but then we heard music coming from Plaza Mayor.  We checked it out and got excited because there was a sign that said something about a ceremony that day and there were some food and of course a beer table set up.  The sign said it started in ten minutes from then so we bought a few beer tickets and waited for the festivities.  Lets be real, we bought several beer tickets and it was a good thing because what happened next I do not think I could have handled sober.

It was after the first beer that we noticed in the center of the square, where a small stage was set up, there was a large dead pig.  It had blood all over its feet and was just lying on a table.  I was immediately sickened and thought about leaving but in the spirit of cultural understanding and tolerance I thought I should at least see what they were going to do with it.  I assumed they would slice it up and eat it which disgusts me but I thought to myself that the pig was already dead so I had missed the worst of it.  At least now its death would not be in vain. 

Poor Piggy 

The crowd gathered around to watch the carving of the pig and I was surprised to see how many small children were there watching right up close and running over to the pig touching it and having their parents take photos of them with it.  Such a strange custom that I just do not understand.  I mean I suppose it is better than most people who think bacon comes from the grocery store and completely disassociate themselves with what meat actually is.

Celebratory slaughter tunes

There was a band playing and some speeches before they took the pig, covered it in hay and set it on fire.  I was not expecting that.  They did this several times (as the flames kept going out) and it took me a bit to figure out why this was happening.  They were burning the flesh to make it easier to scrape all the hair off.  It smelled awful and was just sad to watch.

 Pig on fire...

Savage monster about to tear him apart...

After that they proceeded to slice the pig open and pull out its intestines.  Blood poured all over the ground as people snapped photos, ate sausage and drank beers.  I mean people were just standing in the blood and eating sausages.  Now I know what those of you who know me are probably thinking, and its true I am someone who is into blood and gore, but this was just gross and sad.  They treated it like it was nothing, as though it wasn't a living creature just hours before.  It was a spectacle that did not sit well with me not only because I am vegetarian but because I have respect for all creatures and I felt this was far from a respectful way to treat an animal.  After they finished skinning it and slicing it apart they hung it in the sun and everyone wandered over to get more food and drinks.

 Hey kid here's a knife why don't you come slice up this pig with your old man...

 I cant wait to eat this bloody mess...

Lets leave this meat here while we eat the other meat...

Other than the murdering of a pig there was not much happening in Simancas.  We decided we had seen enough of the town and went into a bar to grab a few more drinks before walking back to Valladolid.  It was only a 10 km walk home and it was a beautiful sunny day that we did not want to waste.  There was a cool derelict building by the river that we hung out by and finished off our beers before our walk, and the river is quite nice with a lovely view of the town which sits atop a hill. 

 Beautiful river

Beers beers and more beers by the river...I felt 15 again

The walk itself was boring and it turns out 10 km is a long walk when you are 6 beers in by 2 pm.  It was just  flat countryside with a lot of busted down buildings but we made it fun by exploring the ruins and of course just musing over what we had witnessed in town.  I know that not everyone would think what we saw was anything strange and that is strange to me.  Watching a pig be slaughtered is certainly not something you see every day and for that I am grateful.  It only furthered my desire to remain vegetarian. I used to eat meat but now all I see is a carcass and I'm not into eating corpses. I mean they were eating sausage made of animal flesh while watching an animal be slaughtered?!