Although bull fighting was certainly a long lived tradition in Dalmatia, it was brought to life again some 17 years ago in the village of Radosic near Trogir and Kastela. In Zagora region of Dalmatia – one of the most beautiful but rarely visited part of the region.
So, we jumped in the car and headed south to Radosic this Sunday, to witness the traditional Village Olympics and of, course, the famous bull fighting.
Radosic is not that easy to find but it is fairly simple: just exit on Prgomet exit on A1 highway Zagreb – Split and drive straight till you see the sign. There are two ways and you simply cannot miss since both are nicely marked. Once there, park your car away from the main attractions since the crowds can be serious.
There are numerous marked parking lots on meadows along the main route.
The tickets are 25 Kn per person and kids go for free.
The main attraction is the bull fighting arena but lamb on a spit is one of the finest attractions as well. Over 65 roasted this Sunday! Main “restaurant” offers several traditional grilled delicacies like liver.
The weather was not on our side but this June in general is lousy… Feels like October.
The main attraction are the bull fights. Well, people immediately think of Spain and their man vs bull but here, the tradition is to watch the bulls fight. So, we gathered around the arena and the first fights started after 1 PM. First we watched the light category. Four fights in total. But very little action… The bulls are calm and peaceful animals and not really into fighting. The 750 Kg animals (cc 1500 lbs) are more into relaxed walking and not really into running and fighting. Besides, the day was so grim that we all felt like sleeping.
So, most of the “fights” ended with bulls not even sniffing each other. Some just fled after the opponent made few steps… All in all, quite disappointing for crowd of thousands! I don’t really care since I enjoy just watching the animals but most of the people came for fights.
And then, in the heavy-weight category, we finally saw some action.
Bull Agresija proved that his behavior matches his name (Agression)! In few seconds, what started as usual bulls walking around, two animals engaged in severe crash!
The bulls severely attacked each other and within moments, came to the fence. Crowd started running for life! The fence collapsed under the white bull falling on it and Agresija struck one devastating hit with his long horn to the side of the white bull! Poor animal run away badly hurt and the keepers of Agresija had a problem calming their bull down. Well, I learned one thing, don’t stay near the fence since it is no match for 1000 Kg (2000 lbs) bull falling or jumping down!
Soon after that fight we left since the rain started. The crowds were just starting to pour in and it seems that everyone goes there after 2 PM and that is good to know since the roads were blocked with dozens of cars!
Anyway, very interesting event well worth seeing!
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