Yesterday was...interesting. First on the agenda was a taxi ride to a Fedex store so my roommate could pick up his new phone. After only one minute into the cab ride we looked at each other as if to say, "did we really just get in a car with a puerto rican driver?". The trip turned out to be a highspeed, fullthrottle race to get to..... the Fedex store. As if being pursued by the police, he ran redlights, took curves at 30mph, honked his horn repeatedly, made 3 lanes out of a 2 lane road, all while driving one-handed and texting on his phone with his other. I prayed the whole way there.
Next up was a trip to club Gallistica. What's that you ask? Is it the latest hot night club in San Juan? Well, you'd be wrong. It's a cockfighting arena geared towards tourist. Is cockfighting legal you ask? Yes. There are 128 active "galleras" in Puerto Rico. It's estimated that 175,000 fights take place on the island per year and PR is becoming the world's host to cockfighting. In 2007, the government passed a law to keep galleras legal citing that it is part of Puerto Rican culture.
Immediately upon entering, one senses the overpowering aroma of chickens. And not the good KFC kind. The chickens are on display in plexiglass cages to you can scout out potential winners.
When it's time for a match, the chickens are lowered to the ring where they are then 'riled up' by the handlers. They use a stuffed rooster toy to peck at it and cause agitation. Then they put them in the cages in the center of the ring and set the timer for 14 minutes. They release the birds and they begin to fight.
The most interesting thing about the trip was the 100 middle-age men yelling in full capacity during the matches to support their bird. There are constant shouts of number amounts for betting and "azul or blanco" depending on which bird they are rooting for. It was an odd experience!!
Later we ate at a Denny's and explored the beach at Isla Verde.
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