Friday 8/7
Friday… After an exhausting Thursday afternoon, I arrived at the Bus Station and boarded my bus to Pamplona – along with about 35 other ISA students. The coach bus left at 10:50 that night, and we arrived in Pamplona around 5:45 the next morning – after a long 7-hour bus ride…
“Wikipedia says that the encierro of Pamplona has been depicted many times in literature, television or advertising. The cinema pioneer Louis Lumière filmed the run in 1931.[14] but became known world wide partly due to the descriptions of Ernest Hemingway in The Sun Also Rises and Death in the Afternoon.”
Pamplona shocked us all – for many reasons… The traditional Running of the Bulls attire is all white with red accents – such as the traditional handkerchief tied around the neck. To blend in, we all wore our white outfits on the bus – white tank tops with white shorts or white dresses. When we got off the bus at 5:45 that morning, we were stunned to feel the cold air. It was 50 degrees that morning in Pamplona, but it definitely felt colder.
When we got off the bus, we come to find many Spaniards and tourists sleeping on the floor of the Pamplona Bus Station – cuddling for warmth. Because hostels and hotels fill up so fast for this event, many people don’t have places to sleep. But we didn’t think that this would be our first sight of the Festival of San Fermín (i.e. Running of the Bulls). Next, we encountered trash all over the city. And even at 5:45 in the morning, the streets were packed with people still up from the night before. The actual start day of the Running of the Bulls was the day before we arrived, so the craziness of Pamplona was somewhat expected.
People sleeping on the floor of the Pamplona Bus Station.
I – being the cold-natured person that I am – had to buy some sort of sweatshirt to endure the weather. After putting our final outfits together – because EVERYONE wears the red handkerchief – we looked for a place to stand to watch the Running of the Bulls at 8 am. But we were lucky to find out that many people fill the Plaza de Toros – the final destination spot for the runners and the bulls. We quickly grabbed a seat and waited patiently for the craziest 3 minutes of our lives!
The Running of the Bulls Track.
Absolutely FREEZING in Pamplona at 6 in the morning.
FULL HOUSE.
In the Plaza de Toros (Bull Arena).
6 bulls and about 200 runners run the distance of the track to end up at the Plaza de Toros. 2 of my best girlfriends ran! I thought that they were crazy, and they were the only 2 people out of our entire group of about 35 girls and guys that ran. We were all thankful that they were okay in the end! But this run isn’t really about expertise. The deaths and tragedies that occur due to this run are usually freak accidents. But that would still never make me even consider running.
My two CRAZY friends that RAN WITH THE BULLS.
After the runners and bulls arrived in the arena, the bulls are sectioned off behind a gate, and a couple of young bulls are let out one at a time to take on the runners. It was an interesting site, as these crazy Spaniards would taunt the bulls.
When the runners first arrived in the Arena.
And then, the Bulls followed!
Almost all of the runners in the center of the Arena.
The "taunting" of the Bulls...
The end of our CRAZY morning.
After the Running of the Bulls was over in the morning, we explored Pamplona by celebrating the Festival of San Fermín. There were parades, historic forts, and many beautiful parks. After napping in one of the parks, we attended the many parties that occurred there to celebrate this particular holiday. No one normally wears clothes that they wish to keep, as wine and Sangria are usually poured on friends during the Running of the Bulls and the celebrations afterwards.
A parade in one of the city streets to celebrate the Festival of San Fermín.
Exploring the city of Pamplona.
On the bridge!
The view from the bridge! Absolutely beautiful.
The final stretch that the runners and bulls take before entering the Plaza de Toros (Arena).
The streets were packed ALL day with people celebrating the Festival of San Fermín.
After a busy day, we made our way back to the Bus Station in Pamplona to leave at 11 pm for Valencia. While leaving the city, the fireworks started, and we had the most beautiful end to such an incredible day.
After a long and EXHAUSTING day.
No comments:
Post a Comment