Running of the Bulls (or with them depending on the fence)

Never in a million years did I ever think I'd go to "that crazy festival in Spain where people run with the bulls". But when two of our friends who were traveling around Europe asked if Aaron and I wanted to go? We said sure, why not! (You are talking to the sky diving, shark swimming, scooter freeway riding couple).

Running of the Bulls is an 8-day festival that takes place every year in Pamplona. It kicks off with an opening ceremony, then each morning there is an 823 meter run with 6 bulls and 1,600-3,600 people, and at night there are the bullfights with the matadors.

When we started looking at going to the festival, so many things were outrageously priced (hotels, balconies, transportation). We ended up booking a package through a company which I think was the way to do something like this. We met so many people who were staying far outside Pamplona or who didn't even have a place to stay!! We may be a little crazy, but we are too old to stay up all night in a park : )

The first day we explored the city and had some amazing tapas. The next day was the Opening Ceremony at noon. We filled into a huge square in our white outfits with red bandannas and bottles of sangria, and thus began the largest sangria fight I've ever been a part of. People were loving every moment- there were even super-soakers full of sangria. 

Here we are at the beginning: 

And after some of this:

This is what we looked like at the end:

It was a crazy experience but very fun and exciting! When the clock hit noon, the square was so packed you could barely move. At noon, there is a ceremony where everyone puts their red bandannas around their necks symbolizing Saint Fermin (you aren't supposed to take off the bandanna for the remainder of the festival). To give you an idea of the square, this is a view from above. We are somewhere in there near the two white flags : )

The next morning was the first bull run. The streets start putting gates up around the course at 6:30am, by 7am the runners are all inside the starting pen, and by 8am the first cannons go off signaling the start.

We watched from a balcony the first day and are very grateful that we did; there were so many people that we saw a lot of bottle necks on the course. Our balcony was right after what they call "death corner". The name comes because the bulls are traveling so fast at that point that they often can't make the turn and slam into the gates and runners. After the corner, the runners and bulls hit the stretch of street where our balcony was. But on this street there is no turn out (or fence to jump over) for the runners which is why we saw so many people with nowhere to go. We actually saw one guy get trampled- he ran too close and wasn't fast enough. He tripped, a bull fell on him and then he got run over by two more bulls. It was pretty scary, and they carried him away in a stretcher, but at least he was conscious (just in a lot of pain). 

That night, we went to a bull fight in the stadium. We had no idea what to expect and thought it would just be a matador with the bull. It was a lot more intense and they kill the bull during it. It was definitely our least favorite part and something that I do not need to watch again.

After we saw the man get run over by the bulls on the opening run, Aaron and I decided to find a nice piece of fence along the course to watch from on the second day. We headed out early and got a spot right near the beginning of the run - where EMTs were gathered and the runners were waiting to hear the cannon. We watched the excitement and nerves build in the crowd as the "Pamplona Safety Video" played on a giant screen. A few rules were read off (you must wear tennis shoes, no recording equipment of any kind allowed during the run, no alcohol or intoxication) and you could feel the crowd get antsy until the cannons went off, and the crowd and bulls were off. I am happy to report that we did not see any of the injuries on the second day (although we did hear about a few).

We had such a great time in Pamplona, and it really was a unique, eye-opening, unforgettable experience. During the four days, we'd wander through the streets finding parades, parties and people celebrating! I love trips where we have some plans, but then often the most memorable experiences are the ones that you don't expect - spending our entire train ride standing and playing cards in the bar car, the random parade we joined after the bull fight, our amazing tapas restaurant with a super friendly waiter that we went to twice (and he remembered us!), pouring sangria and spraying champagne out of plastic bottles, the catchy "jingle" that we heard during the opening ceremony - all of these things were what made our trip.

After our Pamplona trip, we boarded a train to head towards Madrid where we would fly out to Italy. But that will be another blog post : )