Ready to Run

I just got back from Pamplona, Spain with a group of friends. We left on the 10th and got back late Tuesday night. Pamplona is pure craziness! Kim described it as being like Mardi Gras, but she explained that Mardi Gras is just one streeet--the San Fermin festival in Pamplona is all over the city. The general schedule goes like this: party all night long, watch the bulls run at 8, sleep all day, then do it over again. We're old, though, so we didn't do that.

Maurice, Naymar, Kim, Brian, Jack, me, Dan, Luke

The place we stayed was on the top floor of a building right smack dab in the middle of the action. That meant we got no sleep, because there was singing, drums, yelling, bands, glass breaking, and a variety of other noises the entire night. But boy were those naps we all took after the bull run and in the afternoons delightful.

Everyone was wearing white and red. So to fit in, most of us had some combination of the outfit. Brian bought a neckerchief, which we termed gaykerchief, when he refused to wear it after an hour. But he did sport the waist sash. Everyone else wore the neckerchief, unless it was too blasted hot, which it was on Monday.

Honestly there wasn't much to do or see in Pamplona, unless you count the drunk people who had sangria-stained white clothing. We relaxed a lot, strolled the city, took naps, watched the crazy people and any festivities outside our window, and we drank a lot of sangria in the apartment. It was 3 euros for 1.5L.

Kim, me, Naymar

We saw the bulls run every morning, which started at 8. Saturday and Tuesday, we watched it from our balcony, Sunday and Monday from a rented balcony. The boys ran on Monday, then Maurice and Brian ran again on Tuesday. They send 6 bulls and 4-6 heifers down the course. The cows have bells on, they stay together, they're not aggressive, and they run slower. (Girls have wider hips, so of course they don't run as fast!!) They're much bigger than the bulls, which surprised me.

The boys and Jack, who was still sleeping, before they headed down to run.

It was crazy how fast they run. I think I heard that one day while we were there, one bull made the course in the fastest recorded time, like 2 minutes or something. On Sunday two men were really badly injured. One guy was jumping up on the fence to get out of the way, but was hit by the bull's horn, when the bull turned his head because he ran into the wall. The horn went up through the guy's throat/chin. The other man was gored by the bull in the chest and the leg. They had some really graphic footage on t.v. that day. You can watch Sunday's run here on YouTube--I think it's from a t.v. station. One bull gets separated, confused, and doesn't know what to do. He ends up goring a man very seriously--stabbed in the chest and leg.

After the run on Monday, I went to the stadium to watch the young bulls. Everyone gathers in the stadium after the run. They corral the bulls from the run, but then they let loose one at a time a young bull, with capped horns, and he runs around with all the idiots in the ring. I asked the woman who helped us reserve the room and the balcony if bulls are naturally aggressive, because I didn't think they were. She said they weren't and in fact they breed these bulls almost like they do pit bulls in the U.S. to fight. She said the only time the bulls see people are on horseback, so when they see people standing, their instinct is to chase and gore, if they can.

Me at the stadium

On Monday, everyone but Kim and Jack went to a bull fight. I knew I was going to have a hard time with it, but I had to keep telling myself that this is their national sport. They grow up with this and I can't say I was okay with it, but I kind of got it. They use the six bulls, which ran that morning, so we saw 6 bull fights.

The bulls starts out at a disadvantage. They release the bull and they provoke him with their capes (or whatever the official term is) for a few runs. Then they bring out the men on horses, which have armor on their bodies. The job of these men is to take the first two stabs at the bull's neck. Then the bull is provoked again, but this time they put the spike-type things in his back and we saw anywhere from 4-6, depending on how well the fighter did. After that, it's the matador's turn. He taunts the bull with the cape, he takes several runs, and then at some point he decides it's time. He exchanges the sword he has for a different one and he stabs the bull. If he does it well enough, the bull dies within minutes, and it's carried away by a team of horses. However, there were a few times that didn't happen and I had a hard time with that.

I have all of my pictures posted here. I do have to warn you that the pictures of the bull fight are a little hard to look at and some of them show blood. I had a great time with my friends and I'm really glad I went. I'm glad I got to experience it, but I'll never go back again and I won't go to another bull fight either.

My next trip is next weekend. I'm taking an early train to Paris on Saturday, so I can watch the final stage of the Tour de France roll in on Sunday. I'm hoping for some good shots of Lance and my other favorites, like George Hincapie.