admin
10-03-2008, 08:54 AM
I was working in France for Eurodisney and I had some time off, so I decided to go to the running of the Bulls in Spain. I had studied abroad in San Sebastian, Spain for a few months in 1995 and so I knew some people there and was familiar with the area. The running of the bulls takes place in Pamplona, a city in Northeast Spain, in the Basque country where perhaps you've heard of the occasional seperatist movement.
None of the people whom I was working with could go with me, so I was a bit worried about arriving by myself….not that I'd never travelled on my own before, but it's always nicer to have someone around to do things with. But then again, being on your own often means meeting more people.
Anyways, I took the train down to San Sebastian and called some friends of mine. They had housed my best friend from when I studied there and we had gone out Salsa dancing a few times. They kindly let me stay with them and one of them even volunteered to go with me to the running of the bulls. The problem was that the trains were all full of backpackers, so we ended up having to take sleeping places for the 40 minute train ride.
The actual running of the bulls takes place at 7am in the morning and so most people stay up all night rather than wake up for it. It coincides with a big piss up (to coin a British term) to commemorate the town saint (I think). Th point is that, while the bull running is the most famous part, it's really 99% drinking, dancing, attempted fornication, etc.. and 1% bull running. Indeed, by the time the bulls actually run, most people are rather tired and eager to go home…or at least this was my experience.
So we got there at 10 pm and proceeded around the town center, drinking and killing time until the bulls came out. We met some really strange characters….For example, we met this one guy who was obsessed with Miami (no, he wasn't in Independence Day), if I remember right. You might think we would have found another, more stimulating conversation, but at one point someone else tried to change the subject and the guy kicked him in the neck. So we waited patiently and snuck off at one point…besides, we had 9 hours til the main event anyways.
We proceeded from bar to bar, skirting the eclectically dressed people with large dogs who were asleep in the town square, having odd conversations with people…dancing around a bit when the mood struck…occasionally just sitting and drifting….
Finally, daylight began to arrive and everyone began claiming spots to see the running. Being small, I was able to claim an advantageous crevice behind a protective fence to watch. I suppose I could have run, but I was dead tired. It seemed safe enough. 90% of the people who ran passed a good few minutes before the bulls actually arrived. I doubt they even saw a bull.
After they passed, we all filed to the stadium where we watched people jump into the ring and taunt the bulls further. It was actually a bit cruel, to tell the truth….
Eventually, 10am rolled around and we could catch a bus back to San Sebastian for some needed rest. In all, I'm definitely glad I did it, though it would have been nice to be less tired. Perhaps if we'd actually been staying in Pamplona…..but it was definitely interesting. Maybe I'll run next time….
None of the people whom I was working with could go with me, so I was a bit worried about arriving by myself….not that I'd never travelled on my own before, but it's always nicer to have someone around to do things with. But then again, being on your own often means meeting more people.
Anyways, I took the train down to San Sebastian and called some friends of mine. They had housed my best friend from when I studied there and we had gone out Salsa dancing a few times. They kindly let me stay with them and one of them even volunteered to go with me to the running of the bulls. The problem was that the trains were all full of backpackers, so we ended up having to take sleeping places for the 40 minute train ride.
The actual running of the bulls takes place at 7am in the morning and so most people stay up all night rather than wake up for it. It coincides with a big piss up (to coin a British term) to commemorate the town saint (I think). Th point is that, while the bull running is the most famous part, it's really 99% drinking, dancing, attempted fornication, etc.. and 1% bull running. Indeed, by the time the bulls actually run, most people are rather tired and eager to go home…or at least this was my experience.
So we got there at 10 pm and proceeded around the town center, drinking and killing time until the bulls came out. We met some really strange characters….For example, we met this one guy who was obsessed with Miami (no, he wasn't in Independence Day), if I remember right. You might think we would have found another, more stimulating conversation, but at one point someone else tried to change the subject and the guy kicked him in the neck. So we waited patiently and snuck off at one point…besides, we had 9 hours til the main event anyways.
We proceeded from bar to bar, skirting the eclectically dressed people with large dogs who were asleep in the town square, having odd conversations with people…dancing around a bit when the mood struck…occasionally just sitting and drifting….
Finally, daylight began to arrive and everyone began claiming spots to see the running. Being small, I was able to claim an advantageous crevice behind a protective fence to watch. I suppose I could have run, but I was dead tired. It seemed safe enough. 90% of the people who ran passed a good few minutes before the bulls actually arrived. I doubt they even saw a bull.
After they passed, we all filed to the stadium where we watched people jump into the ring and taunt the bulls further. It was actually a bit cruel, to tell the truth….
Eventually, 10am rolled around and we could catch a bus back to San Sebastian for some needed rest. In all, I'm definitely glad I did it, though it would have been nice to be less tired. Perhaps if we'd actually been staying in Pamplona…..but it was definitely interesting. Maybe I'll run next time….