Europe

Pamplona, Spain

Pamplona: Where the Bulls Run Wild

Only a 5-6 hour bus ride from Barcelona, Pamplona can be the highlight of your trip to Spain. The San Fermin festival, which features the Running of the Bulls, was a main highlight of my time there. My AirBnB host said that Pamplona, outside of this festival, is relatively quiet. However, during the festival, this town is absolutely overflowingwith people and fun!

Day 1: After a hot bus ride into Pamplona and a trek to our AirBnB, my companion and I ditched the backpacks and found some dinner in the winding streets enclosed by looming buildings. A quick German beer and discussion with other American travelers, we headed to a concert in the middle of town square for the San Fermin Festival. It was a late night in a crowded square, but it’s something you don’t forget!

Day 2: By 10 am we were in the town square for the launch of rockets to start the festival. We bought white pants, shirts, and a red bandana to fit in with the crowd and be a part of the celebration. You have to  purchase sangria on your way to the square. The streets essentially run red with it and your white clothes are no longer white. Everyone around you splashes it around anyone and thing near them. It came flying out of water guns, containers, and people even spit it at you. People on the balcony dump water on the sangria stained people beneath them. 

After the start of the festival, you mill around and grab a bite to eat. There are so many separate activities going on and night clubs open all day. It’s a lot like St. Patty’s day, but on steroids and a 24 hour multi-day fiasco! At night there are fireworks. Different firework companies compete against each other for the best show. They are pretty spectacular. 

Day 3: On the day of the actual running of the bulls, I woke up at 6 am to head to our balcony spot with another couple to watch the event. By 7am, we watched from above as the cops emptied the streets of the party goers still out from the night before. As the drunks stumbled away, businesses boarded up their windows and doors while street cleaners made the winding paths shine like it hadn’t been filled with debris and sangria mere minutes before. At 8 am, the bulls were released and it only took a minute to identify the thousands of scrambling runners in white clothing with six shiny bulls hot on their heels. None of the bulls separated, so there were no major injuries. After the menacing looking young bulls came three older bulls taking up the rear. 

The 2.5 minute run that I witnessed from the safety of my balcony was in the top ten moments of my traveling career. In all, when you get the chance to personally witness the Running of the Bulls, just do it my traveling friends!

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