On Sunday, we headed to our next balcony, where we had a slightly scary experience. Our balcony this time required us to meet on the street where the bulls actually ran at 6:30 before they cleared the streets. We waited a significant amount of time, almost up to 7AM before the company finally figured out where we should be. I was a bit worried that we would have to run with the bulls, but thankfully, moved us to the right balcony just in time.
We were closer to the turn and start of the run this time, on a first floor balcony (2nd US). The view and experience were better the second time because we knew what to expect and this company provided us with a guide who gave us a play by play of the cleaning of the streets and the actual run. He had actually run with the bulls a bunch of times, so his commentary was very interesting. It also helped that he was very attractive.
Pre-run
First runners
Mayor approving the streets
Blockade waiting for mayor to clear streets
Much bigger crowd on the weekend - that is an insane number of people
Catching the atmosphere before the run:
The actual run:
Lots more action on this morning - people falling and getting trampled by other people and one actually by a bull.
The guy in the orange was taken out on a stretcher. I think he was ok, but still scary.
Clean up steers
Running with the steers
We went to the amateur hour again - lots of people getting tossed again. Really funny to watch. We also saw a woman get hit, which wasn't as funny. She really wasn't expecting it - I think she was just out there to say she'd been out there, but ended up at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Balloon over the ring
After that, we headed back to the hotel for breakfast and to grab our bags for the bus ride to Bilbao. The bus was about 2.5 hours and got us to the airport too early, but not early enough to see the Guggenheim. Next time, Spain!
On Saturday, we got up at 5:30 to make it to our assigned balcony by 6:30. That's when we realized just how crazy Pamplona was overnight. The city was still raging at 6:30; in fact, I don't think the partying stopped until close to 9AM. The smell was overpowering, the streets were sticky and the people were sloshed. I've never seen anything like it - it makes King's day in Amsterdam look like a nursery school party.
The balconies are rented out by private individuals through a tourist company. If you are a local, I can almost guarantee you get the heck out of dodge for the festival period. If you value any sleep, you would get out.
The balcony was on the 2nd floor (3rd floor US) and was closer to the bull ring than the start of the run. Our arrival on the balcony:
We watched the clearing of the streets below, which was a real operation of moving all of the people and trash out of the street. They clean the street pretty thoroughly with water and then blow dry it to make it a bit safer for the runners.
Once the streets are clear and clean, they start letting the 3000 runners (approximate number) down the path. You can choose along the route where you decide to "run" with the bulls, which usually lasts max 5-20 seconds. Some people just run the route way in advance of the bulls, which draws a lot of jeers from people, but it's a good way to say you've ran with the bulls without actually doing it. Runners way ahead of the bulls:
The funny thing is that most of the above people kept turning around like they were actually running with them, but it was still 10 minutes before the first cannon. Second blockade:
The anticipation of the running is thick in the air before the cannon goes off. The requirements to run include running shoes and being mostly sober. We saw a few people moved out of the runners who failed the last requirement.
Then the cannon went off and people started to run. Since we were about 2/3 the way down the course, we waited about 1 minute before seeing the bulls:
See the bulls?
There they are, surrounded by steers.
The white and black one are actual bulls. It's technically illegal to touch them during the run, but most people who got close did it.
Really, the most dangerous part appeared to be the sheer mass of people running. On Saturday, we didn't see anyone run over, but saw the ambulances by the arena where people were being treated for minor scrapes. We also saw on the TV that a guy from Chicago who wrote a book about how to run with the bulls was gored earlier in the week (justice, irony, etc).
The steers are run with the bulls and after the bulls to make sure all of the bulls finished the route. It's a bit of a knock on running if you just run with the sweep up steers:
Not bulls
After that, we walked up to the arena, finding that there was an event going on after the run. We didn't have tickets, but went up to the gate to ask what was going on and the security guy gave L two tickets!
We found out that after the run, they let the runners who want to "fight" a heifer or very young bull onto the ring floor. Essentially, there are 500+people on the ring floor and one animal running around hitting people when it gets annoyed enough, which is a lot. Best part - no animal deaths and some minor goring to watch. Great event!
Heifer getting ready to take out some more people
Sizing up the next victim
Girls can do it to.... #representing
After the heifer has taken out enough people, they send out a steer (largest I've ever seen) to lead the heifer out. The steer is crazy scary, but relatively calm.
After the show, we scalped some bull fighting tickets for that night, which is the first time I've ever scalped anything. Luckily it all worked out, but only because we had the previous tickets with us to compare.
I forgot some pictures from Friday, so I'll add them now, because the next things we did on Saturday were get breakfast and then take a siesta.
After an amazing siesta, we booked balcony spots for Sunday morning having seriously enjoyed the run on Saturday and then walked the town, seeing the cathedral and enjoying a drink overlooking the old walls
We did a bit more shopping and then headed back to the ring. I took a lot more pictures of the crowd this time around. We also got to see a matador who had lost an eye, who was apparently very famous. Lots of people dressed up like pirates.
Pirate matador
Waiving the pirate flag
President of the bull fight - makes the decision on the winner and when a bull has fought valiantly enough to survive or is not good enough to complete a fight.
Panoramic of the ring
Pirate matador
Area in the sun, in case you ever decide to sit in that area. That's not the natural color of their shirts.
Basque green area
Lots of zorros in the crowd for the pirate matador
After a dinner at a local joint we stumbled on to, we watched the fireworks with the rest of Pamplona and then headed for sleep for another early morning :)
Back again for part 2
We had an early morning, walking through San Seb back to the bus station to catch our 10AM bus to Pamplona, which was a bit of a crazy show. The buses were supposed to be labeled with a number, but even having our pre-printed tickets made it difficult to figure out. There were a ton of people milling about, I was really glad I pre-bought tickets a few days in advance. I don't think we could have caught a bus otherwise.
This also was our first glimpse at what we would see in Pamplona. People coming from Pamplona looked ROUGH. Everyone coming off the bus was wearing the white and red clothing, but also had strong tinges of pink sangria all over their clothes. It was like a pink and white flag warning.
The bus ride to Pamplona was about an hour and a half. Our hotel was very close to the bus station, so we dropped our bags and then hiked across the city, down the bull run to the other hotel to pick up our tickets to the bull fight that evening. We also found out then that it was going to be impossible to just rock up in the morning to see the bull run. We bought spots on a balcony to watch the run the next morning, which turned out to be the best decision we made in the trip.
After that, we quickly realized we had to get clothes to match what everyone else was wearing.
So it was off to shop. Quite dashing, right? I look like I ran, without actually having to run. I skipped out on the white pants - wasn't fancying everyone getting a full view of my choice in underwear for the weekend.
After that, it was off to find food:
Which obviously involved more tapas and spicy potatoes. I think I've created a tapas addiction. To be honest though, the Pamplona food scene was pretty rough given the massive number of people in for the festival. The town goes from 200K people to +1 million for the festival, meaning a lot of places just shut down or water down the menu because of the crowds. Always a sangria available, more difficult to find a good tapas.
After that, we headed up to the corral where the bulls are held before the run in the morning:
City hall on the walk there
The schedule for the bull run is very militant, as opposed to anything else in Spain that operates much like Italy, except "manana" is the phrase. The bulls are gathered in the early morning hours in the ring pictured above and released at the shot of a cannon at 8AM, followed by a second cannon when the last animal is out of the pen. Prior to that first cannon, there is a clearing of the streets they will run that happens starting at 6:45 and finishes with the mayor inspecting the streets and giving the all clear.
We then headed back toward the bull ring, stopping at the main square for sangria:
People everywhere
Always followed by a band and mini-parade when in Europe. The green is the colour of the Basque region. I saw a few "Free Basque" signs, but was surprised it wasn't as huge an issue as I expected.
Sangria with a band, the best kind of band. Interesting enough, the sangria in Pamplona is coke and wine. I couldn't really taste the coke - I just thought wine with something fizzy in it.
After that, we got some RS recommended tapas and then stopped for a sing along with the Spanish tourists:
After that, we headed to the running of the bulls monument for some pictures:
And some pictures outside the bull ring:
And then it was off to find a grocery store for food and wine inside the stadium. That was quite the adventure - most grocery stores were not willing to be open with the crowds. We finally found a convenience store that sold cheese, meat, melba toast and wine. It was very tough to mime that we wanted crackers, but the melba toast was really good.
After that, we headed to the bull ring. I'm adding this disclaimer to the below.
I first of all, I did not fully understand what happened at a bull fight before buying the tickets and attending. While I am not a huge animal lover, and would personally never own an animal, I don't believe animal cruelty has a place in this day and age. I know that my very attendance most likely offends some people, and if that's your position, I'm sorry. I saw it purely as a cultural event. The majority of the crowd seemed to be Spanish, not a tourist attraction for US, UK, Aus, and other country visitors. If the crowd had been mostly non Spanish tourists, I would have a different impression. In general, it seemed to be mostly people who understood and appreciated the art of bull fighting. That being said, after that weekend, that will be my last bull fighting experience. I've seen it and that's all there is to say.
I've limited pictures to just the ring and some of the matadors. No need to get squeamish by the below.
We bought tickets in the shady side, which I highly recommend if you decide to do it at some point. The sunny side is where the rowdies purchased seats. Most of them come dressed in white with a poncho on because of the thrown wine. There is also quite a bit of fancy dress. Tickets to the fight can be hard to get, but as we found in the next day, it's fairly easy and cheaper to just scalp them than to purchase through an American, UK or Australian company website. The tickets are held by families and passed down through the generations on the shady side, so if you scalp, you need to watch for the correct side of the arena and how far up they are. The good news about buying tickets through an American company is that you have an example of what a ticket should like should you decide to scalp them another day or in another year.
We got there early to make sure we could claim our seats and see the arena fill up before the fight at 6:30.
Filled up - all red and white.
#thanksinstagram
Parade of matadors before the fight began. The three front guys are the main matadors to fight that day.
So the way a bull fight works is that there are matadors posted all throughout the arena when the bull is let in. There are 6 bulls in one night, each fights individually. The bull rushes in, full of energy and very ticked off. For the first 5-6 minutes, the bull chases the matadors who are not scheduled to perform the main fight, while the lead matador for that bull studies his movements and figures out his tactics. This is probably the most exciting part of the fight because the bull has the most opportunities to fight for himself and could really take some one out because he hasn't been hurt yet.
Then it gets gruesome. They bring out a very padded and blindfolded horse and rider, who has a spear. The lead matador will lead the bull toward the horse, where the rider will then stab the bull in the back to weaken him. This happens twice and you can see the blood. It's not the worst part of the fight, but it's when everything starts to take a very dark turn.
Then there are more cape turns and chasing, but slowed by far. Then the matadors take barbed colored sticks and stab the bull in the back with them. A good stab sticks in the bull for the rest of the fight, a bad stick falls out. 6 of them are put into the bull, 2 at a time. This also has some elements of danger because the bull, while weaker, still is pretty dangerous.
After that, the main matador does his thing with the red cape and show sword, which lasts about 5 minutes of turns. The first few minutes are much more dangerous than the rest because you can slowly watch the bull get weaker during the show. Then he pulls out the final sword, does the dancing thing with the bull for another 5 minutes. The matador then makes the decision to "win" and uses the sword to perform the kill shot, which if done well, should go straight through the heart on the first shot. This is by far the most gruesome part. If the matador is bad, it can take 4-5 shots, all of which during the bull is clearly exhausted and confused. It's difficult to watch. After the bull falls, they cut the spinal cord pretty quickly to make sure it dies quickly, but the period before it falls, they just wait for it to fall, which is awful. If the matador performs well, they cut off the ear and give it to the matador. There is a winner amongst the 3 main matadors for the evening and he is carried out on the shoulders of the other matadors after a tour around the arena. Each bull takes about 20-25 minutes, depending on spunk and the matador's skill.
Essentially, this was our faces throughout the event:
I just kept drinking.
The crowd watching was good though.
If you want to see a video from the actual bull fight, then I have some on my youtube channel, lkelly026, but will not be posting it here.
After that, we headed back into this massive sea of people:
Just insane - huge party crowd. We called it an early night because we had to be up at 5:30 to watch the running.
