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Published: July 13th 2008
Fun in town
Pamplona during opening ceremony weekend = big party town.Well, well, well. It was finally here. The run of a lifetime and the reason Dave's made the trek to Europe. 'The Greatest Bullfighter' (as he'd been calling himself) was quite nervous to say the least.
But before the run was to take place, we went to the opening ceremony where we were drenched in Sangria, water, wine and whatever else people poured on you from the balconies or sprayed at you in the crowd. Hilarious but soooo packed. 30,000 people crammed in to these little streets and main square. It went off though as you'll see from the photos.
Anyway, on to the run...Brendan (Zoe's brother) and Dave had plenty of little discussions about tactics for this run especially after watching the first run which ended up being the bloodiest run in 50 years. Apparently someone died (an Aussie) and it was in all the papers here but we're not sure of details because (a) we can't read Spanish and (b) there were so many stories going around that we didn't know what to believe. All we know is that one person died on the first day which made everyone just that little bit more anxious.
The
boys decided the strategy was to stay right so they didn't get squashed by a 600kg bull with massive horns against the wall. There were 12 bulls that ran down these narrow little streets with thousands of people in front and around them. Madness. The boys were so surprised with how fast the bulls were and how close they got to the bull - about a metre away.
After the actual run, the bulls and the people who make it run in to the ring and 'play' with some other smaller bulls that have corks on their horns. Both boys got to slap the bull on the butt, Dave missing on his first attempt. Lucky he got away, as the bull found his hair rather attractive. The girls at this stage were relieved that they'd seen Dave and Brendan alive and kicking so enjoyed the entertainment from their spots in the stands with all the Spaniards.
After queueing for two hours with some locals for tickets, we went to a bull fight. Interesting and even more so for the boys as these were the bulls they'd run against earlier in the day, but it was a little unfair.
Three people and a person on a horse with spears vs the bull who can never win. But that's their culture so you have to go with it. The people at the bull run were the best ever and the crowd sprayed us with Sangria whilst we were walking through to our seats. Gotta love a tourist! All friendly though.
So that was our time in Pamplona. Dave recommends all blokes do it if they get the chance - he's changed his attitude now that he's done it and survived it though. One of the craziest things he's ever done. Would love to hear what you think now that you've seen what it was like!
See ya,
Dave and Zoe
P.S. Check out the video if you can. It's when they all entered the ring - don't even bother trying to see Dave and Brendan, they're in a sea of people. Enjoy!
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diane
non-member comment
Glad you made it no bull love di