Pamplona!!!!

WOW!!
What an adventure in Pamplona! A group of us (9 total) went to the encierro... AKA the running of the bulls. No amount of study, knowledge, understanding of the culture, etc. could have adequately prepared me for the experience. It was absolutely amazing... something I think that every person should see at some point in their life.

We left Salamanca on Friday afternoon as soon as classes got out. It was an interesting adventure getting out of town, but eased by the use of a GPS system that one of the girls brought with her. We traveled for about 3.5 hours through the most beautiful countryside I´ve ever seen. It even beat the scenary in Colorado! It was so incredibly green! The mountains were amazing, and we curved in and around them most of the way there.

We arrived to Pamplona and found a place to stash the rental car out of town a couple miles or so. Then, we headed into the centro to find the party. The party actually found us... all we had to do was take a city bus and we were surrounded with song and dance. I was really glad to have been wearing a white shirt & pants with a red scarf around my neck and belt/scarf thing around my waist... because I blended in to the crowd a bit. The people were so nice in Pamplona, a much different feel for the province I am staying in right now. Everyone was helpful with directions and information about where to go, what to do, who to see, etc.

We walked from the bus stop about 50 meters and were able to see the most beautiful fireworks show I have ever seen. Talk about getting to have a 4th of July afterall! It was really something. I´m not even big on fireworks... sort of just something I do each year on the 4th. But this, was like the New York City Grand Finale for 60 minutes. Truly beautiful... and a part of the adventure.

After the fireworks, we made our way to the skinny streets of Pamplona where we encountered a band that played the most fun music. There was a trombone player (yes, Steve & Christine... you can laugh at me now!), who played so well. The group might as well have been professionals... yet they were playing in the crazy streets of Pamplona. The party went on all night. At about 5am, I made my way back to the car to take a short nap before the ¨real¨action began. The morning came quickly and we made our way to the plaza de toros. This was so incredible!!

The crowd was going nuts in anticipation for the beginning of the corrida. They had a big screen TV in the stadium so that we could watch the running through the streets of Pamplona. The race is just about 1 mile in length, and most of the runners only last 10 seconds or so in the pack before pulling off to the side to prevent a major injury. One of my friends, Carlos, actually ran!

Inside the stadium, we stood in the front row of the upper deck, which was a really great way to see EVERYTHING that was going on. The cows came in (these vacas help the bulls stay on track) and then loads of people, and then the bulls. They were huge!! All but two of them went right where they were supposed to, across the plaza, away from the people. However, two bulls turned on a dime and started heading toward the people! The guys in charge of corralling them did a great job though... and no one was hurt in the plaza. Here´s the crazy part however, there was a guy injured who was a Colombian named Carlos... we kinda freaked when word was spreading through the crowd and we considered that this Colombian Carlos could very well be OUR Colombian named Carlos!!! Thankfully, he made it out just fine... and, actually ran again on Sunday! Talk about pressing his luck!

Anyway, after the bulls made it through the stadium, they sent out these little bulls (babies... that are still HUGE). Anyway, the people play with these bulls, sort of dance around with them, tease them, etc. It was pretty awful, in terms of an animal rights activist perspective... but entertaining nonetheless. There is a real cultural significance to the bull as a free being... the Spaniards would get really mad when a foreigner would do the wrong thing with the bull like grab its horns or something. At one point, I watched a guy get beat up by a bunch of Spaniards because he didn´t ¨do it right¨whatever that means... It was interesting to learn about that side of the whole event. It all seemed a little crazy considering that the bulls get killed at the end of the thing anyway!

The party continued after the plaza... there were huge parades, and loads of fiestas going on. I really had a great time!

I´m going to post a separate blog about the continuation of the weekend trip... but for now, I hope that you´ve enjoyed my ramblings!!

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