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Published: July 22nd 2008
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Hello Everyone!
My last week in Spain was a whirlwind vacation through the Basque Country to see a little of Bilbao and to run with the bulls in Pamplona. I left Malaga on Tuesday afternoon (7/8) and got to Pamplona that evening. I had to travel with all of my luggage since I was leaving from Bilbao on Friday morning to go back to Syracuse, so I weaved my way through the streets and massive crowds of people of Pamplona and found the bus station. I couldn't find a place to stay in Pamplona for a decent price, so I had to catch a bus to Bilbao which took about an hour and a half that next morning. I got a little sleep on Wednesday, and did a self-tour through Bilbao.
Bilbao is beautiful. The differences in the cultures between northern and southern spain are like black and white. You are really surrounded by a different feeling as you walk through the streets. In my opinion, the north is much more "organized" than in the south. The city seems to run much more efficient, and the technology seems much better. The people are very nice and willing to socialize,
but not as willing to initiate a conversation as in Andalusia. It is really a different feeling, but a good place to be. A quick history lesson about the Basque Country and Spain: the northern communities of Spain speak 3 different languages other than spanish (gallego: form of portugese and spanish; catalan: form of french and spanish; and euskera: a sandscript language without a solid origin) and have had a more autonomous past than the rest of Spain, until the dictatorship of Franco during the middle of the 20th century. After Franco died, they were given back their autonomy, and in short, have their own laws and form of government in Spain. They are practically their own country, which is why they want to separate from the rest of the country of Spain. Radicalists, from the nacionalist group ETA, occasionally assassinate government officials or police, who do not support their nationalism; so I kept my government opinions to myself, and just focused on not getting gored by a bull. I do believe that within a few decades, Spain will see some major changes in the north country, and might not be "Spain" any longer-you can't surpress nationalism. It is hard
to find a Spanish flag in northern Spain; I only saw them outside the government buildings, not even in the city on flag poles! Anyway...I took some sweet pictures of Bilbao and tried to catch up on some sleep after I walked around the city. That same evening I arrived, I caught a bus back to Pamplona so I could join in the festivities of Los San Fermines! I left all my luggage in my hotel in Bilbao, and arrived in Pamplona with a camera in my pocket and my wallet. That evening, I met a ton of people from all over Europe and the United States, and we stayed up and taunted the bulls until the next morning. Everyone is dressed in white, and is wearing a red hankerchief around their neck and a red scarf around their waist. At 5 in the morning the city comes to the Running of the Bulls route to set up the blockades and clean up the streets.
The adrenaline started flowing as soon as I saw the bulls that early morning, and everyone was getting ready. At about 7 o'clock, I was feeling the butterflies. The street is jam packed with
Guggenheim
I wish I knew how to spell this really important museum name. people, and it is impossible to move around very much the first gun goes off at 7:58 to let everyone know that the bulls are in the street and the gate is preparing to open. The crowd is going crazy, everyone is clapping and screaming! The second gun goes off...RUN! RUN! RUUNNNNN! I didn't know what I was even running from, but I was just running and screaming "RUN" with everyone else. Before I even ran that far, I looked behind me and saw the crowd separating from the middle like Moses splitting the sea. The only reaction I could muster was a terrified look across my face, and I was being pushed into the sides of a building next to me. That next instant, the 6 bulls came charging by us and I reached out and touched one running in the back as it passed. The sound of cow-bells today makes me shutter...not really, but it is a friendly reminder of just how close I was to them. After they passed, everyone was running after them to make it into the arena (Plaza de los Toros) at the finish line. The whole running took about 3 minutes, but the
Guggenheim
That's cute. real fun was about to begin. In the arena, people kneel in front of a small doorway and wait for a 1-year old bull to come charging out and leap over them. Then it is free reign to play with the bull and attempt to touch him on the head without getting killed. After seeing a few people get drilled by a bull, I had seen enough, and headed back to the bus station to go back to Bilbao, collect my luggage, and wait for my plane to leave some 18 hours later from Bilbao.
I can't wait to do it again....
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