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RUNNING WITH
THE BULLS OF PAMPLONA - page 2
I arrived at
the cathedral where the run begins.
The crowds along the streets were
impenetrable. Police weeded out the
runners who were too drunk to walk.
The crowd of runners stood shoulder to
shoulder and the Spaniards were clapping
and dancing to brave and melodic chants.
The Japanese guys looked worried. And so
did the boys from Texas. Were there a
word to describe a condition of:
violence, stupidity, joy, fear,
grandiosity, and absurdity in some kind
of union -- or
quarrel, it might help.
Visitor
Tips:
| The
festival starts on July 6
and ends at midnight on
July 14. |
| Make
hotel and other bookings
several months in
advance. January is not
too early. |
| The
best views are from
balconies that overlook
the street. My Recommended
Spain Travel Agent can
help you book a balcony
for viewing the El
Encierro. |
| If
you plan to watch from
the street, arrive early,
before 6 A.M. You
should see two parallel
barriers running down the
street; you will want to
position yourself on the
exterior barrier. People
who place themselves on
the interior barrier will
be removed prior to the
bulls' running. |
| If you decide
to participate in the
run, familiarize yourself
with the course before
the event. |
| More
Unique
Visits:
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Every
man wore a red handkerchief
around his neck.
The white of shirts and pants was
hopelessly stained with purple
circles of wine. Spectators
in the rows of balconies along
the street looked down upon us.The
journalists took pictures. We
are heroes, I thought. No,
we are stupid young men.
When the first rocket exploded (they
use rockets -- rockets! -- to
signify the release of the bulls)
the crowd separated along the 800
meters of narrow cobblestone
street. I chose to run from
a spot high on “La
Estafeta”, the third and
final leg of the run that ends in
the bullring. La Estafeta is a
narrow alley with no routes of
escape but for a three meter gap
of wooden fence post.In
the first section of the run, the
most courageous and stupid of the
men run the bulls in
what is called The Passage of
Santo Domingo.The men of Santo
Domingo run uphill with the bulls
while the legs and lungs of the
bulls are fresh and vigorous. It
is considered very brave and
stupid to run through Santo
Domingo.
The middle section of
the run, called the "Ayuntamiento,"
is short, wide, and relatively
safe. It begins at the
end of Santo Domingo, and ends
at the first corner of La
Estafeta. Once past this corner,
the herd enters a narrow
cobblestone passage that
continues uninterrupted for
nearly three hundred yards.
I can compare the hoof-beating
approach of the bulls charging
down La Estafeta to nothing but
the towering winter swells of the
open Atlantic. It is a spectacle
that is dark, powerful, and
imminent. The Spanish bull seems
a creature only comparable to the
blue whale, the elephant, and
perhaps the lion. But it is the
colour of a rippling and moving
black, amongst a fleeing and
drunken mob of white and red men,
which is the most stunning and
incomprehensible.
Continue
to page three...
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Return
to page one -
Book
your own Pamplona Adventure!
Working with excellent local contacts in
Pamplona, Madrid
& Beyond designs special San Fermín
programmes to open up some of the best-kept
secrets of this unique festival. Madrid
& Beyond can also arrange tickets for
the bullfights and V.I.P. balconies for
the "Txupinazo" (the riotous
opening ceremony) and the famous "Running
of the Bulls". To witness the
world's most famous fiesta, book well in
advance!
Relationship
Disclosure |
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This article written By Jaed Muncharoen Coffin: Jaed Coffin is the author of, soon to be published, A CHANT TO SOOTHE WILD ELEPHANTS, Da Capo Press, and currently lives between Alaska, Maine, and Spain.
Photographs kindly supplied by Jorge Garcia-Eickelberg with arrangements through Madrid and Beyond. |
