About Me

Alabama, United States
Originally this blog was just a journal of my year studying abroad in England, but now its just my life. I can't seem to sit still so most of it is travel related, but who knows where it will go from here. Don't be fooled by the name. I LOVE to travel, I'm just not always merry.

Monday, July 8, 2013

San Fermin 2013 (Pamplona)

As we headed to the bus station we ran into the Australian couple (DJ & Allie) we had met in our hostel. They were headed to Pamplona on the same bus as us, but they looked much more prepared. They were all decked out in the gear so we ran to a store around the corner to do the same. Honestly it wasn't a bad deal and now I have souvenirs.
The bus only took about an hour and then we checked our stuff into the storage area in the bus station. We ended up losing track of DJ & Allie so we just decided to wander the streets and take it all in. So many people were out in the streets and were already drinking, or still drinking. We decided that we needed to catch up so Ally got a bottle of sangria and I got a jug of mojitos that was pretty disgusting. We sat and drank in the square and then enjoyed some traditional dancing that basically pushed us out of the main part of the square.

Unfortunately it was still early and we had to get through the whole night. While sometimes this is not a problem, I was just tired and it was a struggle. After roaming around again and hanging out we went back to the park next to the bus station and tried to get some sleep. Lets just say it didn't go well. I think Ally and Alex managed to get a bit of sleep, but I was awake the entire time. It was so cold and I just couldn't get warm. Also more than once some guy approached me and tried to get me to sleep with him. Basically I would open my eyes and some random dude would be bent down staring at me so it was a bit creepy.

Anyway the night slowly creeped on by and finally it was time to go to the stadium so we could get tickets for the bull fights and get in line for seats inside. We had decided not to run, although we kind of wanted to, because multiple people had told us that basically there was no way that we wouldn't get pulled out because we are girls. Also we just didn't know what to expect so we were a bit nervous. Anyway it is now officially on my bucket list to run with the bulls in Pamplona so I am going to have to go  back and at least try.

So we watched the run on a screen in the stadium and parts of it were pretty intense, but the best part came later. After all the runners made it into the arena and all of the bulls were taken out, people were just casually walking around and taking pictures. Little did they know that one by one the bulls would be re-released into the stadium. You should have seen how quickly some of them jumped or threw themselves over the walls. Sometimes you couldn't even see the bull because there was so many people in the stadium, but then you would see a pair of legs fly through the air and thats not normal. Apparently its also a thing to try and jump clean over the bull. Its like the people in the arena wanted to get hurt. Really the real danger came if you mistreated one of the bulls because then one of the locals in the stadium would beat the shit out of you. I saw one guy get kicked in the face, one get fiercely punched in the face, and another person was beating on guy so badly that someone came and had to pull him off. Of course what counts as "mistreating" the bulls isn't clear.

Ally even saw someone she went to Spring Hill with in the mass of people avoiding the bull and we saw DJ. We ended up leaving with him and Allie and a couple of friends they had made that night. We ended up going to a bar and celebrating the run 'cause a couple of them actually ran with the bulls. DJ said it was the best experience and he was so hyped up about it all.

Eventually the day came to an end, and we didn't get to see the bull fight 'cause we had to catch our train. I think I could go back and do it all more effectively, but we just didn't know what to expect. Still it was a blast and it definitely was an experience. 

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