No Bull.

What. A. Weekend. 

In reality I was only in Pamplona, Spain for the San Fermines festival to see the running of the bulls, el encierro, from Saturday at 8 pm ‘till Sunday at 2pm but in true Spanish fiesta fashion I was awake the whole time. 

I traveled with 3 other chicas and 3 other chicos - we got their by a surprisingly comfortable 5ish hour bus ride. The country was beautiful, if not a little dry since the rain in Spain doesn’t fall in the summer, and it seemed like around every turn was another ruin posted up on a hill. I’m sure Spaniards get desensitized to it, which is sad, but not this American, not yet, and I hope never. We even drove by fields of sunflowers! 

We honestly had no idea how the festival was going to work and had been wondering how we would know what to do or where to go. Arriving was super exciting. We went down a hill and suddenly there were thousands of people dressed in white clothes with red scarves. We joined the crowds of crazies for the rest of the night to watch some alternative rock band in a park, wander the city, dance, eat bocadillos (subs) and finally claim our spot to watch the bulls. We waited there for two and half hours, literally fighting off people to keep our spots. I think I can officially sass in Spanish. My coveted point of view was sitting on the dirty ground (side note: I’ve never in my life seen so much trash in a city), peering through someone’s legs standing on the gate, then through a group of paramedics and another gate. I will confess to you it wasn’t much of a sight, the bulls and people were both a blur, and what I could see was over in a few seconds, but it was beyond exciting. It was also incredibly safe if you weren’t running. Friends who ran said it was pretttttty scary. 

Something interesting we noticed and weren’t expecting to see was that people of all ages enjoy the festival. I saw lots of little old couples walking around or dancing to traditional music. We also saw an astonishing amount of little kids with their parents, dolled up in adorable red and white outfits. 

Would I do it every year? No. Would I do it again? Maybe.

Do you want to run with the bulls? If you do let me give you a few recommendations. 

• Don’t get a hotel. If you want to sleep, sleep in a park. It is part of the experience. 
• Don’t plan on staying more than one night. It is the same thing every single day.  (God bless the sanitation workers)
• Wear closed toed shoes. Especially if you want to run. It is not so much a comfort factor, but a oh-my-goodness-my-feet-are-black factor. I wore sandals. 
• Ladies, wear pants/shorts. While us chicas looked guapas in our dresses, there is lots of ground sitting to be done. Guys, go full euro and wear white pants. 
• Bring a sweater. It got cold and I bought a red pullover while I was there. It served for much more than just a sweater too - also a pillow and blanket. 
• Talk to people! We got all of our information from asking. It really surprised me how many Pamplonians actually stayed in the city and partook in the festivities. I figured they all left every San Fermines season. 
• RUN. Do research ahead of time and be sure you are in good shape. Find out which bulls are running what day, what gun shot to leave at and where to start.  It is possible to to do it smart. It is mostly the crazy drunkards that run into trouble.