Crazy Town!

We’ve been in Pamplona for 24 hours now and this town is crazy!! San Fermin Festival puts everyone in a happy mood, friendly, drunk, and loving… You really do feel sorry for the people who have to work during this festival.

We walked in looking around at the amazing beautiful buildings, distracted by a few party revellers wandering the streets still singing, dancing and drinking from the night before. We hit the main square grabbed prime spots at a kafé and ordered our first delicious churrios – YUM.

A drunk Irishman came over shocked we were not drinking yet and offered us his drink. A drunk Spaniard Paul befriended us too – we had no idea what he was saying, it wasn’t the language barrier it was the drunk barrier!

I know I’ve said drunk a lot already but it is San Fermin Festival!

We found our over priced accommodation easily so close to the heart if the centre, our box for the next 2 nights… Out of place in our trekking clothes it was nice to go shopping!! White and red is the only acceptable attire here! Thousands of people wearing it you feel like a local when you have it on 🙂

The party in the streets happen 24hrs a day! Parades, bands, singing, dancing pop up one after another to get anywhere you just join in!

One motto in this town is – if you can’t beat them.. Join them! And that’s what we did 🙂 the beer is cold the sangria good and the ‘local’ favourite red wine & coke mixed together ‘calmuchle’ – – drunk from a litre plastic cup! We had a go at everything!

After the afternoon at Bar Windsor, where we were befriended by some locals whose only English phrase was Rock and Roll!!! We were very grateful to have to go to catch our authentic Spanish experience…. The Bull Fight!!

The stadium was huge! The crowd excited! The sites, sounds, colours and spectacle was amazing a once in a lifetime experience for both of us. We witnessed 6 bull fights. 500 – 560kg angry bulls running out to the roar of the crowd – a brass band breaks out behind us everyone sings!! Then the drumming group start playing and the cheers happen! It’s a brutal experience  to witness – sadly by the end you are a bit desensitised by it.

On a sweeter note we were adopted by the family beside us 🙂 offering us cake and cherries and their own coffee (with alcohol of course) during the fights and they were amazed how far we had come and were happy for us to be there.

The crowd spills out onto the street afterwards and the night begins we were excited to catch up with our Camino friends Ranier and Igor again – having a local with us was good 🙂 we got around the back alleys, tiny bars and big drinks Igor told us a lot about the Basque Country and culture and we witnessed a crowd break out into dancing their traditional dance the line just got bigger and band turned up and the singing started! Crazy!!!!

And the party never stops… Never. We do wonder what this city would be like outside of the San Fermin Festival? It’s hard to imagine..

With little to no sleep, as you can’t when the band is just outside your window… This morning we made our way to our Balcony spot for our next local experience… Running With The Bulls!!! The whole experience is over in 6 minutes – at our spot (dead mans corner) you witness crazy people running away from 6 massive bulls and its flashed past you in about 6 seconds! You hold your breath the entire time!

We are at Grandma’s apartment and she ushers us in side to watch the rest of it on TV – it was a good run today a bull broke away from the herd and gouged a few runners… Yep that means its a good run!!

Another day in this crazy city awaits us… I wonder what will happen?

It is strange to say but we are both looking forward to putting our backpacks back on tomorrow and start walking again to witness more of the amazing country 🙂

Until then Buen Camino!