The Bull Run Trail

Darlings!

First of all, you´re not lost. This is still my blog, hahaha! ;) It´s just that once in a while I post things for some of my readers who are interested in the Spanish culture. After all, Spain is about sun, sea, fiesta and a little bit more.Talking about  fiesta, the capital cities of the Spanish Basque Country( Pamplona, Vitoria-Gasteiz ( my city), Bilbao and San Sebastian) celebrate their fiestas in the month of July and August.

Let´s start with the world famous bull runs (running of *with*  the bulls) of Pamplona, the capital city of Navarre. This is a spectacular but VERY DANGEROUS activity is held from July 7( day after the chupinazo) up to July 14 every year.


Here´s a dry run of what´s happening these days in Pamplona. First, the bulls are placed here overnight until the following day for the ¨encierro¨. Of course, the cars are not part of the scene. ;)

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At 8 o´clock am, the bulls are set free. They first pass on this street from where they were corralled overnight.

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Before the bulls are set free, those who wanted to be part of the bull pay their respects first to the image of San Fermin ( the patron saint of Pamplona) while chanting this prayer:

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The statue of San Fermin:

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Then they run for their lives while running with the bulls! It´s a very precarious activity really, it has even produced a number of deaths and lots of accidents but still a lot of people from inside and outside of Spain flock to Pamplona to be part of the ¨encierro/bull run¨.


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The bull runners together with the bulls pass by the city hall where the ¨chupinazo¨ is held the day before the official bull run starts.

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The route:
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This is the curved part of one of the trail/streets where the bulls pass.

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For the last leg of the run, the bulls pass through Estafeta street:

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Here´s the 300 meter street:

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Finally, the bulls end up inside the Plaza de Toros, the final destination. Bull runs usually last from 2+ mins. to 3+ minutes. Quite a short time for having the run of your life but the experience is unforgettable.

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Here I am near the door:

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These are 2-year old photos taken late winter, hence, no bulls nor people in white and red scarves
 (Pamplona´s fiesta uniform), lol! See my mid-length hair? ;)

The Bull Run of Pamplona was made famous by Ernest Hemingway. He loved it here and the ¨Pamploneses¨ loved him too. For more information about the Pamplona bull runs, click here.


I hope you liked the short dry run. Felices, Sanfermines, Pamplona! :)


xoxo,


Che

Comments

Great photos as usual!

Cherie said…
what an interesting cultural practice. i guess running with the bulls can be called a "macho" thing haha

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