So, what else is there to do at San Fermines beside the typical "Get wasted and run"?
As it turned out, there's a lot you can do. I'm going to write about some of the highlights we saw. First though: Pamplona is a terrible place to see during San Fermines. There's trash everywhere from old bottles of alcohol to food wrappers and a constant smell of spilt alcohol, vomit and urine. Dumpsters became urinals. The city sprayed the streets with water every day, but it didn't really do anything. There are people passed out in the street or a field and other stumbling around or sitting with their head in their hands. We saw a guy who was just lying next to a bench, like he couldn't have made it on the bench. We were actually concerned he was dead. I was really glad to get back to Barcelona, it seemed like Heaven.
R took us to the ancient city wall, which overlooks another portion of the city. It was really beautiful and one of the few places that was "San Fermines" free. Which makes sense- if you were drunk and came here, you'd fall off the wall and die. It was a pretty long drop. We didn't take the elevator but we did walk along it until we came to the pen where the bulls were kept. We also went to a beautiful park(don't know the name)where the citadel was. Now, it's used to house deer and an assortment of birds. We saw a chicken that looked like David Bowie, it was incredibly bizarre.
I wanted to see some of the churches so we went to one that was the oldest church in Pamplona. I was a little appalled when two members of our group fell asleep in the pew, and that other tourists were talking pretty loudly during mass. There weren't many church goers, but it still made me a little sad. The church was really interesting, and we also saw a San Sebastian pilgrim. The other church was more interesting to me because it had one of the few statues of San Fermines. R told me that they think San Fermines was possibly Moorish because he has black skin(the statue does). But they couldn't be sure because it could have been the smoke from the candles.
San Fermines is a saint who was killed by being beheaded. He is one of the co-saints of Navarre. In Pamplona, it's also popular to say he was beheaded and dragged through the streets by bulls, hence why people run with the bulls. R told me that the bull running is actually just because that's how they used to get the bulls to the arena, and people just started running with them. I think I learned that tradition doesn't always have the easiest explanation. Or you have to find the right person to get the real reason.
Every night during San Fermines, there is a spectacular fireworks show. We went twice, which I really enjoyed both nights. One of R's roommates informed us that every night, the fireworks are from a different country. The first night, we didn't know but the second night was from Denmark.
One of most interesting things we did was go to the parade of gigantes and cabezudos. This was more of a family event, and it was so much fun! There are 8 gigantes which are large statues made of wood and plaster. They are lifted up by one dancer, who walks with it and eventually dances to traditional Basque music, which was mostly drums and flutes. It was really cute, watching the pairs dance with each other. Each pair represents a different continent: Africa, Asia, Europe, and North/South America. We had trouble identifying each one, the picture should give you an idea why. The 11 cabezudos represent people from the town, like the mayor. They were smaller, just heads that people would wear. There was a pair of Japanese people(they looked Chinese) but we weren't sure why there were there. They carried whips with foam on the end(it used to be a pig bladder) that they would hit children and adults on the head with. I got hit a couple times but it was fun. We tried to get pictures with the most famous one, who we didn't know his name, but he wasn't standing still for anyone!
The best thing we did was running from the Toro del Fuego, or Fire Bull. We had no idea what to expect with this one, so we youtubed it! From what we saw, it was a metal frame of a bull strapped with fireworks that was put on a bike wheel and sent down the street. Okkkayyy...cool I guess.
It wasn't like that at all! We got there, ready to have some fun and run from the "bull". Turns out, it's NOT a bike and it's NOT just shot down the street. It's a man carrying it, and he chases you! We had a lot of fun running, and I got a little burned. Note: When running from a bull that shoots fireworks pretty low to the ground, where a long sleeve, high necked shirt. Sparks went down my shirt, and it hurt a bit. But, at least I can say I ran from something!
As it turned out, there's a lot you can do. I'm going to write about some of the highlights we saw. First though: Pamplona is a terrible place to see during San Fermines. There's trash everywhere from old bottles of alcohol to food wrappers and a constant smell of spilt alcohol, vomit and urine. Dumpsters became urinals. The city sprayed the streets with water every day, but it didn't really do anything. There are people passed out in the street or a field and other stumbling around or sitting with their head in their hands. We saw a guy who was just lying next to a bench, like he couldn't have made it on the bench. We were actually concerned he was dead. I was really glad to get back to Barcelona, it seemed like Heaven.
R took us to the ancient city wall, which overlooks another portion of the city. It was really beautiful and one of the few places that was "San Fermines" free. Which makes sense- if you were drunk and came here, you'd fall off the wall and die. It was a pretty long drop. We didn't take the elevator but we did walk along it until we came to the pen where the bulls were kept. We also went to a beautiful park(don't know the name)where the citadel was. Now, it's used to house deer and an assortment of birds. We saw a chicken that looked like David Bowie, it was incredibly bizarre.
I wanted to see some of the churches so we went to one that was the oldest church in Pamplona. I was a little appalled when two members of our group fell asleep in the pew, and that other tourists were talking pretty loudly during mass. There weren't many church goers, but it still made me a little sad. The church was really interesting, and we also saw a San Sebastian pilgrim. The other church was more interesting to me because it had one of the few statues of San Fermines. R told me that they think San Fermines was possibly Moorish because he has black skin(the statue does). But they couldn't be sure because it could have been the smoke from the candles.
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| San Fermines |
Every night during San Fermines, there is a spectacular fireworks show. We went twice, which I really enjoyed both nights. One of R's roommates informed us that every night, the fireworks are from a different country. The first night, we didn't know but the second night was from Denmark.
 |
| L-R: America, Africa, Asia, Europe |
One of most interesting things we did was go to the parade of gigantes and cabezudos. This was more of a family event, and it was so much fun! There are 8 gigantes which are large statues made of wood and plaster. They are lifted up by one dancer, who walks with it and eventually dances to traditional Basque music, which was mostly drums and flutes. It was really cute, watching the pairs dance with each other. Each pair represents a different continent: Africa, Asia, Europe, and North/South America. We had trouble identifying each one, the picture should give you an idea why. The 11 cabezudos represent people from the town, like the mayor. They were smaller, just heads that people would wear. There was a pair of Japanese people(they looked Chinese) but we weren't sure why there were there. They carried whips with foam on the end(it used to be a pig bladder) that they would hit children and adults on the head with. I got hit a couple times but it was fun. We tried to get pictures with the most famous one, who we didn't know his name, but he wasn't standing still for anyone!
The best thing we did was running from the Toro del Fuego, or Fire Bull. We had no idea what to expect with this one, so we youtubed it! From what we saw, it was a metal frame of a bull strapped with fireworks that was put on a bike wheel and sent down the street. Okkkayyy...cool I guess.
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| Toro Del Fuego |
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