Pamps!
Talk about the craziest, stupidest, most completely insane thing on earth!! San Fermin was all that and more!! After arriving *finally* (7:30pm) to the hotel in Lekumberri (a tiny little village about 25mins from Pamplona) I checked in... and found the closest pub! (Because I had arrived late, most of the crew were in Pamps getting a tour and tips about how to survive the run - not the best chat to miss). The others (including Jas, Dean and Hux arrived back around 10 and the first of many late nights was had down at Bar Izar).
The next morning we were up and on the bus around 10am for the "opening ceremony" - our only tip... wear closed shoes and take some spare clothes... luckily we had the full white and red get-up which will now become the greatest test of Napisan ever!! The opening ceremony consists of squeezing thousands and thousands of people into a tiny town square, spraying champagne, beer, sangreas into the air and each other... throwing eggs and flour and mustard and curry and pretty much anything you could get your hands on at everyone! At 12noon fireworks were launched from the town hall, the scarves came out and more drink was thrown about!
We spent the day learning the course, drinking sangreas and just basking in the craziness that is San Fermin! After that, back to the pub for some more beer and merriment - but a relatively early night, for tomorrow is...........
The run! The most scary, fun, thrilling, stupid, tiring, idiotic, deadly, insane way to start your day!! A very quiet bus ride into Pamplona, then an equally quiet walk to the town hall and entry to the course. The town by this time was FILTHY!! 122 tonnes of rubbish was collected the first day.... but by the look of the streets that was only half of it!
7:00am - made it into the town hall square into the mass of people, standing shoulder to shoulder - the place reeks of alcohol, vomit and more prominent.. FEAR!
7:30am - pretty much the same as 7:00am, except the guy next to me is on his haunches puking his guts out!
7:50am - the cops start opening the street and the crowd instantly thins out. We walk a few metres down.
7:58am - we realise that we are still about 75m from "dead man's corner" so we walk down a little more.
8:00am - BANG! Firework goes off indicating that the have about 20 seconds before massive angry bulls get released from their holding pen.
8:00:20am - BANG! Even more panic... starting to jog a little now... round "dead man's corner" where we will hear later that a kiwi and a yank got gored.
8:01am - Still jogging, panic everywhere... then the sound of thunder and the words "TORO! TORO!". Looking both forward and back, I can't see anything except runners, until about 2m away from me they come into view... these MASSIVE horns on these MASSIVE bulls! I decide to move a little closer to the wall!! I am probably running with them next to me for 2 or 3 seconds before they zoom off ahead... My heartrate is about 390, my legs are aching cos all the blood and lactic acid has frozen in fear!
8:02am - Jogging along behind them we get to the last corner before the arena, then a big congestion... looking up an old lady on the balcony is telling the crowd to stop... "loco toro!" - One of the bulls got a little lost and had started running the wrong way. The mass of people surged backwards, then started forwards again...
8:03am - Into the arena! We made it! Unbelievable! The biggest rush of our lives! Everyone is looking like they've just climbed mount everest... then that word "toro!" again... and everyone instantly looked like they shat themselves! Everyone bolts to the sides of the arena and the last bull and heffer saunter through into their pen.
8:04am - The bullring! Awesome... survived... how cool was that... Then some cheers... turn around and they have let loose a little bull into the arena... This guy is going crazy stomping and charging people. The crowd that has filled the arena are screaming and chanting! Everytime the bulls hit someone they cheered and roared... Everytime a stupid tourist touched the bulls horns they jeered and booed and yelled "blah blah blah Puta!!". Then a second bull was sent out to collect the black one and bring him back.... This continued on for six "quarters" I guess! (except us humans were obviously the away team judging by the crowd response!) Everytime they let the bulls out into the ring, people were sitting in front of the gate, crouching down... then the herders would open the gates and the bull will come thundering out.. and JUMP THE PEOPLE CROUCHING!!! IN-FRIGGING-SANE!!! (although not always clearing them completely!)
Finally they opened the human gates and everyone poured out of the stadium... a quick check of all body parts and back to the bus for breakkie! In sadder news, one bloke had his spinal cord broken in the arena and is now a paraplegic with no use of his legs and "some" use of his arms. Reading the Spanish papers, there were 4 gorings, 8 people hospitalised and 40 people in total received medical attention! The kinda of thing that turns the biggest rush in your life into that "yeah... once in a lifetime mate... just the once!!"
So back to the hotel... breakkie... a little nanna nap... a lot of beer... a lot of laughs... then back into Pamps for partying... then back to the bar down the street for partying...
I could go on for ever about how insane this festival is, you would not believe it until you saw and experienced it! I'm glad I went down with a tour mob, we had such a great group of people and was one of the funniest weekends ever! So back in London now after a 22 hour bus trip back... and with absolutely no plans whatsoever!! Except to hit the town tonight for Jas and Hux' last night in London.
Oh and apologies to everyone!!! I ran the bull run... got my phone to send texts that I was safe and alive... then I ran out of credit!!! So sorry to those who think i'm dead!! I'm not.... really... :)
