B: Okay, on July 10 Deni and I woke ourselves up and caught a train to Amsterdam's Schiphol airport. We flew a discount Spanish carrier called Vueling. It was cheap, but you get what you paid for. We paid to get to Barcelona and luckily that's what we did (obviously we didn't pay for food or prompt return of our luggage).
We picked up our Citroen car and headed north to Pamplona. The first thing we found out, the hard way, is that tollroads are extremely expensive in Spain. They don't have an extensive, free, interstate system there like they do in America. We took the turnpike a couple times, but after one 20 euro toll, we'd had enough of it. The backroads worked fine and you got to see more of the countryside.
We also began to learn about how to deal with people that don't speak English. The first thing is not to let people rush you or get you flustered. I did and instead of a salmon fillet I got something with tentacles...Sorry, no pictures of that one.
Anyway, we got to Pamplona at about 2am on the morning of July 11. It was cold, but people were up, so we grabbed a quick sandwich and a beer. San Fermin is a lot like Mardi Gras, in my opinion. It's a religious festival, but it's also an excuse for people to come from all over, drink a lot of beer and hurt themselves. The smells are also similar....(urine).
We covered Pamplona a bit a few posts ago. Instead of running or fighting for a vantage point along the route, we grabbed a spot in the arena. Pretty crazy to say the least. More than once my jaw dropped after seeing a savage smashing.
We watched the partygoers vie with the bulls for a while then went to explore the town. We searched for some white clothes and red scarves and hit a grocery store for lunch. Then we went back to to arena for some professional bullfighting.
Bullfighting was interesting, but nearly as much fun as I hoped/thought it would be. There were about 4 guys in full regalia, of varying ages, on the perimiter and one guy on horseback, who was in really really nice clothes that trotted into the arena. The guy on horseback taunted the bull until it charged at which point he tried his best to put a spear in its back.
The bullrun takes about 3 minutes. Even when they're not actually running, bulls have their spies out looking for people to take out the next day...We were able to capture a rare picture of one in action.
Our strategy was to watch the bullrun and then decide if we'd go for it the next day or not. As we mentioned a few posts ago, we decided against it. Read this story about what happened the day that we would have run, had we chose to:
MADRID, Spain: American brothers Lawrence and Michael Lenahan won't forget their debut at San Fermin festival.
In one split second the same bull had gored the two of them — one in the buttock and the other in the leg. Blood was everywhere.
"I started yelling at my brother to show him I was bleeding everywhere but he showed me he was bleeding everywhere," Lawrence, a 26-year-old U.S. Air Force captain from Hermosa Beach, California, said in a phone interview Friday from his hospital bed in Pamplona. Michael, 23, from Philadelphia, also remains hospitalized after undergoing surgery.
The two were gored Thursday in the sixth bull run of the nine-day festival, the longest and most dangerous so far.
In all, 13 people were injured and seven were gored, including the Lenahan brothers, all by the same bull.
In one split second the same bull had gored the two of them — one in the buttock and the other in the leg. Blood was everywhere.
"I started yelling at my brother to show him I was bleeding everywhere but he showed me he was bleeding everywhere," Lawrence, a 26-year-old U.S. Air Force captain from Hermosa Beach, California, said in a phone interview Friday from his hospital bed in Pamplona. Michael, 23, from Philadelphia, also remains hospitalized after undergoing surgery.
The two were gored Thursday in the sixth bull run of the nine-day festival, the longest and most dangerous so far.
In all, 13 people were injured and seven were gored, including the Lenahan brothers, all by the same bull.
In one incident, the bull's horn tore through the shin of Norwegian Christopher Neiff, 24, sliding under the skin and right up to his knee. Photographs and video images of the moment were not for the squeamish.
Initially, the media reported that Neiff was one of the Lenahan brothers.
The festival organizers said in their daily medical report that Neiff had a 12-centimeter injury but that the bone was not affected.
But the incident did not unnerve the elder of the Lenahans.
"We will definitely be back again," Lawrence said. "My brother will never run (in the festival) again but he would like to come back to celebrate."
"It struck a little bit more spirit into me," he added. "I think my brother and I underestimated the speed and danger of it."
The brothers arrived in Pamplona with friends and had watched one bull run before taking part. Thursday's run was their first.
"I remember looking back and thinking I was in trouble," Lenahan said.
After the two were hospitalized, Lenahan said he told his parents by phone that they were fine because they were together.
He said he remembered using his shirt to help wrap his brother's leg as medical service staff arrived to help them.
The pack of six 1,300-pound (590-kilogram) bulls and six steers — intended to keep the bulls running in a single pack — disintegrated shortly after the animals set off on the course through the narrow cobblestone streets of Pamplona.
The run lasted 6 minutes, 9 seconds, compared with the usual length of 2 minutes because one bull separated — the most dangerous thing that can happen during a bull run.
Friday's run, which lasted 2 minutes 42 seconds, occurred with few complications though several people sustained bruises and other minor injuries.
The San Fermin festival, renowned for its all-night street parties, dates back to 1591. It gained worldwide fame in Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel "The Sun Also Rises."
Since records began in 1924, 13 people have been killed in the runs. The last fatality, a 22-year-old American, was gored to death in 1995.
Initially, the media reported that Neiff was one of the Lenahan brothers.
The festival organizers said in their daily medical report that Neiff had a 12-centimeter injury but that the bone was not affected.
But the incident did not unnerve the elder of the Lenahans.
"We will definitely be back again," Lawrence said. "My brother will never run (in the festival) again but he would like to come back to celebrate."
"It struck a little bit more spirit into me," he added. "I think my brother and I underestimated the speed and danger of it."
The brothers arrived in Pamplona with friends and had watched one bull run before taking part. Thursday's run was their first.
"I remember looking back and thinking I was in trouble," Lenahan said.
After the two were hospitalized, Lenahan said he told his parents by phone that they were fine because they were together.
He said he remembered using his shirt to help wrap his brother's leg as medical service staff arrived to help them.
The pack of six 1,300-pound (590-kilogram) bulls and six steers — intended to keep the bulls running in a single pack — disintegrated shortly after the animals set off on the course through the narrow cobblestone streets of Pamplona.
The run lasted 6 minutes, 9 seconds, compared with the usual length of 2 minutes because one bull separated — the most dangerous thing that can happen during a bull run.
Friday's run, which lasted 2 minutes 42 seconds, occurred with few complications though several people sustained bruises and other minor injuries.
The San Fermin festival, renowned for its all-night street parties, dates back to 1591. It gained worldwide fame in Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel "The Sun Also Rises."
Since records began in 1924, 13 people have been killed in the runs. The last fatality, a 22-year-old American, was gored to death in 1995.
The picture of their injury is pretty incredible. Here is a picture of what would have happened had Deni decided to run...
The bulls run every morning at 8 a.m. for the lenghth of the festival. After the run and bullfights, people finally go to sleep if they've been up all night or celebrate San Fermin in their neighborhoods with bands like this one D captured.
After getting some good souvenirs and pictures, we skipped town to spend the night in a French town across the border called Anglet.
1 comment:
You guys' trip sounds awesome...! Wish I were there. Hopefully I can work out some vacation time later this year or early in '08. Shit '08! We are getting old. Btw, the blue bull is awesome. Nice pic.
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