Pamplona

I didn't blog about the last leg of my journey so I thought I would do that before it all escapes my tiny little memory. I threw an add on couch surfing to find someone to accompany me on my journey to Pamplona. A Spanish punk named Juan wrote me back and offered to be my hitch hiking companion there. Hitch hiking in Spain, humm, give me something I haven't done before and Im in. Now this could have very well been a terrible mix; hitching with a guy I don't know in a country i've never been to and unable to speak the language, but I had faith and it payed off because it was wonderful.
Our ride was short, safe, exciting, and very entertaining with the the company we found. And Pamplona, well that was just wild. I heard it is a city that typically has two hundred thousand people but during San Fermin it becomes a city of a million people. I didn't doubt this at all as every nook and cranny was absolutely flooded with people. It was mad, like nothing i've ever seen. Every singe street, park, and building was packed with people shoulder to shoulder. There were little mini cities within the big city that had everything a person needed to stay right in the area and was designed to fit their "type" (punk, festive, rave, authentic, etc), although most people only needed/wanted alcohol, cigarettes, and the authentic San Fermin get-up in order to survive for the week. It was one big party that literally did not stop, at six in the morning people are still going just as hard as they were at noon, well minus the hundreds of people lining the edges of each street, passed out or yacking their cookies in every direction but still "awake" and pretending to be a part of the action.
Throughout the days were great too. Every hour had a different event whether it was bull fighting (which no I didn't attend), concerts, dances, or competitions. Mind you through most of the day the city would die down just a touch and the parks would mound with people trying to catch up on sleep for the evening. And that folks is where you would find me. Sleeping in the park for four nights among endless strangers that filled that role of best friends. I remember when I was little and going to school in Brooks at Griffin park. Every few months we would have those giant slumber parities in the school gym. Everyone would bring there sleeping bags, Robert Munch himself would come and read us bedtime stories, and then we would all wake up to a pancake breakfast. Pamplona reminded me of that, I suppose the only difference was the breakfast cause I'm pretty sure even Mr. Munch was somewhere in the crowd.
Now for the big disappointment...I did not run with the bulls! I desperately wanted too and tried my hardest but missed the gate by seconds (I will forever resent Juan for that). I was so pumped up and ready to go. By that point many of our friends had gone and their adrenaline filled stories filled my veins with a touch of jealousy so my mind was made and I was going to run. But NO, the gates had to close and I did the walk of shame back to the stands to watch everyone else enjoy the action. Is was insane. Can you imagine being trapped in a narrow little street, surrounded by hundreds of people who practically leave you immobile and then having a dozen bulls released to uncontrollably chase you. Just absolutely wild. Peoples legs buckling and falling over in fear, men crying and desperately trying to climb over the fence back to safety, and then of course the adrenaline junkies that are trying to touch the bulls for good luck and are paying the price soon after. The run didn't go well that day. A young girl got her legs torn off, many people got tossed around the way a child bounces their toys off a balcony, and a young man was killed. It was really intense to watch, crazy that is some peoples version of fun, scary that is MY version of fun. And with that my time in Pamplona was over. I got my fair share of fun and new experiences for sure. I danced my butt off non-stop for hours every night. I met some crazy people, I saw things that blew me away, and I smiled for four days straight. It was good, it was wild, it was a perfect reminder of why that isn't my lifestyle anymore. Oh Pamplona you gave me fun, thank-you, thank-you and I hope to see you again - only next time ill be running.