Pamplona

   Our last excursion was to Pamplona and we started the day with a very interesting lecture on Ernest Hemingway and his influence in bringing Pamplona to the world's attention. The running of the bulls as described by him in his novel "The Sun Also Rises" was merely part of a once a year festival that ran for a week in July and culminated each day in a bull fight.



   Although the early morning event where the bulls run through the town to reach the arena looks dangerous and exciting, it is largely overplayed with the bulls merely following a lead steer through the town. One year when the road became blocked by an accident, the bulls merely slowed down and milled around until the blockage was cleared! No one was hurt. Although there are accidents, they are usually minor and there have been very few deaths.

   The town is all about Ernest; where he stayed, his favourite watering holes (and the prodigious amount of liquor he and his friends consumed). There are several statues of him and one particularly impressive one of the bulls in full flight with men desperately trying to avoid falling under their hooves. 
 



The Running of the Bulls

 

Pamplona Town Hall