Monday, July 13, 2009

Donde Esta Hemingway?

So I suppose I should make this a quick one, seeing as it's almost 10:30 and I have yet to read my homework. I've said it before, and I'll say it again-- there is just something so impossible about trying to do homework in Spain.

Nonetheless. I know you are all dying to hear about my weekend. Truth be told, it was every bit as amazing as I envisioned. Possibly even more so. I will now try to recount the weekend's activities without revealing too many of the boring details.

An all-night bus to Pamplona. Good idea and bad idea at the same time. We arrived in Pamplona just in time for the encierro. It was perfect. The bad part was that 1. we had relatively no idea what we were doing, because they were running special busses to Pamplona and weren't being too revealing about where to be at what times. So we were kind of confused. Usually the transportation here is so easy, but for some reason, this was horrible. 2. it was an all-night bus ride. I don't think I have to do much more explaining for the later point. All-night anythings tend to be bad ideas. But, we did catch a little bit of sleep on the bus, which was better than nothing. And what we lacked, we made up for in random plazas in Pamplona. So it all worked out.

The encierro was crazy. It is such a foreign concept for Americans to grasp. I mean, who runs down the street with bulls?? Oh, the Spaniards do! I have recently found out that these encierros occur in several pueblos throughout Spain, but none of them are as big as Pamplona. And the reason that Pamplona is so big has a lot to do with Ernest Hemingway. Nonetheless, the encierro was a great way to start the weekend. My friend Angelina had a great spot on the fence, I was looking through it. She had the top view, I only saw things running past. It was still crazy though. I definitely want to go back, and when I do, I'm totally going to find a balcony. One guy offered us a spot in a private balcony for 35E a person. That's steep. And I'm not rich...yet. But next time, I'd totally take that offer.

The saddest part about the encierro, however, is that the day we were there, a 27 year old guy from Madrid died. He was gored in the neck. Believe it or not, deaths are extremely rare. Injuries, sure.. but deaths, no. I think the last time somebody died was in 1995. And a few days after our encierro, another man, 41 years old from Pamplona, was gored in the chest and is in really critical condition. It seems like these encierros were especially brutal. Or maybe just because I'm paying attention. But everyone that I have talked to has said that it is a result of people not knowing how to run correctly. I can see that. There is apparently an art to running with the bulls, and believe you me, many a Spaniard has tried to impart their secrets upon me. If I ever run (which, in case you are wondering, will never, ever, ever happen), I will clearly know the tricks of the trade.
1. Pick a starting point and an end point. Don't try to run the whole way.
2. Run next to the bull, not in front of it--he can't see you.
3. Never touch the bull. This will make him turn his head, or turn around. Both of which could end horribly for you or your neighbor.
4. When all else fails, dive to the side and cover your head with your arms.
But, once again, I would like to reiterate that I will never, ever run with the bulls.

I think I was expecting there to be much more "fiesta, fiesta" as the Spanish would say. But there wasn't. I'm pretty sure everyone went to bed after the encierro. Party all night, run with the bulls in the morning, sleep all day. I guess that sounds like a good plan. Anyway, there were a lot of people, but it was a lot of families and what not. I am sure that if we had stayed later we would have encountered the fiestas. But nonetheless, it was a really pleasant day in Pamplona.

I love the fact that EVERYONE was dressed in white and red. There is nothing comparable to this tradition in the United States (except St. Patrick's day, maybe...). I was definitely wearing the white shirt, red panuelo around the neck, and the scarf around the waist. I felt so legit. I was only missing white pants... but come on, who really owns white pants??

Needless to say, Pamplona was fabulous. I am not sure that there is too much to do there aside from the San Fermin festival, but it was a nice city nonetheless. And definitely an experience. I definitely would like to go back for another San Fermin, and stay a little longer. But, for the weekend that we had, I am really glad our plans worked out the way they did.

We left for San Sebastian around 6:30pm on Friday, and got in around 8:00. San Sebastian is a GORGEOUS city. It's a really old, really European-looking, adorable city with a beautiful beach a few blocks away. The best of both worlds, right? It was just so charming. I really enjoyed it.

As per our plans, we definitely relejar-ed on the beach. It was so nice. The girls that I went with went surfing, but I wasn't sure 40E was worth my investment. haha. Aside from the playa we didn't do too much. We went to a few cafes/bars, walked around the ciudad, went to the Cathedral (just the outside), and botelloned on the beach. It was so great though. I loved the chance to just relax. We stayed in a hotel that was essentially an apartment. And an awesome one at that. I could totally live there. haha.

I would probably venture to say that this past weekend was the best weekend of traveling that I have ever done. I went with 3 people (including myself), which I think is an ideal number for this sort of thing. There was relatively little conflict over what to do and when, and pretty much all of our plans went as smoothly as we could have hoped for. Not too shabby.

But, this next weekend might challenge that last statement. I am headed to Sevilla with Jessie, and it is sure to be fantastic. I get overwhelmingly excited when I think about it. It will be like going home! I can't wait!

Weekends are so good.

Alas, this is not as short as I was hoping. I suppose there's just a lot to say. There's even more, too. I could tell you about how we were randomly serenaded by a Spaniard with the lovely song "Americanas--- donde esta Hemingway, Hemingway, Hemingway???" Or how we became friends with a didgeri-doer. haha. I don't even know what word you would use to describe a person who plays a digeridoo. Oh, or about how I met yet another person in Spain who had previously lived in Pittsburgh!! 'Tis a small, small world. And a good one.

And on that pleasant note, I think I will begin reading my homework.
.....It's gotta get done some time.

No comments:

Post a Comment