Spain (The night and the race)

So, as I was reminded I never got to the race and did not get to say that I survived. So for the count, I am still alive and in good health.

We left San sebastien early the next morning and went to Pamplona. When we got there we immediately went to find some red garb to wear for the day which wasnt too difficult because it was being sold everywehre. As we neared the center of town the scene got ridiculous. There were people everywhere and it was only 10:30am but all of the bard were open and full to the brim. I think the ratio of open bottles to people was somewhere around 3:1 and people were throwing it all over each other. We realized that it would be difficult to not get dirty so Vass and I split up from Marly and Anna and started to try to go more towards the center of town where the festival was supposed to officially begin and try to get a real feel of it. We managed to get part of the way and then it just got so dense with people that we just had to go with the wve of the crowd. so we tried to take another direction, the whole while, sprays of wine were being thrown everywhere and half of the people were covered in mustard, ketchup, and flour ( I dont totally understand this but the theme was to make the white clothes that everyone was wearing as dirty as possible before noon I think) So as we tried to take the side street Vass and I got split up somehow and after looking for a few minutes and realizing it was utterly hopeless in the crowd I started to walk around and see what everyone was up to. For the majority, people were drinking. Although in addition to this, there was a curious, what I would think is a tradition, that was going on. From all the windows of the apartments overlooking the streets, people were watching the craziness below and sa, because we were all so dirty, a large group would begin to gather under a window and all together, sometimes in a clever little chant (in Spanish of course), we would all start shouting "Agua agua agua (water water water)" And out would come a huge bucket of water that we were calling for. After joking to pour it a couple of times and many more shouts of Agua, the people from above would pour the bucket of water to fall down on those below. It was absolutely spectacular and it felt so great to be mixed in with everyone and all together get this water poured all over us. It was also fun to try to mimick the Spanish chants that they were making, even if I couldnt understand them. And then I found..."THE BAND". The kickoff for San Fermines is sort of heralded in by this band that marches through the streets of Pamplona amongst the chaos and plays this one song ove and over again. The point of the crowds is to slow the band as much as you can so that they must play for a longer time. So I followed along with the band and pretended to sing along with the song as I heard others singing. Everyone was dancing and a congo line was started for a while. It was fun to see the band interact with the crowd and it was a sort of friendly type musically inclined aggresion between people that was all taken in good nature. For instance, whenever anyone was being too obnoxious near the band or not moving at all, one of the people playing would put the mouth of their instrument right in the persons ear until they left and the person would notice right away and turn around, give them a smaile and then dance off. After marching for quite a while, the band stopped in the middle of the street and made a circle to finish the song. I thought it was the end but I was mistaken. Instead, they wre taking a break and from the restaurant next to us, people brought wine and fried pinchos, what a snack!

After an hour or so of this, we all met back up and then went to try to find a couple of annas friends we had met the night before. We started walking down the streets and it seemed that everywhere I looked there were just more and more people. It was ridiculous how many people were there, packed unto these 8 foot wide streets, all carrying either a box of wine or sangria. We met up and walked around for a bit, continually talking to the locals and making new friends every 10 feet. People were all so festive and just happy to be there and it was a really good kind of energy that was going around. Although after about 2 hours of this we were tired and hungry and it was getting towards siesta time so we walked back towards the bus station and sat down to have lunch. We mixed our wine with soda to make something called "vino di pinto" (know that that may be butchered but it was something like that and it seemed to be what everyone drinks in the summer time in Spain, any time of day) and had some more sauchison and bread for lunch.

After lunch we took our time walking to a bar where we were to meet back up with annas friends and walked part of the route of the run for the next day. we made it all the way to where the entrance to the stadium was and I thought to myself then that I had to make it in the next day, I just had to. At about 7pm we met up with her friends, some who were German, two who were Spanish, and two Australian guys they had met that day. We danced for a while and the Spanish girls taught me some Spanish phrases when I would ask. I was interesting to try to learn because only one of them kindof spoke English so the amount and quality of translating in both directions that went on was questionable. Anna and her sister left at 9pm to take a bus back to San Sebestien for the night because they werent running the next day and were going to return later in the week. So Vass and I stayed with their friends as we still had a little over 10 hours to pass until the race.

It was getting towards 11pm (i think) and the night was going well. We started to walk to a different place and somewhere along the way I turned around to look for Vass, who I thought was right behind me, and as my luck had it, he wasnt. I started shouting his name and looking around for a bit but realised it was useless after a bit and that we would half to rely on some sort of bizarre luck and the passing mention that we were going to drop our things at the bag check place at around 5am. So, accepting that I was lost from them, and not exactly knowing where I was or what direction I should walk, I checked to see what I had. Beyond my clothes which were soon becoming soaked in wine and other drink, I had 5.90 euros, my digital camera, and my pocket knife. (I felt like an urban Bear Grylls) So I began to wander, making single serving friends in my search for the bag check. At one point, I remember feeling something wet on my head and turned around to find some drunk middle aged woman pouring an entire box of wine all over my head. It ran all down my shirt and all I could do was smile at her and give her a semi hug because that seemed to be what the theme of the night was. finding my way from street to street, I finally foudn the bag check area. I sat down on the steps hoping to see Vass mosey up "any moment now". An hour passed. No Vass. I checked my pocket, still only 5.90euros. I then thought back to the bus and realized it was 6.50euros and so I figured that I needed to somehow get another .60 so I would watch as people sat down on the steps and when a coin would fall out of there pocket, I would wait until they left and then snatch it up. Not that enyone was watching but I can imagine it was a fairly pathetic scene. It was also getting kindof cols by this time (1am) and so I would periodically walk inside the bag check to get warm and pretend to look at the map of Pamplona so the security guard wouldnt kick me out. While I was sitting on the steps, I started talking to three Americans I heard and it was fun to hear about their travels (not to mention it helped pass the time) and it turned out one was actually from UMass Amherst. It became a very small world and it seemed like an instant friend. After they left I decided to go try to look for Vass in a couple new areas where he might be. On my way back I was walking and a girl on a bench, with two friends (a guy and a girl) said hi and asked me what I was doing. I explained my situation, as they were sober and could thus understand me. They were Basque and lived nearby but this was only there second time at San Fermines. They invited me to walk around with them until they left and so for the next couple hours,I did. It was great. It was like I had some new friends for the night and they were actually very nice. At one point, A drunk guy walking towards us gave me a shoulder and knowcked me down. he then started speaking to me, in Euskaras, and when I couldnt understand him and all he started to get mad at me. I was fearing a repeat of my second night in Paris, but the guy with us (Xabi) said something and then said that we were leaving and like that it was over. So we walked around and went in a night club for a bit to warm up, and then at about 4am we parted because they had to go home. So, I went back to the steps and waited again. I was beginning to wonder if I was going to see Vass again and I started to think about all of the possible scenarios of how things may turn out. Although I was not too concerned because I had managed to gather enough money to be able to ay for a bus ticket back to San Sebastien so in my mind, I was doing pretty good. And then, as I was just sitting there, I hear from my left, "Sam, what are you doing?" It was Vass! Finally!!!!! It was such a huge relief to see him and I couldnt have asked for anything more at that moment. After sitting and laughing for a long while about what had happenned that night/morning (?) we sat down next to a group of people and took a 30minute nap (one needs their beuaty sleep when preparing for a run).

We woke up at 6:30 and went for a warm up jog around town to stretch out and then went back to drop our stuff off at the check. this is when we really started to get nervous. It was like nothing I had ever had before because I honestly new that what I was going to do made not that much rationaly sense but it had been something I wanted to do for so long that I was going to do it. It really was a bizarre feeling, accompanied of course by boughts of lightheadedness and nausea :) We started walking down to the course and found the first entrance in. (I will do my best to describe what happenned but it really is difficult) The scene here was like nohitn anywhere at anytime I have ever experience. The people on the sides were looking anxiously on, anticipating what was going to happen, Im sure some of them in their minds were hoping to see something "interesting" and "worth while" rahter than just people running. The people on the inside, of which the composition, honestly, was about 99.9% men. No joke, I saw 2 women, and thousands of people were running. The people on the inside were mixed. There were people who you could tell were locals and had done this before, there were Australians everywhere who you could spot obviously because they all were wearing the same shirt (now pink from wine), there were many many drunk men, somehow confident in their abilities to still be able to run in their present state, and then there were people like Vass and I who were discussion our "strategies". It was like devising a game plan...for survival, which essentially consisted of DONT GET IN FRONT OF THE BULLS. At about 7:45am, the police made a line about 10 feet in front of where we were and everyone in front of this line they walked up and kicked out. (Im glad we got to stay) The remaining crowd then got pushed back and even more crowded. The police made a gap in the middle of everyone and through it walked the mayor of the city and some of her entourage, all of them decked out in classy dress (with no wine on them at all). A few minutes later the crowd began to move foward and some began to run for some reason. As the crowd spread out, the police began to spot both drunks and people with cameras and they would take no exceptions and kicked people out left and right. And then...."BOOM!!" The first rocket went off which signalled the bulls had been released. At the a huge amount of people started running and everyone was yelling "corrilla corrilla" and it was utterly organized chaos. I was immediately pushed up against the wodden fence I was by and the only thing I could do was pucsh back so thats what I did and it seemed to work. Everyone was pusshing. It was the only thing you could do and if you didnt, well, I dont want to know what would happen itf you didnt. We made it aroudn the first corver in front of uss, the one that is supposed to be like the corner of death where all the bulls slop and kill people and then about 50 feet after that, I hear what seems to be this wave of screams coming up the street. They were coming. They really were coming now. This was it. The screams were approaching and so keeping with the tradition I started screaming as well. And then the surge. People pressed towards the wall. Everyone wanteing to get as far away from the path of the bulls as possible. (For grandmothers reading or others who had similar fears I will assure you that the next event took place with me behind a wall of 4 people deep) And then they came. You could literally feel it all through you. Their presence and through the ground and the sound of their feet stomping on the ground. My heart was pounding so fast and so hard and then I turned to my right and within a meter and a half of me I saw a pack of 6 bulls, each as tall as myself, come stamping by. They were utterly and undescribably enormous. At that moment I was happy not to be any closer than I was. But I still knew I wanted to get into the ring. So I started running more, and pushing, and yelling "corilla" like a mad man with everyone else (Note: Vass and I lost each other from the first step I think). As we neared to stadium, the pace slowed and there were shouts of victory from everyone in the street. A shivver went through my body as I stepping into the stadium and it was all I could do to cheer and yell along with everyone. It was overwhelming, the feeling. Walking around I, started looking for Vass, realizing soon it was hopeless. However, after 5 minutes I spotted the guy from the busride here. It was amazing to see him and very fun to reminisce about the race. Although standing there we heard a loud raucous and then a surge of people started pressing up against the wall, and into the ring comes a huge bull, stragglnig behind the rest. After that, they let a "baby" (Im guessing it was still around 1000lbs) into the ring to run around. guys would run up to it and try to touch it. It was quite a raw show of trying to prove ones courage I suppose. Although I must admit, it was pretty funny to see someone run up and try to slap it only to have him spin around and totally check the guy to the ground. I even saw a couple people get run over by the baby. But no worries, there was no way I was getting anywhere near it. After 5 or ten minutes of this, I decided i should meet Vass so I left and ran back through the course, feeling like a seasoned veteran and getting funny looks from all the passerbies who had just arrived with there perfectly white clothes and neat little kerchiefs they had just purchased. I met Vass at the bag check and we walked back to the bus station, all the while not believing what we had just done and saying to each other just how big they were. We took the bus back to san Sebastien then and for me the feeling of contentedness and sucess will never be quite the same as after that.

Afterward: Ok, so honestly, it was one of the funnest thigns I have done in my life. It was ana amzing festival all around and the run was utterly...amazimg. And, now Im sure no one will believe me if ou read this, and I wouldnt expect you to, but when the bulls ran past me, I did not feel in danger even once. That may take some more explaination, but for now I can say from first hand account, that if you are smart about it, it is not dangerous.