A Practical Guide to San Fermines

Running with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, can be very confusing, and it is difficult to know where to go and what to do to maximize the excitement while staying alive and relatively comfortable. One will come across many rumors in many languages, and almost no assistance from any informed authority.

Even before arriving in Pamplona, the party begins. The train ride from Barcelona to Pamplona during “San Fermines” is surely the loudest and wildest train ride anywhere. Noone with an ounce of character will be outside the crowded food car, getting drunk and seeking potential mates before even coming within sight of the city.

The first thing to do upon arriving is to either find sleep accommodations, or if sleeping in the parks, a safe place to store one’s baggage. Common knowledge holds that it is impossible to find a bed for less than 300є without reservations three to six months in advance, but in reality such reservations are not only unnecessary, but difficult to obtain and rarely honored. Before leaving the train station, look for people holding cardboard signs, or stand with your back pack and wait for someone to approach you asking, “Hostal?” (pronounced “O-stall”). These people can generally be trusted, and one should expect to pay 25-40є per night.

When leaving one’s belongings in a hostal, it is vitally important to write the address of the hostal with permanent marker on at least three places of one’s body, because the large city of Pamplona is full of grey and red buildings seven to ten stories high, and every hostal is simply an apartment stripped of its furniture for the nine days of San Fermines, and is therefore, unmarked. In a state of drunken, sleepless delirium, trying repeatedly to open each door of each building in a large section of the city with a poorly made key will take approximately five hours.

If 25є is too much money, or one plans not to sleep for nine days, there are two options for storing baggage. Most people prefer the building in the city, conveniently situated in the heart of the action, but the train station is the safer of the two. Despite the long walk to the station, it can prove faster and more entertaining than the enormous line ever-present at the building in the city.

Be warned, though, while the parks are safe and highly populated, there are serious disadvantages to sleeping outside during San Fermines. Anything at all left outside of a sleeping bag will get stolen, and a sleeping bag is highly desirable because even in July, the temperature in windy Pamplona gets down to 10˚C. Much worse, though, is the smell. Such an impressive amount of trash, food, sweat, wine, vomit, and urine is left to stain and kill the grass that within three days, one’s Basque fiesta clothes smell precisely like the inside of a dumpster. No matter how often one bathes for a Euro at the provided showers, the smell of one’s clothes will penetrate into one’s very soul.

The run itself begins at 7:00 a.m. on days two through nine, but to participate, it is necessary to arrive one hour early. The experts strongly advise being well rested and sober by this time, but this is absurdly impractical. In Spain, the party does not stop until 5:00 a.m., and at San Fermines, the party does not stop. To sleep before the run is to risk not waking for days, and to stop drinking is to risk sobering up.

Enter a gate at one of the wooden walls placed at each intersection of the route, and decide where to begin the run. Shortly before seven o’clock, the police will gather the runners at three places along the route, and if ahead of one of these places, runners will be pushed along to the next, so it is important to wait behind the desired starting point. While the first point allows one to be passed by many bulls at once, the second point is the best to start from in order to run alongside the most bulls possible, and still make it into the arena.

After the sound of the first firework, the runners are free to move. At this time, it is advised to find a doorway to wait in, as to not obstruct the thick flow of runners. The second firework signals the release of the bulls, but in order to run alongside as many bulls as possible, do not leave the doorway until the first bull can be seen.

While running, it can be difficult to keep one’s footing. Because the streets are still wet from being cleaned, and the many panicked runners have different paces, slipping, tripping, and pushing are not uncommon. Respect and fear fellow runners as much or more than the bulls. Bulls will jump over a fallen runner, but humans will trample him.

A predicament is faced when one falls: Is it best to get up or to stay down? The experts advise staying down so that more runners will not fall as one struggles to his feet, but for how long should one be tread upon before rising? Perhaps it is best to look behind and judge a safe time to get up.

If one of bulls is separated from the others, or stops and turns around, beware! Most of the deaths have occurred at these times. It’s best to find an intersection and jump over the wall, but by no means should one stand in a doorway. No doorway in Pamplona will protect someone from the long horns of a Spanish bull, and no bull will leave him alone while he stands.

The gates of the arena are shut behind the last bull, and it is crucial to make it inside to face the bulls on their terms. If the gates are closed in one’s face, push them open again before they can be latched. With help, it is possible, and there will be more than enough help. After disentangling from the fallen pile of gatecrashers, proceed proudly into the arena where the bulls will be calmed and corralled with the aid of steers.

When the bulls are all inside their pens, a man will begin to question the manhood of the participants and signal them closer. This man can be trusted. Obey his gestures and sit in front of the gate to the pen. When the gate is opened, a bull will exit and jump over as many people as it can.

There are many exciting seating options for the jump, and with six bulls, one at a time, many can be experienced in a single day. In the front-middle, the bull may step on one’s feet or graze one’s head. Surprisingly, this is not the favorite spot, perhaps due to the need to duck, causing one to miss the sight of the bull sailing overhead, but the view of the charge is unparalleled. The middle of the second and third rows is safer and one can look straight up, if desired. The sides are excellent for photographs, but offer minimal thrill, and staying put in the back rows all but ensures being crushed by 1000 kilos of bull.

After each bull jumps out of the gate, it is free to do as it wishes in the arena for about fifteen minutes. More injuries happen at this time than any other during the festival. There are only two guidelines here: don’t wear loose clothing, and stay down after an attack. Trust me on these… Unlike a bear, the bull will not test you for life while you are on the ground, but if your clothes are caught on its horn, it may not get bored quickly.

However, there are more interesting things to do in the arena than lay on the ground. One may, for instance, jump over a charging bull. Hitting the bull with a rolled up newspaper is popular. Or one may wish to bring a beach ball to kick around. These activities each bring their own level of excitement, and it is mostly the prerogative of the participant how close one will come to peril.

Despite the rumors of dead Americans that flood Europe each year, noone has died in Pamplona’s bull run since 1995. Although, countless injuries will occur, and the best will be shown as bloopers each day on Spanish television. So be brave, and you may reach TV, but please, don’t be so stupid you reach the news.

Jake Enlow

12 January 2005