I didn't get much sleep and kept waking up every half our or so since 4:30 AM. We all got up around 6:30ish and decided to run today. My clothes are looking and smelly brutal. but nothing compares to Matt's shoes!! I swear they move by themselves at night.
we made our way to the town center to get ready for the run. We got our traditional cafe' solo's and marched right in. My original plan was to hang out at the City Hall with Jen and watch the bulls run by me (hopefully by me and not into or over me). We all headed down to watch and partake in the chant of San Fermin down into the belly of the beast, the Santo Domingo. Matt and Dustin decided to start at the City Hall and run down the Mercaderes and aim for the famed hamburger corner (I let you figure it out why they call it hamburger corner). Today's bulls were the famed Miura bulls. Bag and bad. The biggest run running today was 795 kilos. You do the conversion. As we went down and did the chant, I had a paper and mouthed something to look like I was singing. Jen and I decided to just stay there for the run instead. It is the narrowest part of the run second only the the Calejon, but with no fences to slide under just in case. We had just walls on both sides. The rocket went off at precisely 8 AM and in no time the rumbling roar of the bulls ran by. You could feel the ground shake as they ran by. We were only a mere few feet away from them.
Matt got some action but they ran by so fast it was hard to judge them. Dustin had a good jump on them but as he rounded the corner into the Mercaderes his feet slipped out from under him and he took a spill just as the bulls raced by. He scrambled up and over to the fence as he was pulled over the fence by the 112's. He was told to get some medical attention as 2 female nurses tended to him. Life wasn't so bad for him. He had free anti-sceptic spray and was released. He had 2 scraped knees and torn his pants just like me, but was in far better shape.
Afterwards we heard the 112's sirens a few times and some people got banged up. There were no reported gorings but 10 people got medical attention. (one was Dustin). The bulls ran fast today but behaved rather noble.
Tonight Matt, Dustin and Jen all went to the bullfights as I stayed at the hotel to update the blog and do some shopping.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Day 3-July 9
Not much to report for me today as I stayed at the hotel and did some recuperating. I did not want to tempt fate as I felt I was lucky the day before. Jen and I tried to watch the run on TV but the damn hotel doesn't have the station we need to watch it. I wanted to see what I missed. Matt and Dustin came back in one pice but felt their run was a little weak.
We later walked around and tried to find pictures of them in the run and ran into Pete from Philly. He had a couple of nice shots of him on the ground at the Callejon.
Jen had found a woman who braided hair and talked her downa good many euros and I got my hair braided. Straight O.G. Snoop Doggy Dog style. I had people taking pictures of me and had started to block up the road as people looked and pointed at me. Only Americans would do this. I feel pretty gansta.
My knee started to feel better but I still had a limp. I got some Benedine Gel and some aloe for my feet at the local pharmacy. Matt found some Neosporin in his bag and I used that as well. Well at least I can keep my risk of infection down until I get to the states. yippee!!
We had a few drinks at the local cafe' and spoke of tomorrow. I decided to run again if my knee felt better. Jen had decided she would run again to if it looked good.
We had our last meal of chicken (salty), fries and green peppers. We sucked down our little water bottles like we had been in the desert for 2 weeks. Man was it salty. We went to bed relatively early as we got to sleep in until 6:30 to ready ready for tomorrow.
Day 2 - July 8
Sorry this is a bit late, but we had no internet access here and come to find out we have to pay for it on a 24 hour card. So we might not have any updates until Wednesday.
Day 2, what can you say????
It was good day and bad day all rolled into one. I decided to try a new route today in the running. My plan was to be in the Telefonica which is the part right before it bottle necks into the Callejon. I was all set with Matt until the bulls can running by. I started out well, but got caught up in the crowdwhen the bulls came by. I tripped over people, (there were tons of them today)and fell to the ground. I should have curled up into a ball and waited but my natural reaction is to get up and run/get out of the way. Well I got up like an idiot and started to run again. A few more steps and I was pushed/tripped over people who were on the ground. Again, I go up and stated to run again (not smart) and for the final 3rd time fell again. Luckily for me there were no bulls going by to get trampled or gored. this is how the Spainard last year got gored and killed. By the end I ran into the stadium but was utterly exhausted. I found Matt and Dustin in the ring as we decided to get out. Upon further inspection I had noticed that I tore my left leg pants scraped my knee up pretty good, scraped my right knee up but didn't tear that side of my pants! I was slightly injured but alive with no goring or 112 visits. (112 is like our EMS medical people) Matt and Dustin fared better but were disappointed with there run as well but were in much better shape than myself. Jenny met us at the Hemmingway statue as we decided to head back home.
We headed back to San Sebastian and as we rolled out of the toll booth the Polizia pulled us over noticing our red and white outfits. They had Matt blow into a breathalizer and blew a 0.00. The cops said perfect. We don't drive and run, then drive!! But they did haggle us a bit as they asked Matt for his international drivers license but had none to offer the police. Eventually they let us go saying we are luck because Spain is so nice and no other country would let us off the hook. Yea right. Wait till they see the photo radar speeds........
We got back and had some explosive gelato to cool down. When we got to our loft Jenny played doctor and cleaned me up with some wipes. That stung just a bit. After a semi quick shower, (stinging soapy water) we headed to the beach for a while. After an hour or so we left and I was already starting to fell a bit burned. Yup, my back was pink and I burned the top of my feet. And I even used sun screen sort of.
All in all it was an eventful day with a zing of danger thrown in. But we were all mostly healthy.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
The Running Of The Bulls Day 1 - July 7
Matt
We woke up to the sound of pouring rain on our "villa" in San Sebastian. We left at around 5:45, 15 minutes later than usual. But there was almost no one on the roads but a few trucks so we made it with plenty of time.
This morning was the first day of actual running. And there was no rain although a bit chilly. We all had a morning coffee and said our goodbye's to Jen and hoped she would have a good "picture" run for us. We planned our route of attack on the Callejon which is the far end right before the entrance into the ring. After doing our homework the night before, we found out that the bulls running today were rated the 2nd most dangerous bulls with 7 out of 10 gorings in the last 10 years. Matt, Dustin and myself all piled in the church square at 7:20ish. There were ton of people there today, and a lot of rookies. When they finally released us to take our spots along the run, for some reason it took longer to get out of the church square than usual. We were still on the Ayuntamiento when the first rocked went off. It was on! Matt was a few steps ahead of Dustin and I, so when we finally had room to run we sprinted up the Estafeda in hopes of reaching the Callejon. The second rocket was off telling us that all the bulls were out of the gate. I lost Matt and Dustin as there were a ton of people. But I stopped to catch my breath and I heard the sound of cow bells getting louder and closer. I started to run as the bulls ran right past me. There was a big black one that was lagging behind and I got to touch it a couple of times but there was no video sadly...... (but there was a shot of me at the waist down by the bull)
Matt and Dustin had the better spotlight with Matt getting the high score. Both Matt and Dustin make it into the video with Matt leading the charge out of the tunnel and into the middle of the ring! Word on the street was Matt was on CNN. ?????? After the run the "baby" bulls came out and I got a few touches in with a guest appearance in Goggle images!! Bo-yaa. It was a great run all around but Matt and Dustin has set the bar for me to bring my A game tomorrow. But the "beard" does seem to have some fans here as I am asked for a picture or two from people who love it. I should charge a euro per picture and I could make some money!
After a quick shower and a looooong ride to Bilboa, we arrived at the Guggenheim museum after trying to find a parking spot. We got the quick tour of the museum because we had only an hour and a half before the meter ran out. I did scare a few children there which was kind of funny. It was a good day all around and am looking forward to tomorrow....
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
The Chupinazo (opening day)
Welcome back my friends......
Well today was the official opening of "The Running Of The Bulls." Its on. After a car ride mostly downhill and at 140 KHM we made it into town in roughly 1:20. We got our scarves and sashes first thing. We found our spot in front of town hall and waited until 12 noon. We had about an hour wait so there was lot of boob flash-age and spraying people with sangria. There were a few scrums along the way as well. People in the crown were digging on the Jesus beard and were taking pictures. I should have charged a euro per picture! Finally the blessing of the scarves happened and the crowd erupted. We decided to head to the statue to jump off of and what a mistake that was. We got caught up in the marching band and almost didn't make it through. Finally we made it to the statue just in time t see a backflip from the top. Matt was the first up on the statue and ripped a nice jump. Matt wasn't satisfied with that jump and climbed the statue again for another try with better form. His form was good, but there was a ballon in the way. Dustin was persuaded to have a try and did a nice job. He collided heads with a bystander but survived. Myself and Jenny took video and picture of the whole event. Someone had to do it. Afterwards we headed to Hemmingway's statue and the bulls statue to take some snapshots. After a long car ride home where we topped out at 160 KHM (downhill, of course) we made it back in time to pick up some San Miguel's and water. After a shower to wash out the Sangria, beer, water, and what not, we felt better. Now its time to get our eat on. Pics to follow...
We all had fun riding the fake bulls.....
The creepy but kinda cool spider thing at the Guggenheim museum
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
The nightshift
Our loft has been awesome. The lighted floor lamp tops it off disco-tek style. The view at night is especially beautiful. but now its raining on our clean clothes. Thats sooo stupid!
Day 1
We have arrived in San Sebastian, Spain !
Going through security really wasn't an issue. But I did get stopped in JFK because I had "deodorant" cans that looked suspicious.
When we arrived at Madrid the custom guy really liked my shirt. After our hop in a prop plane we landed in sunny San Sebastian. Our rental was a Skoda, 5 speed manual. So much for the mini Cooper. Matt did well but took us a few minutes to get out of the parking lot. Once out it was smooth sailing down the highway to our final destination. After a 2 hour tour job of the city it was another 2 hours walking in circles looking for our hotel that didn't exist. We found it finally and we love it. We have the penthouse loft and I got the Hello Kitty room! Pics coming soon!
Monday, July 4, 2011
Sunday, July 3, 2011
It's on.......
Twas the night before Pamplona (San Sebastian) and all through the house......
Well here I am the night before I leave and I'm feeling excited and yet a little nervous
at the same time. Its been a couple of years since my last visit so as I pack I'm trying
to keep things to a minimum. I wonder if it will be exactly as I left and remember it.
Things always change and they are never the same as when you last remember it but
I hope this is like land that time forgot. I can hardly believe that the time has come
already. It seems like yesterday I was planning this thing with Matt. But my beard
and hair say otherwise. I look like some old hermit or Jesus now. I'm sure I will get
stopped somewhere along the way for my looks. As long as I can still scare kids in the
airport then I should be fine.
It's getting late and I still have stuff to do so I will let you know how it goes tomorrow.
Well here I am the night before I leave and I'm feeling excited and yet a little nervous
at the same time. Its been a couple of years since my last visit so as I pack I'm trying
to keep things to a minimum. I wonder if it will be exactly as I left and remember it.
Things always change and they are never the same as when you last remember it but
I hope this is like land that time forgot. I can hardly believe that the time has come
already. It seems like yesterday I was planning this thing with Matt. But my beard
and hair say otherwise. I look like some old hermit or Jesus now. I'm sure I will get
stopped somewhere along the way for my looks. As long as I can still scare kids in the
airport then I should be fine.
It's getting late and I still have stuff to do so I will let you know how it goes tomorrow.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
Friday, May 6, 2011
Friday, March 4, 2011
Thursday, March 3, 2011
And then there was 2......
Sunday, February 20, 2011
it's on! its been 5 years since i first went to pamplona. wow, time flies. a lot has happened since then. married, new kid, new dog, new horse, new rooster, new chickens, new hamster, new car, etc. you get the point.
i'm going back as my 5th year reunion with my brother matt, whose been going religiously ever since 2007. pretty soon he will become a local there. you need any info on the event, he is the one to ask. it just sorta happened this year. i wasn't really planning on it, but its always in the back of your mind calling to you.....YOU MUST RETURN. and whenever i talk to matt about it, he gets me going. so i jumped in. i know, i know, but you have a kid now, you shouldn't be doing this kinda thing. but i tell them if you never been there and done it, you have no idea. i guess i know what it feels like to have an addiction. its kinda like the pringles chips, once you pop, you can't stop. you have to go for youeself to really know what i mean. the running part is only part of the whole experience. there is so much more. and when you go with matt..............well you know. its sort like what happens in pamplona, stays in pamplona. unless you make the news! i'm going for the trifecta this year: television, newspaper and internet!!
so its official. i got my ticket yesterday. there is no going back now.
i'm going back as my 5th year reunion with my brother matt, whose been going religiously ever since 2007. pretty soon he will become a local there. you need any info on the event, he is the one to ask. it just sorta happened this year. i wasn't really planning on it, but its always in the back of your mind calling to you.....YOU MUST RETURN. and whenever i talk to matt about it, he gets me going. so i jumped in. i know, i know, but you have a kid now, you shouldn't be doing this kinda thing. but i tell them if you never been there and done it, you have no idea. i guess i know what it feels like to have an addiction. its kinda like the pringles chips, once you pop, you can't stop. you have to go for youeself to really know what i mean. the running part is only part of the whole experience. there is so much more. and when you go with matt..............well you know. its sort like what happens in pamplona, stays in pamplona. unless you make the news! i'm going for the trifecta this year: television, newspaper and internet!!
so its official. i got my ticket yesterday. there is no going back now.
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