Due to a miscommunication between our lovely guide, Nekane, and a few students here in Pamplona, four girls were late to our excursion to our second and much anticipated wine tasting. Nekane, a Spanish woman who lives with us in the hotel and acts as a host mother to all of us, was freaking out about us being late. When we asked her why, she said that the people at this wine tasting were known to shut the doors and not let us in if we were even five minutes late. They do this because Americans in the past have been notorious for being rude, which includes tardiness.
With this in mind, when the bus finally dropped us off we had a fifteen to twenty minute walk to the location, but only five minutes left before it started. So, with Nekane leading the way, a group of 27 Holy Cross students and one 26 year-old Spanish woman ran through the streets of downtown Pamplona. People came out of restaurants, bars, cafes, and shops to see the spectacle, some laughed and some cheered us on, calling “torros, torros!” They were referring to the bulls of San Fermines. During the festivals of San Fermines each year, nine bulls run through the streets of Pamplona to the arena with the bravest of Pamplona’s men running alongside them.
This run, although stressful, was exhilarating because of all the natives of Pamplona watching. I got a taste of the renowned international festival without actually attending. Needless to say, all of the stress and running was paid off with six glasses of local produced wine. I’ll leave the rest of your night to your imagination.
