Running with the Bulls and Walking the Camino

Throughout Spain, Pamplona is famous for its universities and medical centers. Throughout the rest of the world, however, Pamplona is best known for the running of the bulls, which takes place every summer from July 6-14. Ernest Hemingway’s writings surely helped bring attention to the city and this signature event. (Pamplona is not, in fact, the only city in Spain where the running of the bulls occurs.) Note the monument to Hemingway outside Pamplona’s bull ring. 

In Pamplona, we met Gorka (the Basque equivalent of George) to learn about his experience running with the bulls. This event is part of the annual Festival of San Fermin, Pamplona’s patron saint. It’s an 8-day festival of music, bulls, and alcohol that attracts an international crowd of about 200,000 people.

 

Gorka showed us the route that the bulls take from the corral through Pamplona’s old town on their way to the bull ring in the center of town, a distance of 850 meters (approximately half a mile). He pointed out markers on the ground that show where fences would be erected to guide the bulls and to keep the spectators from the bulls’ path. One of the fences was still in place and it didn’t look all that sturdy to me. 

The bulls run past Pamplona's City Hall

I was never particularly interested in the running of the bulls and the idea of bullfighting seems cruel and barbaric to me. But I was curious about the tradition and about Gorka’s personal reasons for running.  

 

Gorka explained that the running with the bulls through town started 200 years ago. Each day during the festival, at 8:00 in the morning, six bulls and six oxen (castrated bulls) are brought out of the corral to begin their run to the bull ring. The animals are 5-6 years old and raised in Andalusia (southern Spain) where, according to Gorka, they are very well treated. 

This is where the bulls run into the bull ring.
 

Runners wait along the route to run in front of the bulls. I learned that they don’t run the entire route. A runner can start at any point along the route and each one goes for only 2-3 minutes. Anyone is allowed to run and there’s no cost involved. There are usually about 1000 runners. 

 

And why did Gorka run? He told us he ran because of the adrenaline, and because it’s part of his culture. His father and grandfather also ran. Gorka ran for several years and stopped only after he was injured. Standing outside the entrance to the bull ring, he showed us pictures of himself and friends running in years past.  He explained that the biggest danger runners face is not the bulls but the other runners. When a runner falls, which frequently happens, there are pile ups and runners can get trampled and die of asphyxiation. 

 

The finale of the day, as far as the bulls are concerned, takes place in the bull ring. The nightly bullfights start at 6:30pm. Afterwards, the animals are butchered and the meat distributed to poor. After listening to Gorka, I understood the tradition but I still felt sorry for the bulls. For those attending the festivities, the bull fight is just the start of a night-long celebration. 

 

With a population of 300,00, Pamplona is technically the capital of the province of Navarre, but it is also considered to be part of the greater Basque cultural region. That meant more pintxos for dinner! Although the skies were overcast and the temperatures quite chilly (locals were wearing puffy winter coats) on the day we arrived, the weather didn’t deter a small group of us from walking into the old town and having a pintxo feast for dinner – a creamy cheesy seafood mixture in a scallop shell; octopus seasoned with smoked paprika – yum; a skewer of olives and anchovy – all washed down with a generous glass of local white wine. 

 

While running with the bulls is a pure adrenalin rush, walking the Camino offers a totally different experience. One of the routes of the French Way of the Camino passes through Pamplona and the surrounding area. Rather than hike in the city, we did a couple of hikes in the scenic countryside. On the day designated for our hikes, a hint of an early morning rainbow appeared through thick cloud cover. That seemed to be a good portent, I told myself, although the weather forecast showed chilly temperatures and rain for the next few hours. Just to be on the safe side, I bundled up in waterproof pants and rain jacket over several layers of clothing. 

 

We traveled by bus about an hour from Pamplona through the green hills of the western Pyrenees to reach the starting point of our first hike outside the village of Roncesvalles. Near the small church of San Salvador de Ibañeta, we saw the distinctive sign for the Camino. It directed us through a grassy field into a heavily forested area. At certain points, the path was rocky but the route turned out to be much easier than I expected, which was somewhat of a surprise. I could easily have managed without my hiking boots and poles. 

The second hike was even less challenging, as the path was smoother and more level. It led us to the monastery complex at Roncesvalles, located in a beautiful tranquil setting. During the Middle Ages, pilgrims often stopped here. Simple overnight lodging is still available for 12 Euros. 

Since we had completed our two hikes, Natua presented each of us with a scallop shell, a symbol of St. James, even though we hadn’t yet reached Santiago de Compostela. The scallop shell is traditionally given to pilgrims when they complete The Way. 

The monastery complex includes the 13th century Colegiata de Santa Maria, a Gothic church. 

 

The 12^th century Romanesque Chapel of Sancti Spiritus is the oldest building in the monastic compound. 

 

There’s also a modern monument commemorating a battle involving the Frankish knight Roland that took place here in 778CE, during the reign of Charlemagne. It is described in the 11^th century French poem, the Song of Roland. 

And equally important to me, after a few hours of walking, Roncesvalles is where we re-energized with an excellent four-course lunch at Casa Sabina. Take a good look at the salad. Notice those skinny little white things scattered over the top? I’d previously enjoyed them on pinxtos without having any idea what they were. It turns out that they were baby eels. 

 

The sun appeared briefly on the eve of our departure from Pamplona. 

The following day, we traveled west to Ubide, a small Basque town, to learn about the work archaeologists have been doing at Roncesvalles since 2019. An archaeologist from the private company doing the field work and lab work explained that they are excavating an ossuary (a pit with mixed human bones) that was discovered under the altar of the Chapel of Sancti Spiritus. In four years of digging, they have dug down two meters and uncovered bone fragments from 1500 to 1600 people. 

 

In addition, they found tombs containing 28 intact skeletons and determined that they were the remains of pilgrims and soldiers from the Napoleonic wars. Musket balls, buttons, and scallop shells (given to pilgrims when they reached Santiago de Compostela) were also discovered at the site. It was fascinating to hear about the methods archaeologists use to try to identify the age, sex, and height of the individuals, when they lived, as well as the cause of death.

 

After a quick look around town, between raindrops, we stopped into an old inn for our last meal in Basque country. I really enjoyed the simple, fresh, and tasty food – salad, chicken with vegetables, tortilla, bread, wine, and a local sheep’s cheese called pagobieta.

Basque country was so much more than I ever imagined. Just writing about it now makes me feel deeply nostalgic for this very special part of the world.