Running With The Bulls , Spain / 2010

                                                        CODE: F-Bulls

SAN FERMIN 

Where : Pamplona , Spain  When : July 6-14 How Long : 9 Days                                                                                  

  Pamplona, Spain. July 6 - 14 for 9 days every year  (Map).For one week every year, the spanish town of Pamplone ( about 5 hours north of Barcelona by car or bus )parties so hard that the foothills of the nearby ptrenees start to shake..Spanish certainly know how to host a phenomenal party, and the fiesta de san fermin is simply the scariest, loudest and the most raucous one you`ll ever come across.

  The Running of the Bulls is a practice that involves running in front of bulls that have been let loose on a course of a sectioned-off subset of a town's streets; roughly 754 metres (825 yards). The most famous running of the bulls is that of the nine-day festival of San Fermín in Pamplona, although they are held in towns and villages across Spain during the fiesta season, usually in the run-up to the corrida, or bull-fight, and in some cities in southern France, most notably Bayonne. Unlike bull fights, which are performed by professionals, anyone may participate in an encierro. Injuries are common, both to the participants who may be gored or trampled, and to the bulls, whose hooves grip poorly on the paved or cobbled street surfaces

Prior to the running of the bulls, a set of wooden or iron barricades are erected to direct the bulls along the route and to block off side streets. There may be a double row of barricades along the route to allow runners to quickly exit in case of danger. The gaps in the barricades are wide enough for a person to slip through, but narrow enough to block a bull, though one should still be wary of the bull's horns.

A first rocket is set off to alert the runners that the corral gate is open. The second rockets signals that all six bulls and six steers have been released.

Before the run, runners sing, "A San Fermín pedimos, por ser nuestro patrón, nos guíe en el encierro dándonos su bendición" ("We ask San Fermín, as our Patron, to guide us through the Bull Run and give us his blessing"), a prayer to a statue of Saint Fermin to ask his protection. They dress in the traditional white shirt and trousers with a red waistband and neckerchief. In one hand, they hold the day's newspaper rolled to draw the bulls' attention from them if necessary.

Although ideally there would be no contact with the bulls, inexperienced runners often try to touch or hit the bulls as the bulls pass by. This runs the risk of surprising or startling the bulls, and putting lives in danger. Professional herders run behind the bulls to minimize danger and correct misinformed runners. Weekends are most crowded and therefore most dangerous.

The fastest part of the route is up Santo Domingo and across the Town Hall Square, but the bulls often became separated at the entrance to Calle Estafeta as they try to slow down. One or more would slip going into the turn at Estafeta, but with the use of the new anti-slip surfacing, most of the bulls negotiate the turn onto Estafeta and are often ahead of the steers. This has resulted in a quicker, but not safer encierro as the bulls are usually out ahead of the steers as they reach the Callejon.

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Photos by :Damian Corrigan,  John Yavuz Can, San Fermin`s official site