Jaume, Mariona and I took the bus from Barcelona to Pamplona on a Tuesday Morning. We got a little sleep on the ride there, but looking back I wish we had gotten more in preparation for what was to come.

We got out at the bus station and were immediately surrounded by hundreds of people dressed entirely in white and red, and as we worked our way outside the station, a little park was packed out with another thousand or so people, half of whom were sleeping, at around 3pm. This was just the start of what was to come. The festival of San Fermin is no joke.

First we all got some bocadillos (little sandwiches) that were filled with Spanish omelletes (egg and potato). They were tasty, filling and cheap so they were the staple of my diet while in Pamplona. Jaume and I bought some sweatshirts because it was a bit chilly, and then we all made our way to a big field by the bus station where we could see the fireworks (which run every night of the 9-day festival). They were possibly the best fireworks I have ever seen (and are only  challenged by the fireworks of the following night, which were also incredible).
After the show we got involved with the party and began to roam the crowded streets to see what was in store for us. Among other adventures, we ended up meeting some people that Jaume had worked with before, in addition to a guy who had been to UCSD, and some other guy from Seattle and his friends that we hung out with for awhile. The first night was a long one with plenty of Sangria that culminated in us staking out an ATM where we would take a nap before watching our first encierro (running of the bulls).

We got up after limited sleep and made our way to the streets where the bulls run, and got ourselves a good view, we were all still ridiculously sleepy, drunk, and exhausted so we opted to watch rather than run. Afterwards we got a bit of sleep near the bus station, before getting back into the swing of things for the next night.
We saw the fireworks and then made our way back into town where we had a dance party in a random club for awhile before I somehow got separated from the group. I made an effort to find the others for about 20 minutes, but quickly realized I would have to meet them at the bus stop the next day.

I proceeded to make friends with a big group of Spanish students who I was able to hang out with for a couple hours. Afterwards I met up with some Italians who wanted to practice their English with me, and the night went on like, with new friends here, and new friends there, until about 6am when I hit the wall, trecked back to the bus station and went to sleep.

I was woken up by Jaume in the bus station a little while before our trip home, and we got on the bus and slept almost the entire return trip. After writing this post I realize that it seems like we didn’t really do anything but walk around, but between all the street performers in every square, the thousands of people singing and dancing in the streets, and the Sangria in our stomachs, it seems like a lot more was happening.