We spent three nights in Pamplona, home of the famous "running of the bulls". This was a very exciting time as the city of 200,000 swells to 1,000,000 for the festival. Crowds, young folks drinking all day and night, pickpockets and the pageantry of the festival made for a very stimulating time.

The first day consisted solely of the drama leading up to the opening ceremony at noon. As we gathered in our balcony vantage point overlooking the square, the early revelers had begun to gather. It seems that the spraying of Cava (spanish sparkling wine) is an integral part of the ritual. As the crowd builds you can feel the pressure. Just before the rocket goes off to signify the opening ceremony the people are packed so tight they cannot move. And still more pour in from the adjoining streets.

Day two was the first day of the famous "Running of the Bulls". The five bulls that have been selected for the bull fights that evening are run through a number of streets that have been blocked off with barriers to control the bulls' path. They also send a number of steers to help guide the bulls. The bulls have never seen anything like this and the days run is both short (generally less than three minutes from their paddock to the bull ring) and unpredictable.

The runners try to pace themselves with the bulls, with the most experienced runners staying just out of harms way. But the streets are somewhat slick and the crowd unpredictable. Someone always falls and once in awhile the bulls trample them or gore them. There are a number of injuries each day but, surprisingly, it has been a long time since anyone was killed.

Our vantage point for the first day's run was a balcony in a long, straight street. I liked this position the best. As far as photography goes you have a very short time to capture images and hope that something exciting gets captured.

After the run we spent the day touring Pamplona. That evening we attended the opening bull fights. These were unusual and colorful in that the matadors fought on horseback, which is not the normal way. I found the experience (my first) both exciting and repulsive. While I recognize the long tradition of fighting bulls (which started as a way of getting knights and horses ready for battle) I find the spectacle unsettling. The bull always loses and the "fight" consists of a number of stages of stabbing the bulls with progressively shorter knives to weaken them for the final thrust to the brain. It is sad watching these majestic animals weakened this way. On the other hand, the skill of the matadors and the pageantry surrounding the fights are very exciting and stimulating.

Our last day in Pamplona featured a second running of the bulls. This day we had a corner balcony which normally produced a lot of action. Alas, our group ran through the short street and around the corner without mishap and so quickly many of the runners didn't even know it had happened.