About CAMERAS at the CHUPINAXCO ceremonies on July 6th

If you insist on bringing a camera into this madness of the CHUPINAXCO, we suggest that you wrap your camera completely in a waterproof bag. Or, we suggest that you bring a waterproof camera, due to the huge amounts of champagne, wine, mustard, mayonnaise, eggs, or other colorful condiments and refreshments that participants throw upon each other!  We suggest that you do NOT bring your favorite, expensive digital camera into these crowds - your camera will either be ruined with the above mentioned champagne, wines, etc...or, the professional pickpockets may very well add your camera to their collections of San Fermín contraband! More info on what to expect at the CHUPINAXCO will follow in another post.

Some FUN FACTS about the CHUPINAXCO - Part 1

The CHUPINAXCO takes place at 12 noon, on July 6th, at the Town Hall, in the old city, Pamplona.  However, because this is such a monumental event in the SAN FERMIN festival, you can expect that all nearby sides streets are also packed with building-to-building-to-building revelers, all with varying degrees of wildly elevated BACs (Blood Alcohol Content). The Town Hall Square (known as the Plaza Consistorial) measures about 2500 sq. meters in size...so, you can imagine how crowded the square becomes when the estimated 13,000+ revelers attempt to take their spots in the celebration!  This means that about 5 to 6 persons are jammed into each square meter of ground space! You must wear sturdy closed-toe shoes!  Don't even think of wearing sandals!! There is broken glass all over the ground - so, especially if you want to run with the bulls, be very careful that you don't end up needing stitches in your foot, or feet!! The Town Hall Square, during the CHUPINAXCO ceremony, is NOT a place for children or older people!  Once you get into the unforgiving crowds at the Town Hall, you CANNOT get out, until the event is over and the revelers leave the Square. During the celebrations, you can expect that there is a lot of very dangerous pushing and shoving, called "surging" by the locals. It gets very hot in the Town Hall Square, not only from the warm daily temperatures, but also from the body heat generated by the huge crowds packed into this small area! You can expect that it becomes very difficult to breathe, especially if you are a shorter person!  For the CHUPINAXCO, it is best to make reservations on a balcony in order to witness this spectacular event...and to be safe, at the same time!!  We have a very limited number of balcony places for the Chupinaxco, each July 6th.  If you have not done so already, we strongly advise you to contact us right away, in order to secure a balcony for you and your group!  More FUN FACTS about the CHUPINAXCO will follow in Part 2.

How to Run with the Bulls - Part 3

If you have read parts 1 & 2 and are still interested then you may well be a candidate for a run with the bulls in Pamplona!  But before you decide to run, it is highly recommended that you watch at least one run first before you participate. Consider renting a balcony for the day before you plan to run.

Here is the next myth to dispel - you cannot run the entire course with the bulls.  Bulls run at over 35 mph and you cannot hope to keep up with the bulls for the entire course of the run.  So, you must pick your desired leg to run.  About 15 minutes before the bulls are released, the police break their lines and allow the runners to spread out along the course.  By now, you should have picked your desired spot and proceed to where you plan to run.

At this point, the loudspeakers of the town begin to broadcast messages to the runners.  You can feel the hair begin to raise on everyone's neck as the realization hits that yes, you are in the street, yes, bulls will be heading your way shortly and you are in a very narrow street and yes, this is really going to happen.  As the runners begin to disperse from town square there is more breathing room now on the streets and you can look around and see the different running styles that are about to take place.

There are those who head straight for the walls and have no plans to run.  They plan to just watch the bulls go by and say they were there.  Some stand in the middle of the road and begin to jump and stretch to get ready.  These are the lane runners who, once they hear the rocket, will pick a lane and run until the bulls catch them, then they will move to the side and allow the bulls to pass.  And, there are those who look totally bewildered and obviously have no clue what they are doing and have not done any research or preparation for this event.

Then it happens.  A rocket bursts loudly overhead signaling that the bulls are now out of the corral and heading your way.  Ah, the moment you have been waiting for is finally here - and total panic takes over the crowd.  People begin to run wildly or scramble for the fences with all color drained from their faces.  Now is the time to implement your running strategy - don't panic, just stick to your plan.

With Reverence to SAN FERMIN - January 24, 2009

Blesséd are the Navarran winemakers, for they, too, shall spread joy throughout Pamplona!

With Reverence to SAN FERMIN - January 23, 2009

Blesséd are the SAN FERMIN funmakers, for they shall spread joy throughout Pamplona!