Hemingway Adventure

Pamplona, Spain (fourth day)

Eight o'clock comes round and we hear the rocket that means the bulls are on their way. Only seconds later the first wave of runners spills into the ring, jogging briskly. They are followed by a second wave running more smartly, who are in turn followed by a third wave sprinting like hell. Almost unnoticed in the middle of all the human hysteria are the bulls, trotting in resolutely, rarely breaking their stride as they follow their guiding steers across the ring and away into the pens where they will stay until they go out to be killed nine hours later.

This leaves the ring full of several hundred amateurs. A couple of American boys from Arizona who I'd met earlier in the day have run for the second time. Their eyes are shining as they shout at me from the other side of the barrier.

'It was incredible.'

'Frightening?'

'Terrifying! But we did it! We did it!'

'Now you're used to it will you become a regular?'

'No way! No way!'

At that moment a gate swings open and they leap to safety over the barrier. They needn't have worried. The animal that is released for the amateurs to try their skills on is not a bull, but a thin, though sprightly, cow with the points of its horns taped. It frisks off amongst the crowd, picking off people here and there. The crowd is very fair, any attempt to grapple the cow to the ground or even pull its tail being roundly booed.

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PALIN'S GUIDES

Series: Hemingway Adventure
Chapter: Pamplona, Spain (fourth day)
Country/sea: Spain
Place: Pamplona
Book page no: 106

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Hemingway Adventure

Pamplona, Spain (fourth day)

PALIN'S GUIDES

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