pared. Take
a straw hat - the July sun can sometimes fry
your scalp. Sunglasses might be a good idea
too. The "Peñas" will be wearing
their distinctive-coloured smocks so that, should
any kind of "flour fights" start,
they don´t worry about getting dirtied.
Better to wear your oldest clothes, or, if you
value your clothes,bring a towel or somesuch
thing to protect you from any "flying objects"
which may be thrown in good-natured fun, but
which will leave a dirty stain should they find
their target. You will notice that the locals
on this side of the ring will wear any old thing
to the fights, sometimes just to be funny, but
believe me, they are also thinking of the muck
and grime that tends to proliferate there.
A cushion to put under you is not a bad idea
either, even if it is only useful for the first
minutes. The concrete seating will have already
taken a battering from the previous day´s
fight and there also tends to be a lot of spilled
wine floating around. These can be hired out
just inside the stadium for a modicum sum.
So, keep your good gear for the night scene
and you won´t have to regret any "accidents"
that could take place when the wine, sangría,
etc, overspills both inside and outside its
owners.
Neither is it a good idea to take cameras, something
which visitors tend to do. They could run the
risk of getting badly stained by the flowing
wine or "kalimotxo" (a mixture of
red wine and coke) which are being abundantly
consumed to allay the fierce heat of the sun.
Anything valuable is best left somewhere in
a safe place.
Eating and Drinking at the bullring is one of
the most attractive aspects (Some would say
the most attractive) of the whole show. The
drinking usually commences pretty early on.
More likely than not the fierce heat of the
afternoon sun will be beating mercilessly down
on the sunny side of the ring. Sangria tends
to be the most popular drink, which, funnily
enough, is hardly ever drunk in Pamplona during
the rest of the year. It´s understandable
that foreign visitors go away from the Fiesta
thinking that it is our national drink, but
nothing could be further from the truth. Rigid
protocol dictates that, after the third bull
has been killed, it is time to open the lunchboxes.
Many people meet up with their friends in the
passageways under the stadium to share their
meal, which means that there is usually more
seating space available on the terraces.
The lunchboxes can hold anything from a breadroll
sandwich to a full three course meal depending
on the taste of each person. Some people even
bring coffee and liqueurs to finish off their
meal in style. (So you can understand why some
people don´t tend to return to their seats
to watch the remainder of the bullfight.)
On the way to the stadium you will see all kinds
of people proudly bearing all kinds of opulent
lunchboxes. (Here is one of moments when a little
ostentatiousness is acceptable). For many people
this will be their main meal of the day.
So, remember to take some victuals and beverages
with you to the bullfight. A sense of wellbeing
and camaradie abounds at the bullfight and there
is usually an opulent amount of sharing out
of food going on with the people round you,
be they friends or strangers. Here, you have
the chance to taste all sorts of popular food
from the Navarra region. The people understand
that the foreign visitor is not "up"
on the protocol on this type of occassion and
they are particularly generous at sharing their
food with any foreigners that are sitting near
them. This eating and drinking tends to build
up to a climax all through the second part of
the bullfight and the spirits of the spectactors
rise correspondingly. There is no point in taking
home leftovers so these leftovers often start
getting flung round in all directions as some
people seem to feel a need to "practise"
their volleyball skills.
Sometimes, some luckless person, (especially
the ladies) who looks particularly well-dressed
and eye-catching, becomes the unfortunate target
for these impromptu throwings. This kind of
behaviour can sometimes be tiresome and in any
case seems to occur with less frequency than
it used to do.
Later, as soon as the bull-fight finishes and
the crowd leave, an assorted group of scavangers,
made up of all kinds of "underground"
types, be they "punkis" or whatever,
tend to scour the terraces for the suculent
leftovers.
So, if you are an open, tolerant and fun-loving
type, you will probably have realized by now
that this could be just the kind of thing you
would enjoy. If it doesn´t sound much
like your kind of fun, then give it a miss.
There are plenty of other things going on at
the same time in Pamplona that could be more
in your line.
When the last bull has been killed and dragged
from the ring, the "
Peñas"
and a large part of the crowd pile down into
the ring and gather in disordered groups under
the different banners ready to
flow
out through the main gate behind their raoucous
brass bands.
