We walked into the Hemingway Cafe in Plaza del Castillo, downtown Pamplona. We ordered tapas and beer... looked around the near-empty Cafe and asked "Where did Earnest Hemingway like to sit". The girl behind the bar looked puzzled... but then pleased with her English language skills, smiled and pointed to the toilet. Hemingway didn't mind the odd cleansing ale... so I thought she probably understood my question after all.
Hemingway loved his bull fights... he first attended the Festival of San Fermín in Pamplona in 1923... but developed an intense fascination with bull fighting. As for running with the Bulls through the streets of Pamplona, we don't know if Ernest climbed down from his balcony window to join the party... he may well have... he was that sort of bloke.
We walked the streets where the Bulls run... there aren't many safe escape routes... we were not disappointed to have missed the party.
Amongst the tourist trinkets, Pamplona offers underpants for men with a bull printed in the crutch region... with the inscription saying... 'I Run With The Bulls' ... Joye wouldn't let me buy a pair... said something about it being false advertising.
Hemingway has become something of a hero in Pamplona... not least because of his activities during the civil war. He was employed by an American newspaper to cover the conflict... and in that role talked to both sides. However, rumour has it that during the latter part of the war he gave briefings to the Republican Army... that assisted their war effort... didn't do them much good... they lost... but at least he tried. His war experiences are reflected in his novel 'For Whom the Bell Tolls'... his best work.
The countryside around Pamplona is dramatic... lying on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees. This region saw a lot of conflict from the Christian kingdoms pushing the Moors southward in the 13th century. The countryside is riddled with mountain forts used to defend territory. One thing missing from the countryside is Bulls... didn't see one all day. The locals claim the Bulls are bred especially for the event... I don't know... I reckon they are imported from Australia.
It seems that every village in Spain has a Roman chapter to its history. Pamplona was founded by Pompey... in a very small way. This makes Pamplona a very early settlement. Most of the building activity occurred under Augustus Caesar 75 years later. The village was under Moorish control for a century... but their involvement is not evident today. In the medieval period, Pamplona became the capital of a small but wealthy state. As such, it justified having its own cathedral... another huge structure packed with the best art from the Gothic and Renaissance period. If the effort put into religion and art had been invested into agriculture or industry... imagine how much more advanced the nation would have been. Could've, Would've, Should'a... such is history.
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