The Running of the Bulls blog » The night

Safety in our town

joseba — Thu, 08 May 2008 11:22:26 +0000

While checking our section ‘What info are you looking for?’ we have seen that a reader named Heather has posed the following questions:
Is there an increased concern about safety during Sanfermin?
Have there been any issues during past festivals?

Well Heather, I can tell you that safety is not a major issue in Pamplona during the festival (nor during the rest of the year).
The only way you might risk your life comes if you decide to run in front of the bulls, otherwise there is not much you should be worried about.

Of course, you have to take care of pickpockets and the like (this is quite logical having in mind that the population of the city almost doubles its size on weekend during the festival).
Still, ours is a midsize town and I can assure you there have never been any crimes or serious offences reported during the festival (no, this is not like Rio de Janeiro in Carnival).

You can go out in the night really safe (if you are a girl for example, and you go out for a drink with another female friend, you do not need to worry about safety, being raped, or anything like that..).
Crime rate in this town is really low and the probability of something bad happening to any visitors is not higher than in their hometowns.
I will not say that everything is perfect, but the city is pretty safe and also police is not corrupt and you can trust them (well, to the same extent as in other western countries).

Do any of the readers have any comments or would like to share with us their personnal experiences about his topic?

Avventure amorose a Sanfermin

sanferman — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 00:36:06 +0000

Come dice il tema del rinomato compositore Turrinni: Tre cose abbiamo a Pamplona che non e possibile trovare a Madrid, une ragazze come il sole e il famoso txakolí, e lo meglior del mondo, la festa de San Fermín.

Allora, questa premissa e corretta, ma abbiamo un grande problema con la prima parte della composizione: le ragazze sono come il sole, ma… come fare la constatazione?

In questo articolo vai trovare una formula che non e sufficiente, ma altamente necessaria: per ottenere un trionfo amoroso con una pamplonesa, tu devi essere un saltimbanco.

Il mero fatto di essere transalpino gia e un punto a favore, e si la tua maglia e tanto piccola quanto la della squadra azzurra, per que ti voglio contare.
Il rostro abronzatto per il sole, la tua melena sventolante, le muscoli delineati, una voce profonda e suggerente, lo sguardo levemente strabico, … tutto questo e molto importante, ma insisto, non serve a niente si non hai destrezza acrobatica.

Tu puoi stare pensando, per che devo essere un acrobata?

Molto facile, caro amico. Abbi fede alla nostra esperienza di molti anni. ¿Come aspiri a sorpassare il perimetro de securezza chi formano le amiche della ragazza senza fare una cabriola mortale con duplice tirabuzzone e mezzo?

What can I do?

rajauta — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 18:00:15 +0000

It’s a very common question: what can I do at Sanfermin?.
It really looks like an easy question, but the answer could be very, very large.
At first, if you are considering coming to Sanfermin, you can ask yourself: why do I want to go there?.
There are a lot of reasons to come to Pamplona:
In some cases, it is just to get off with girls or boys …(be aware, this place is the real spiritual reserve of the western world!). Still, the chance of making out with girls or boys, if you are a foreigner, is much higher than if you are from Pamplona.
Sometimes, it is because a lot of people think this is a lawless city during the festival (like a farwest town) and you can do everything you please. Be careful!!! because you are wrong. There are far more police officers in the city than during the rest of the year. You know, there are a lot of visitors who come here on business (pickpockets and the like…), and not only that, if a policeman sees you pissing in the street, you will definitely be fined (but it is better not to speak about that, if you have ever been here you may remember the disgusting smell of the streets in a hot morning, even though cleaners work very hard every single day).
Some other times, it is because you want to know the atmosphere, and compare it with other Spanish festivals such as Fallas in Valencia, April fair in Seville or Pilar in Saragossa. I must tell people that want to compare it with Fallas, that there are not so many rockets and firecrackers here as in Fallas, even though we have fireworks every night and the best Valencian fireworker comes to display his show. To the people who want to compare it with the April fair, I will say that you will fit in our festival by yourself and that you needn’t be a member of any society. To those who want to compare it with the Pilar, just one thing… Go! Osasuna Go!. (The best soccer team all over the world).
You can also say that you are coming to Sanfermines to learn or improve your Spanish, but this is a very poor excuse… you can learn Spanish another time and in another place.