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Guide to San Fermin Festival – Opening Day

by Kesi To and Fro | Jul 10, 2015 | Europe, Spain

I survived Running of the Bulls. Okay, maybe I didn’t actually run with the bulls, but being a part of San Fermin requires stamina, so I’d still like to say I survived the 4 days I was there. I highly recommend everyone to attend Opening Day of San Fermin, since it is a big celebration for all ages (although I’m not too sure if it is appropriate for toddlers, but they were there!)

History

The San Fermin festival occurs every year from July 6 – July 14 in Pamplona, Spain to honor San Fermin, a patron saint of Narvarna. Earnest Hemingway wrote a detailed account of the festival in his novel The Sun Also Rises, which popularized the event and attracted people from all over the world. Nowadways, the focus is less on the saint San Fermin, and more about a fun atmosphere of dancing, bull riding, and sangria.

Part 1 – Opening Day Highlights

The Opening Day of San Fermin tops my list as one of the best parties. San Fermin doesn’t officially start until noon on July 6. The streets are already packed by 10 am with endless amounts of tourists, locals, and sangria. Below is a picture of me and some Kiwi friends before we headed into the center. We did not know what we were about to get into.

Dressed in all white. You can tell the festival has not officially begun since our red scarfs are on our wrists instead of around our necks.

Once we entered the center square around 10 am, I couldn’t keep my eyes off of all the excitement and energy…

…half full sangria bottles are being thrown in the air. If a person in a balcony catches the sangria bottle then they chug it and throw the empty bottle back at the crowd.

….girls climb on their friend’s shoulders and immediately get doused in Sangria. (If boys get on shoulders they just get booed)

….people chanting in Spanish and English jumping all over the place.

I take a swig of my sangria and join in the action.

Friends getting squirted with Sangria

The festival still hasn’t officially started yet!

By 11 am I already finished my first bottle of sangria. I leave the center to grab another bottle and try to meet my friends again before the chupinazo (rocket) is launched at noon. When I came back to the center, this was the crowd I tried to manage my way through:

There was no way I was going to find my friends, so I just stopped where I was and decided to befriend the people around me. For 30 minutes we were all packed like sardines, but the energy outweighed the discomfort. Finally once the mayor came out, everyone held out their red scarves waiting for the rocket to launch so that they can put their scarves around their neck and acknowledge that San Fermin has officially begun!

I spent the rest of the day with the two Czech boys that I was forced to meet since we were stuck like sardines in the center. The rest of the day consisted of dancing in bars, giving little kids high fives, taking short siestas by trees, and of course lots of sangria! By 9 pm, I was ready to head back to my campsite so that I could wake up early to watch the bull run.

New Czech Friends

Bull run post to follow….

For professional photos of San Fermin, check out this article: http://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2015/07/running-of-the-bulls-2015-the-fiesta-de-san-fermin/398009/

Best Place to Stay in Croatia!

by Kesi To and Fro | Jul 9, 2015 | Croatia, Europe

This article may contain affiliate links. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on the link, I may receive a small commission.

While I was in Split, Croatia learning all the necessary skills to become a successful hostess for The Yacht Week, I had the pleasure of meeting and eventually staying with the best host ever!

I’d like to introduce everyone to Pero:

A good friend of mine stayed with Pero and Natasha two years ago, and told me I had no choice but to meet the happily, married couple who rent out their apartment on AirBnB. Pero invited me to a BBQ at his house on Thursday evening, since he had two Aussie boys staying with him. Once I agreed, he picked me up on his motorbike and drove to his house. After opening the gates I see a garden with tomatoes, grape vines, and herbs galore.

Pero and his wife cooked a delicious meal with fresh tomato soup, pork steaks, capresé salad, roasted potatoes, and grilled zucchini. I also tried different homemade rakija’s, which is a sweet liquor. (My favorite was lemon!). After several rounds or rakija, wine, and beer Pero took the Aussie boys and myself into town. As I tried navigating to a bar to meet-up with my Yacht Week colleagues, Pero kept stopping to talk to people he knew. I swear he knows everyone in Split! After the night was finished, Pero dropped me back off at my Couchsurfing host to sleep for the night. When I woke up the next morning I called up Pero, so that I could rent a room with him that night. The second night was just as good or better than the first. Once again Pero cooked a delicious meal, this time mussels that were devoured in less than 5 minutes. He walked us to the club at night, and waited all night to ensure we got back to his place safely. The next morning I woke up to about 50 pancakes. The aussie boys ate most of them 😉

I highly recommend booking a trip to Split, just so that you could meet Pero and Natasha! They represent the epitome of hosting. They cook delicious food, live in a great apartment, and will pick you up and drop you off into the city center. I’m flying back to Split on Friday, and most definitely spending the night at Pero and Natasha’s.

You can book a night to stay here: Click Here

Me and Pero![/caption]