The Castle of the Dukes of Alburquerque in Cuéllar (Photo: Nicolás Haro)
In the weekend edition of the Financial Times, Alexander Fiske-Harrison, author of Into The Arena: The World Of The Spanish Bullfight, has written an article about the encierros – the ‘bull-runs’- of Pamplona, which are the most famous in the world, and of Cuéllar, which are the oldest.
(The best places to stay in either town are mentioned at the end of the piece. For those on a lower budget in Pamplona, go to The Pamplona Posse. For added information: best bar in Cuéllar is Bodega Carchena, and the best restaurant for the local delicacy of roast lamb and red wine is the Hostal Méson San Francisco.)
As always, in the limited space of an article, there are things missing.
The best are the words of the greatest ever American bull-runner, Joe Distler, and his perspective on why he still runs today after 360 encierros in Pamplona alone…
Like most people I live a basically routine existence. We go about our day to day lives on a normal schedule. In Pamplona, for one week we can let go and be totally insane. Not worry about worldly cares and problems. Be in the streets with wild Bulls; share intimate moments with great friends who like you have put aside day to day living and are giving all their energy to the fun of Feria. Play Peter Pan with no guilt and no recriminations. It makes the rest of the year easier to cope with and enriches our lives immensely.
Joe Distler* * *
The Editor
The Pamplona Post 