M40間諜米格魯的秘密日誌

Pamplona is an ideal destination for a day-trip if you happen to find yourself in La Rioja. Famed for its annual encierro (Running of the Bulls) every year during the San Fermin festival, Pamplona is a very popular destination for tourists from all over the world.

The drive from Ezcaray to Pamplona passes through some scenic little towns and villages in both the La Rioja and the Navarre province. As the old town of Pamplona, with all the little winding alleys and one-way streets, is best explored by foot, it is advisable to park the car at one of the underground car parks on the outskirt of the old town and walk into the old centre.

All over the route of the annual encierro, you will see red signs like this one above the street corners. Each sign explains the peculiarity of each street segment. If you follow the white arrow sign and walk from one sign board to the next, you will know how it is like to be in an encierro - except for that there are no bulls running behind you on the narrow cobble stone streets.

Part of the encierro route - note how slippery the street surface is. Imagine you are running on such a surface with more than 10000 people crowding around you, all yelling and screaming, while trying to run away from a dozen fierce-looking bulls charging up at the crowd from behind....

Pamplona also has many old cathedrals and historical buildings in store for those who arrive outside the encierro season. For those who cannot survive without shopping, you will find most of the big high street brand names in Pamplona, in addition to the obligatory department store El Corte Ingles. There is a good cafeteria on the top floor of El Corte Ingles in Pamplona that serves good salads (with delicious extra-virgin olive oil from the surrounding farms), light lunch snacks and drinks. You can have a cup of coffee whilst overlooking the red tile roofs of the town centre.

Copyrights 2009. All Rights Reserved. All photos and text by YC Cheng.