I’ve just come back from my second trip to Spain. The reason for choosing this time of the year is obvious: the bull running in Pamplona, a main part of the festivities during Fiesta de San Fermín (also called Los Sanfermines in Spanish). This festival draws a flood of tourists from around the world, from 6th to 14th July every year.
剛剛到西班牙旅遊，選擇這個時候，就是為了參觀一年一度在潘普洛納（Pamplona）舉行的奔牛節（亦稱聖佛明節，Fiesta de San Fermín）。奔牛節每年7月6日至14日舉行，不少遊客都蜂湧而至。
San Fermín was already in the air when I was travelling on the overnight train from Barcelona to Pamplona (Barcelona is worth a few blogs in itself!) In the same carriage, I could spot 20 or so of those ‘bull runners’ all dressed in the distinctive white ‘uniform’ with red bandanas and another piece of red cloth around the waist, helping themselves to their own large stock of beer. Fortunately those people were also helping themselves to some rest later in the trip like me …
其實從巴塞羅那坐過夜火車往潘普洛納時（巴塞羅那我會稍後好好寫一下），就已感受到一般歡慶的氣氛，我的車卡裡便有二、三十個穿了全副「制服」的男子漢，白色裝束，繫了紅色頭巾或腰巾，邊喝啤酒邊作樂，幸好不是全程如此，總算可以睡一覺。
It’s 0530 hrs on 5th July when I reached Pamplona. Such an early arrival time made for a decent day trip to San Sebastian, just one hour away by coach (San Sebastian is definitely worth another blog post). I came back in time for the opening day the next day.
到達潘普洛納時，是7月5日早上5點半，到鄰近的聖塞巴提安（San Sebastian）逛一天後（容後再補記），翌日奔牛節便要揭幕。
The next morning (6th July), everyone was busy preparing for San Fermín in their own ways. Organisers of the various events were engaged in their last-minute work, while revellers had to make sure they had the right gear for the big day, from the outfit to the liquid that would sustain them for the whole day. You guessed it, it’s the archetypical Spanish wine of Sangría (a mix of red wine with fruit juice, often infused with fruits), and there wouldn’t be any shortage of it.
開幕那天早上，各人都忙着準備，主辦單位固然有各樣東西要籌備，參與者也得張羅「應節物品」，包括那套「制服」，還有少不得的西班牙水果酒Sangría，看來有些人當日真的會把酒當水喝！
Closer to the official opening ceremony, people were starting to gather in Plaza Consistorial, where the ceremony was held, and the adjoining Plaza Castillo. Plaza Consistorial was transformed into a big, open-air party. People were chanting, tossing large balloons and splashing each other with red wine or champagne. Those on the balconies around the square also joined the folly and treated those below them with buckets of water, one after one. It all sounded fun until the crowd became too close for comfort and some people had the clever idea of pushing the others in all directions, while ground was becoming ever more slippery. The whole scene was indeed on a slippery slope itself!
快11點時，人群已逐漸在舉行開幕禮的市政廣場（Plaza Consistorial）及相連的城堡廣場（Plaza Castillo）聚集，我到達市政廣場時，看到的祇是一個大型戶外狂歡派對，在一片歡呼和高歌中，大家不是忙着把那些大氣球拋來拋去，便是互相噴紅酒、香濱，站在露台的，時而也會從高澆水助興，愛玩的人當然覺得好玩，但當後來人多得插針不入，地下又濕滑，有時無端端又有人「推波助瀾」時，實在是有點危險！
Plaza Castillo城堡廣場
Partying at Paza Consistorial (also see the video below)
在市政廣場的狂歡（亦可看以下短片）
After the very brief opening ceremony, everyone had the same idea of heading to Plaza Castillo. Quite a few people were by that time already completely drenched in alcohol and were probably longing for a good refreshing shower. Their wish was granted as soon as they started chanting ‘A-gua, A-gua, A-gua’ (Water, Water, Water) to those standing on the balcony.
短短的開幕禮準時在正午舉行過後，大家都不約而同湧到城堡廣場，大概有些人那時全身都沾滿了酒，想用水沖洗沖洗，竟停在路中心，集體向露台上的人大喝：「A-gua! A-gua! A-gua!」（水呀！水呀！水呀！）露台上的也有求必應……
The opening ceremony was the green light for more craziness and stupidity to follow. The intoxicating mix of the different alcohols was starting to take hold of some of the revellers. A few of them were taking turns to dive off from the top of a statue (which apparently had a reputation among foreign travellers to Pamplona, according to a colleague of mine who is a local), while one or two of them were venturing into people’s flats through their balconies by grabbing onto drainage pipes or metal frames (I've heard that some locals would 'paint' the pipes and metal bars with Vaseline to counter this stupidity). In short, San Fermín is the licence to debauchery and excuse to free oneself from the norms and constraints of civility!
開幕禮後，各人更加放縱、更加忘我，才過了兩個多小時，那些紅酒、白酒、啤酒已共同發功，身邊不少人已進入狂野狀態，輸流從某人像頂一躍而下（聽我的當地同事說，那個人像的名氣早已在外國遊客間廣為流傳），也有一、兩人在「人」林「垃圾」雨中爬進民居（據說有當地居民為了防範，會在水管、鐵枝塗上凡士林），總之平時敢想不敢做的事情，來到奔牛節時就彷如得到一場大赦！
A new colour for the San Fermín uniform.
瘋了一天，「制服」也換了顏色。
Who’s watching whom at San Fermín?!
(This cute bull was the brainchild of Kukuxumusu, whose T-shirts and other souvenirs wouldn’t escape your sight in Pamplona.)
奔牛節時，看人和看牛都一樣精彩！
（此可愛的卡通由Kukuxumusu設計，其T恤及其他紀念品遍布全城！）
It’s play for us but work for him (and many other workers who were working hard to keep the rubbish away).
這種場面總得有人收拾！
Fortunately there was still the time and space to for me recuperate from the insanity permeating through Pamplona.
在一片狂歡中，我也有空到潘普洛納其他地方逛逛。
Left: Paseo de Sarasate; right: Iglesia San Lorenzo (St. Lorenzo's Church)
左：Paseo de Sarasate、右：聖老楞佐教堂
My random wander through the city took me to Parque Taconera which was a particularly tempting place for hungry people. The row of food stalls there was cooking up a big fest of different food for everyone to see and taste. Eventually the paella got my approval because it looked being prepared by the good old proper way. The meal was rounded up with a shot of the sweet wine Vino Añejo next to the paella place.
不知不覺來到Taconera公園，那裡最吸引人的，就是一排賣不同食品的熟食攤檔，看見他們即場炮製各種菜式，那個海鮮飯（Paella）的作法看來也挺正宗，自然沒放過，飯後又到毗鄰的攤檔試試其飯後甜酒Vino Añejo。
The trench in Parque Taconera is a mini-zoo.
Taconera公園中間有個坑，養了不少動物。
Right: Bulls are not just for fighting or running!
西班牙式大鑊飯：牛肉煲
Some real paella: the soup from the seafood stew (the pan on the chef's left) should be fed into the rice regularly (the other pan) so that the rice can soak up the flavour properly.
正宗的海鮮飯，是靠不斷把海鮮湯（廚師左邊的鍋）澆到飯上（那一個鍋），令飯能不停吸收精華。
A biscuit roll that doubles up as a straw for the Vino Añejo.
那條小小的餅卷也可當吸管用！
Afterwards I continued my wander and reached the part of the city walls that were still standing. From there I could take a good look of the northern part of Pamplona before meandering through the jam-packed streets around the place. I even had time for a respite and writing postcards. Others must be thinking what a crazy lad he was, writing postcards instead of partying hard!
飯後走到城牆附近，居高臨下遙望城北，又有空繼續閒逛，還有時間停下來休息寫明信片！（在那個非常時期竟有如此閒情，我也有點不正常了吧！）
Museo de Navarra
Navarra省博物館
A reminder that this is the Basque country: ETA calling (and fighting) for independence.
旅客流連之地，少不了一直爭取巴斯克獨立的「巴斯克家園與自由」組織（亦稱埃塔，ETA）的宣傳。
A meal behind bars (under Plaza Los Burgos)
還以為是「皇家飯」（監獄飯堂）！（Los Burgos廣場下）
Left: Iglesia San Nicolas (St. Nicholas' Church); right: Plaza de Toros, bull-fighting arena
左：聖尼格老教堂、右：鬥牛場
It was soon dinner time, and without second thoughts I headed back to Parque Taconera for more good food. Then I stumbled upon this place that my Pamplona colleague recommended to me: a host of food stalls that bring together the cuisines from all corners of Spain. Just as I was having a hard time deciding, someone invited me to try this Pulpo a la Gallega (Galician-style octopus). He was smart because the curious tourist in front of him bought a plate of it without hesitation after the tasting. The preparation looked simple enough: the octopus was scalded in a large pot of hot water, chopped into bite sizes, and then mixed in a pot of sauce with potatoes. But the end result was an unbeatable combination of tangy flavour and freshness of the octopus. Fortunately I don’t have to wait long to try this memorable dish again as I have bought a tin of it back in Barcelona. The drink afterwards was equally memorable. I was wondering what kind of fancy water – Agua de Valencia (literally ‘water of Valencia’) this could be, and it turned out to be a pleasant cocktail made of orange juice.
想起午飯也不錯，晚飯時折返Taconera，不經意給我找到同事介紹的另一個熟食區，集西班牙各地的菜式於一地，兜了兩個圈後，有人讓我試吃加里西亞式八爪魚（Pulpo a la Gallega），果然一吃鐘情，馬上要了一盤，那道菜的做法，是先把八爪魚放在沸水灼熟，然後跟馬鈴薯一同放在一大窩醬汁內，讓其吸收那鹹中帶香的味道，吃起來既新鮮又惹味！（幸好在巴塞羅那買了一罐，可以日後再回味。）飯後試了一種與別不同的「水」，名雖曰華倫西亞水（Agua de Valencia），但原來是橙汁雞尾酒。
How I miss this! 真令人懷念！
I thought it was just an innocuous orange juice ...
還以為是橙汁！
The festivities reached a new wave after darkness descended. I was finally able to see a bull at 22:00 hrs. But it was no ordinary bull. It was sparkling with a mini-firework and was chasing spectators as it was running forwards – and backwards! But this firework bull run (Toro de Fuego) was just about fun and in all likelihood less dangerous than the real thing!
入夜後是另一個高潮，10點中，主角公牛終於出場，不過那隻牛不但會噴火花，而且懂得向前跑了一會後向後跑，讓人措手不及，不過這頭噴火公牛（Toro de Fuego）應沒有真實公牛那般危險了！
Bull! Run!
牛！快跑！
Then I made my way quickly to the citadel (Ciudadela) to find myself a good spot to watch some real fireworks. My Pamplona colleague explained to me that there was firework display every night during San Fermín starting from 23:00 hrs, with different styles each night and sometimes accompanied with music (but not that night). The fireworks were let off from within the citadel, which was only 50 metres away. With such a short distance, I could almost feel being captured by the expanding fireworks as they made their way down from the skies. The 20-minute display kept me awed and captivated all the time as it was one of the very few times I was right beside the heart of the action and there was so much variety to offer.
之後趕快到堡壘（Ciudadela），佔個好位置看煙火（煙花），我的同事介紹說，奔牛節期間每晚11點開始，每晚款式都不同，而且有時有配樂（但我那晚沒有）。煙火是從城堡內發射，離我祇有50米左右，有些球型的煙火，從高空墜下時，彷彿要把所有觀眾籠罩、包圍，從沒如此近距離看煙火，可真震撼，而且二十分鐘內，款式千變萬化，一輩子看過多次煙火，這次可算是最精彩的一次。
The first day was all about people and parties. The bulls didn’t make their début until the next morning (7th July), when they were allowed to run wild through the streets after even wilder human beings starting from 08:00 hrs. But don’t ask me what it was like because I missed out on it completely! It was a combination of oversleeping and not willing to lug around town before catching a bus to Bilbao at 10:30 hrs. The only consolation I could take was from my colleague, who said that all I would get to see was a fleeting moment which would disappear as quickly as it came. I can only trust the local on this one!
至於人所皆知的奔牛，每年都是7月7日，每天早上8點開始，我那天太晚起床，而且10點半要坐車往畢爾包（Bilbao），不想拿着行李隨街走，所以作罷，不過同事說，就算有機會看到，也祇是那一小剎那，我也以這個酸葡萄理由放過自己了。
Hopefully you get some idea of what bull running is like!
人仰牛不翻，這個雕像正好刻畫了奔牛究竟是甚麼回事。
剛剛到西班牙旅遊，選擇這個時候，就是為了參觀一年一度在潘普洛納（Pamplona）舉行的奔牛節（亦稱聖佛明節，Fiesta de San Fermín）。奔牛節每年7月6日至14日舉行，不少遊客都蜂湧而至。
San Fermín was already in the air when I was travelling on the overnight train from Barcelona to Pamplona (Barcelona is worth a few blogs in itself!) In the same carriage, I could spot 20 or so of those ‘bull runners’ all dressed in the distinctive white ‘uniform’ with red bandanas and another piece of red cloth around the waist, helping themselves to their own large stock of beer. Fortunately those people were also helping themselves to some rest later in the trip like me …
其實從巴塞羅那坐過夜火車往潘普洛納時（巴塞羅那我會稍後好好寫一下），就已感受到一般歡慶的氣氛，我的車卡裡便有二、三十個穿了全副「制服」的男子漢，白色裝束，繫了紅色頭巾或腰巾，邊喝啤酒邊作樂，幸好不是全程如此，總算可以睡一覺。
It’s 0530 hrs on 5th July when I reached Pamplona. Such an early arrival time made for a decent day trip to San Sebastian, just one hour away by coach (San Sebastian is definitely worth another blog post). I came back in time for the opening day the next day.
到達潘普洛納時，是7月5日早上5點半，到鄰近的聖塞巴提安（San Sebastian）逛一天後（容後再補記），翌日奔牛節便要揭幕。
The next morning (6th July), everyone was busy preparing for San Fermín in their own ways. Organisers of the various events were engaged in their last-minute work, while revellers had to make sure they had the right gear for the big day, from the outfit to the liquid that would sustain them for the whole day. You guessed it, it’s the archetypical Spanish wine of Sangría (a mix of red wine with fruit juice, often infused with fruits), and there wouldn’t be any shortage of it.
開幕那天早上，各人都忙着準備，主辦單位固然有各樣東西要籌備，參與者也得張羅「應節物品」，包括那套「制服」，還有少不得的西班牙水果酒Sangría，看來有些人當日真的會把酒當水喝！
Closer to the official opening ceremony, people were starting to gather in Plaza Consistorial, where the ceremony was held, and the adjoining Plaza Castillo. Plaza Consistorial was transformed into a big, open-air party. People were chanting, tossing large balloons and splashing each other with red wine or champagne. Those on the balconies around the square also joined the folly and treated those below them with buckets of water, one after one. It all sounded fun until the crowd became too close for comfort and some people had the clever idea of pushing the others in all directions, while ground was becoming ever more slippery. The whole scene was indeed on a slippery slope itself!
快11點時，人群已逐漸在舉行開幕禮的市政廣場（Plaza Consistorial）及相連的城堡廣場（Plaza Castillo）聚集，我到達市政廣場時，看到的祇是一個大型戶外狂歡派對，在一片歡呼和高歌中，大家不是忙着把那些大氣球拋來拋去，便是互相噴紅酒、香濱，站在露台的，時而也會從高澆水助興，愛玩的人當然覺得好玩，但當後來人多得插針不入，地下又濕滑，有時無端端又有人「推波助瀾」時，實在是有點危險！
Plaza Castillo城堡廣場
Partying at Paza Consistorial (also see the video below)
在市政廣場的狂歡（亦可看以下短片）
After the very brief opening ceremony, everyone had the same idea of heading to Plaza Castillo. Quite a few people were by that time already completely drenched in alcohol and were probably longing for a good refreshing shower. Their wish was granted as soon as they started chanting ‘A-gua, A-gua, A-gua’ (Water, Water, Water) to those standing on the balcony.短短的開幕禮準時在正午舉行過後，大家都不約而同湧到城堡廣場，大概有些人那時全身都沾滿了酒，想用水沖洗沖洗，竟停在路中心，集體向露台上的人大喝：「A-gua! A-gua! A-gua!」（水呀！水呀！水呀！）露台上的也有求必應……
The opening ceremony was the green light for more craziness and stupidity to follow. The intoxicating mix of the different alcohols was starting to take hold of some of the revellers. A few of them were taking turns to dive off from the top of a statue (which apparently had a reputation among foreign travellers to Pamplona, according to a colleague of mine who is a local), while one or two of them were venturing into people’s flats through their balconies by grabbing onto drainage pipes or metal frames (I've heard that some locals would 'paint' the pipes and metal bars with Vaseline to counter this stupidity). In short, San Fermín is the licence to debauchery and excuse to free oneself from the norms and constraints of civility!
開幕禮後，各人更加放縱、更加忘我，才過了兩個多小時，那些紅酒、白酒、啤酒已共同發功，身邊不少人已進入狂野狀態，輸流從某人像頂一躍而下（聽我的當地同事說，那個人像的名氣早已在外國遊客間廣為流傳），也有一、兩人在「人」林「垃圾」雨中爬進民居（據說有當地居民為了防範，會在水管、鐵枝塗上凡士林），總之平時敢想不敢做的事情，來到奔牛節時就彷如得到一場大赦！
A new colour for the San Fermín uniform.
瘋了一天，「制服」也換了顏色。
Who’s watching whom at San Fermín?!(This cute bull was the brainchild of Kukuxumusu, whose T-shirts and other souvenirs wouldn’t escape your sight in Pamplona.)
奔牛節時，看人和看牛都一樣精彩！
（此可愛的卡通由Kukuxumusu設計，其T恤及其他紀念品遍布全城！）
It’s play for us but work for him (and many other workers who were working hard to keep the rubbish away).
這種場面總得有人收拾！
Fortunately there was still the time and space to for me recuperate from the insanity permeating through Pamplona.
在一片狂歡中，我也有空到潘普洛納其他地方逛逛。
Left: Paseo de Sarasate; right: Iglesia San Lorenzo (St. Lorenzo's Church)
左：Paseo de Sarasate、右：聖老楞佐教堂
My random wander through the city took me to Parque Taconera which was a particularly tempting place for hungry people. The row of food stalls there was cooking up a big fest of different food for everyone to see and taste. Eventually the paella got my approval because it looked being prepared by the good old proper way. The meal was rounded up with a shot of the sweet wine Vino Añejo next to the paella place.
不知不覺來到Taconera公園，那裡最吸引人的，就是一排賣不同食品的熟食攤檔，看見他們即場炮製各種菜式，那個海鮮飯（Paella）的作法看來也挺正宗，自然沒放過，飯後又到毗鄰的攤檔試試其飯後甜酒Vino Añejo。
The trench in Parque Taconera is a mini-zoo.
Taconera公園中間有個坑，養了不少動物。
Right: Bulls are not just for fighting or running!
西班牙式大鑊飯：牛肉煲
Some real paella: the soup from the seafood stew (the pan on the chef's left) should be fed into the rice regularly (the other pan) so that the rice can soak up the flavour properly.
正宗的海鮮飯，是靠不斷把海鮮湯（廚師左邊的鍋）澆到飯上（那一個鍋），令飯能不停吸收精華。
A biscuit roll that doubles up as a straw for the Vino Añejo.
那條小小的餅卷也可當吸管用！
Afterwards I continued my wander and reached the part of the city walls that were still standing. From there I could take a good look of the northern part of Pamplona before meandering through the jam-packed streets around the place. I even had time for a respite and writing postcards. Others must be thinking what a crazy lad he was, writing postcards instead of partying hard!
飯後走到城牆附近，居高臨下遙望城北，又有空繼續閒逛，還有時間停下來休息寫明信片！（在那個非常時期竟有如此閒情，我也有點不正常了吧！）
Museo de Navarra
Navarra省博物館
A reminder that this is the Basque country: ETA calling (and fighting) for independence.
旅客流連之地，少不了一直爭取巴斯克獨立的「巴斯克家園與自由」組織（亦稱埃塔，ETA）的宣傳。
A meal behind bars (under Plaza Los Burgos)
還以為是「皇家飯」（監獄飯堂）！（Los Burgos廣場下）
Left: Iglesia San Nicolas (St. Nicholas' Church); right: Plaza de Toros, bull-fighting arena
左：聖尼格老教堂、右：鬥牛場
It was soon dinner time, and without second thoughts I headed back to Parque Taconera for more good food. Then I stumbled upon this place that my Pamplona colleague recommended to me: a host of food stalls that bring together the cuisines from all corners of Spain. Just as I was having a hard time deciding, someone invited me to try this Pulpo a la Gallega (Galician-style octopus). He was smart because the curious tourist in front of him bought a plate of it without hesitation after the tasting. The preparation looked simple enough: the octopus was scalded in a large pot of hot water, chopped into bite sizes, and then mixed in a pot of sauce with potatoes. But the end result was an unbeatable combination of tangy flavour and freshness of the octopus. Fortunately I don’t have to wait long to try this memorable dish again as I have bought a tin of it back in Barcelona. The drink afterwards was equally memorable. I was wondering what kind of fancy water – Agua de Valencia (literally ‘water of Valencia’) this could be, and it turned out to be a pleasant cocktail made of orange juice.
想起午飯也不錯，晚飯時折返Taconera，不經意給我找到同事介紹的另一個熟食區，集西班牙各地的菜式於一地，兜了兩個圈後，有人讓我試吃加里西亞式八爪魚（Pulpo a la Gallega），果然一吃鐘情，馬上要了一盤，那道菜的做法，是先把八爪魚放在沸水灼熟，然後跟馬鈴薯一同放在一大窩醬汁內，讓其吸收那鹹中帶香的味道，吃起來既新鮮又惹味！（幸好在巴塞羅那買了一罐，可以日後再回味。）飯後試了一種與別不同的「水」，名雖曰華倫西亞水（Agua de Valencia），但原來是橙汁雞尾酒。
How I miss this! 真令人懷念！
I thought it was just an innocuous orange juice ...
還以為是橙汁！
The festivities reached a new wave after darkness descended. I was finally able to see a bull at 22:00 hrs. But it was no ordinary bull. It was sparkling with a mini-firework and was chasing spectators as it was running forwards – and backwards! But this firework bull run (Toro de Fuego) was just about fun and in all likelihood less dangerous than the real thing!
入夜後是另一個高潮，10點中，主角公牛終於出場，不過那隻牛不但會噴火花，而且懂得向前跑了一會後向後跑，讓人措手不及，不過這頭噴火公牛（Toro de Fuego）應沒有真實公牛那般危險了！
Bull! Run!
牛！快跑！
Then I made my way quickly to the citadel (Ciudadela) to find myself a good spot to watch some real fireworks. My Pamplona colleague explained to me that there was firework display every night during San Fermín starting from 23:00 hrs, with different styles each night and sometimes accompanied with music (but not that night). The fireworks were let off from within the citadel, which was only 50 metres away. With such a short distance, I could almost feel being captured by the expanding fireworks as they made their way down from the skies. The 20-minute display kept me awed and captivated all the time as it was one of the very few times I was right beside the heart of the action and there was so much variety to offer.
之後趕快到堡壘（Ciudadela），佔個好位置看煙火（煙花），我的同事介紹說，奔牛節期間每晚11點開始，每晚款式都不同，而且有時有配樂（但我那晚沒有）。煙火是從城堡內發射，離我祇有50米左右，有些球型的煙火，從高空墜下時，彷彿要把所有觀眾籠罩、包圍，從沒如此近距離看煙火，可真震撼，而且二十分鐘內，款式千變萬化，一輩子看過多次煙火，這次可算是最精彩的一次。
The first day was all about people and parties. The bulls didn’t make their début until the next morning (7th July), when they were allowed to run wild through the streets after even wilder human beings starting from 08:00 hrs. But don’t ask me what it was like because I missed out on it completely! It was a combination of oversleeping and not willing to lug around town before catching a bus to Bilbao at 10:30 hrs. The only consolation I could take was from my colleague, who said that all I would get to see was a fleeting moment which would disappear as quickly as it came. I can only trust the local on this one!
至於人所皆知的奔牛，每年都是7月7日，每天早上8點開始，我那天太晚起床，而且10點半要坐車往畢爾包（Bilbao），不想拿着行李隨街走，所以作罷，不過同事說，就算有機會看到，也祇是那一小剎那，我也以這個酸葡萄理由放過自己了。
Hopefully you get some idea of what bull running is like!
人仰牛不翻，這個雕像正好刻畫了奔牛究竟是甚麼回事。
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I envy you.