After appearing in Pamplona - basically on a dare - the night before the bull run... running in the morning, then hitting the road again.... I've been drawn back to this place time after time. I finally made the decision to come back to live for a while and soak up this fantastic ancient Spanish town.
Pamplona was founded in 75 A.D. by Roman general Pompei. The Casco Antiguo (or ancient city) has fantastic cathedrals, ramparts and moats - everything a city would need to it could survive and become a great city. The history is rich with Basque culture and language, Navarran food, and best of all, great Spanish wine.
Of course the best reason to come to Pamplona is the San Fermin Festival held every July 7th - 14th. When
I came to Pamplona to run with the bulls, I didn’t even know there was
a larger fiesta called “San Fermín.” I drove my rental car over the
Pyerenees, picked up a guide book at a roadside tourist office, and
stood in a lonely phone booth in the middle of Navarra calling hotel
after hotel for accommodations in Pamplona. The shock of finding that
there were no hotel rooms in Pamplona led me to start PamplonaHousing.com.
Along
with a few more experienced San Fermín enthusiasts, I have put together
a network of friends in Pamplona who cater to every need someone would
have during San Fermín: Transportation from Pamplona area airports
(Vitoria, Bilbao, San Sebastian, Zaragoza, and Biarritz); Apartment
Rentals in Pamplona (especially in the casco viejo or old city); diner
reservations in Pamplona restaurants and gourmet tapas from a personal
chef; and most importantly, Balconies in Pamplona for watching the
running of the bulls.
There are expert bull runners who can take you over the entire bull run
route and explain how best to avoid mortal wounds. Running with the
bulls in Pamplona is a dangerous activity, but well worth the risk if
you pay attention to the change it brings inside you. Facing up to
death on the streets of Pamplona makes every other challenge in live
seem trivial when compared to the running of the bulls.
So,
if you’re looking for a hotel room in Pamplona, I wish you buena
suerte. Most of the Pamplona hotels were sold out by mid-March for the
running of the bulls. If you have a few friends with you and you need
lodging in Pamplona, please send me an email. We can provide Pamplona
apartment rentals to meet most group’s budgets. If you just have one
or two people, this gets more difficult... hotel rooms in Pamplona are
best suited for groups that size, as Pamplona apartments typically can
accommodate 6 to 12 people.
Coming
to Pamplona to run with the bulls was one of the highlights of my life.
I hope you have an equally fantastic experience during San Fermín.
