Spain Won

One of the fun things about walking through the same country for month or more is the opportunity to get involved in local events. In Sahagun the local bar had a band and clowns in the festival. They asked us to join their team and then they marked us with the Spanish flag. Of course our local green team won! (Honestly I have no idea if anyone won, but we had fun.). Of course, the other big event every night has been the football (soccer) games. The bars here are local places where families eat dinner so there is more of a family atmosphere than in the States. It is fun to watch the games with people who are passionate about it. 

Camino de Santiago: Bulls Running

Well, what I missed in Pamplona I found in Sahagun, Spain. "The Running of the Bulls". On Saturday, Sunday, and Monday the town of Sahagun had a big festival in honor of San Juan. It sort of reminded me of a rodeo. There was a big Catholic Mass at noon and then everyone went home for lunch and their siestas. Then at 6:00 the men gathered the "virgin bulls" in the main plaza so they could run them down the streets to the bull ring. Then the clowns in training ran around in the ring with them.

Bands from different towns played music in a kind of battle of the bands and the crowd cheered for their favorite bands, bulls, and clowns. No bulls were killed and it was, in general, a family friendly night. My strategy was to follow the band in the parade with the older couples. Everyone was so generous and they fed me and taught me about their town. I found that I had a great time!