San Fermin is the week long festival in Pamplona that includes the running of the bulls. It officially begins at noon on July 6th with a firing of a rocket "chupinazo" in the City Hall Plaza.
We didn't make it to city hall plaza but watched on the jumbo screens from the larger Plaza de Castillo. There was some confusion and a slight delay as some masked men had blocked the balcony of the rocket launch with a Giant Flag of the Basque region as a political action.
Eventually the rocket was launched. We held our bandanas overhead and chanted "Viva San Fermin".
As we tied our bandanas to our necks, craziness ensued. People started spraying champagne, wine and soda all over the crowd. Our white uniforms, now stained pink and brown.
We tried to walk back to the apartment but there was a solid wall of people blocking the road. We all shoved some going one way others the opposite. And still others standing still shouting at the balconies above "Agua! Mas agua! Porfavor agua!" And water rained down from balconies.
Soaking wet we climbed to the 4th floor apartment and filed buckets of water. People on the streets below shouted "Agua!" And we poured on their heads.
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