Running of the Bulls - from the June edition of "Bridging the Gap"
This is just a snippet of information about the famous Running of the Bulls - a 9 day event that occurs each year in Pamplona, Spain. I'm not exactly sure why I'm blogging about it, but I've been corresponding with my good friend who lives in Spain, and I guess I'm just feeling nostalgic. I also want to share G.A.P. with you if you don't already know about it. They are a fantastic adventure travel company. Sometimes they even post job openings, so if you're an adventure travel job seeker, I highly recommend subscribing to their newsletter.
Now back to the original topic, The Running of the Bulls. I've never read Ernest Hemmingway's The Sun Also Rises, so I'm not sure how that has spawned the idiotic practice of young drunken men, (do any women get drunk and run with the bulls?), trying to outrun the bulls. My mother would have killed me if I'd done anything like that -- especially if it resulted in injuries!
It reminds me of the redneck idiots in my neck of the woods who RIDE bulls for fun. I mean, what ARE they thinking? Could there possibly be enough prize money involved to make up for the broken bones and damaged organs from being stepped on by bouncing bulls. I personally have seen several rodeos where the lights went dim as an ambulance rolled into the arena to carry a dead or injured cowboy away. 'Course I look at all those 20-something year old cowboys as someone's son. It'd really piss me off if one of my kids threw her life away on something as stupid as that!
Now all this is also coming from the perspective of someone who understands the craving for adventure. But I adhere to the idea that one can have an adventure without necessarily placing one's life in danger. Sure I sailed in some pretty scary weather, scuba dived with sharks and rode some bucking horses, but those activities are not so well known for getting people killed. I could even imagine myself rock climbing, though I've never actually tried it. All those activities involve some training where participants are taught to minimize their risk of injury.
I had this conversation with my Dad a couple of weeks ago. He's an old cowboy, and rarely misses a chance to go to the rodeo. He said he can't understand the desire to ride the bulls either. I might add a few othe extreme examples of crazy sports... Like Base Jumping and Ice Diving...
This is just a snippet of information about the famous Running of the Bulls - a 9 day event that occurs each year in Pamplona, Spain. I'm not exactly sure why I'm blogging about it, but I've been corresponding with my good friend who lives in Spain, and I guess I'm just feeling nostalgic. I also want to share G.A.P. with you if you don't already know about it. They are a fantastic adventure travel company. Sometimes they even post job openings, so if you're an adventure travel job seeker, I highly recommend subscribing to their newsletter.
Now back to the original topic, The Running of the Bulls. I've never read Ernest Hemmingway's The Sun Also Rises, so I'm not sure how that has spawned the idiotic practice of young drunken men, (do any women get drunk and run with the bulls?), trying to outrun the bulls. My mother would have killed me if I'd done anything like that -- especially if it resulted in injuries!
It reminds me of the redneck idiots in my neck of the woods who RIDE bulls for fun. I mean, what ARE they thinking? Could there possibly be enough prize money involved to make up for the broken bones and damaged organs from being stepped on by bouncing bulls. I personally have seen several rodeos where the lights went dim as an ambulance rolled into the arena to carry a dead or injured cowboy away. 'Course I look at all those 20-something year old cowboys as someone's son. It'd really piss me off if one of my kids threw her life away on something as stupid as that!
Now all this is also coming from the perspective of someone who understands the craving for adventure. But I adhere to the idea that one can have an adventure without necessarily placing one's life in danger. Sure I sailed in some pretty scary weather, scuba dived with sharks and rode some bucking horses, but those activities are not so well known for getting people killed. I could even imagine myself rock climbing, though I've never actually tried it. All those activities involve some training where participants are taught to minimize their risk of injury.
I had this conversation with my Dad a couple of weeks ago. He's an old cowboy, and rarely misses a chance to go to the rodeo. He said he can't understand the desire to ride the bulls either. I might add a few othe extreme examples of crazy sports... Like Base Jumping and Ice Diving...