(Final column in a six-part series about Spain.)
Spain has long been one of my favorite places to visit, and I hope that I have been able to show you why during the last five weeks as we have traveled from the Iberian peninsula’s warm and sandy Mediterranean coast to its cool and breezy North Atlantic.
Spain — the land of Moorish palaces, Roman aqueducts, savory seafood and effervescent people — is where I fell in love with the language and culture when I visited for the first time during a Bluffton High School Spanish Club summer trip when I was a sophomore. I have been lucky to go back five more times since then, as a trip to Spain never disappoints because of all there is to see, do and taste.
One of the many parts of Spain that has always captured my interest has to do with the quantity of celebrations and festivals that take place year round.
Chances are that you’ll see Spain in the news Wednesday, as one of its messiest festivals will take place at noon in a town that is just about the size of Bluffton.
Some 20,000 people will make their way to the town of Buñol, a town of about 9,000 people that is located in eastern Spain.
For one hour, they will participate in the annual La Tomatina, a tomato-throwing festival in which participants toss some 100 tons of tomatoes at each other. By 1 p.m., everyone is covered in tomatoes as participants wade through — or swim through — a tomato-covered street.
Don’t worry, though. One of the rules that the authorities strictly enforce during the hour-long celebration is that participants must smash the tomatoes before they throw them.
We missed this festival by a couple of months during our trip, but we just happened to be in Spain during another celebration that I would only like to see from a second- or third-story building if I were ever to attend.
Each year, the Fiesta de San Fermín takes place in Pamplona, a city of about 200,000 people located in northern Spain.
While there are several celebrations during the annual July 6-14 event, the most noteworthy is the Encierro — the running of the bulls. We were not in Pamplona during this celebration but instead watched it on TV safely from our hotel room some 300 miles away from the epicenter.
The running of the bulls takes place at 8 a.m. each morning as six bulls run from their corrals to the city’s bullring, a distance of about one-half mile through Pamplona’s narrow and slippery cobblestone streets. Call me crazy, but I don’t plan on dressing up in white clothes with a red scarf and carrying a newspaper as my only defense to run through the streets with six angry bulls close behind.
Instead, I’ll watch from a close distance both that festival and another that I would like to see one day.
My wife and I made a day trip from Barcelona to Vilafranca del Penedès, a city of about 40,000 people that is famous for its human towers.
That’s right — human towers.
Vilafranca del Penedès is the headquarters of the Castellers de Vilafranca, a team whose objective is to build human towers that are 6 to 10 stories high. It is a tradition that is more than 200 years old that has been passed down from generation to generation.
It is so famous that the human castles (called Castells in Spanish) have been recognized by UNESCO. Teams from around the area compete each year to build these human towers that involve up to 100 adults and always have a child at the top of the tower.
We visited the headquarters of one of the teams, but unfortunately we were there on the wrong day to see the members practicing. Perhaps next time.
The list of unique and culturally rich Spanish festivals is almost endless. These festivals are one of the many reasons Spain has always held a special place in my heart.
I hope you have enjoyed this six-part series as much as I have enjoyed writing it. As we return to a more travel-friendly lifestyle after a couple of years stateside, consider a trip to Spain.
It is one of my favorite travel destinations that always calls me back.
jdpeeper2@hotmail.com
