Bull or Bear?
As I sit here in Pamplona watching the conclusion of the Rangers v Hibernian match, local team, Osasuna are commencing their match some 150 miles further north west in Santander (where many Bears are arriving in just over 1 weeks time) against Racing Santander.
Personally, I am coming home this weekend for the old firm game and fly out on Tuesday to Zaragoza, via London. (Using two airlines) More than a couple of Rangers fans I know are flying via Frankfurt to Santander which, putting the price aside seems mad. Other Bears will arrive via many different airports (including Glasgow, Prestwick, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Manchester, Luton, Stanstead, Gatwick, Heathrow, Frankfurt, Barcelona, Girona, Zaragoza, Valladolid, Pamplona, Vitoria, Santander, Bearritz and Madrid and probably many more)
The bus station (for those bussing it to Pamplona after their flight) is only a couple of minutes from Plaza de Castillo which is the square I would suggest most Bears head for, the square is about the size of George square except that it is surrounded by a pedestrian path and bars with flats above as opposed to a Greggs and a train station. There is a police station in the square which should keep us safe, which should be good assuming the police behave a little better than other Spanish police have in the past.
The advantage Pamplona has over other small towns (and large cities) we have visited is the experience the Pamplona plod have due to the thousands of "foreigners" who descend on the city for the San Fermin festival (and in particular the running of the bulls) every July, the only problem could be Rangers continued refusal to make these towns aware of the volume of Bears traveling and the shortage of police, bar staff, bar supplies and organisation to host the fans who make the journey. (this is for another article but I refuse to believe that every town or city we visit refuse to listen to Rangers insistence that we have a larger fan base than they are likely to have experienced for a football match in the past)
The square (Plaza de Castillo) is situated in the "old town" which is pretty central and easy to get to, most of the hotels are around this area and the bus station is also close by.
There are a few bars in and around the square which should keep the Bears happy, there are also two or three lanes that slide off the square full of bars and a few more lanes with gift shops.
I WOULD ENCOURAGE ALL Bears WHO ARE IN PAMLONA ON THE WEDNESDAY TO HEAD TO PLAZA DE CASTILLO PRE-MATCH AS IT IS THE IDEAL PLACE FOR A PARTY.
While in the square your best bet is the following phrase.
"Un catxi de cerveza por favour"
Which in English translates to "1 litre glass of bear please."
In the absence of "the pint" and the small nature of a coke can sized tin or glass of beer, this is your best option and should also keep the queues down.
If you are in a round, substitute the Un for dos(2), tres(3), cuarto(4), cinco(5), seis(6), siete(7), ocho(8), nueve(9) or diez(10) catxis de cerveza.
On a side note, when the beer runs out (as it usually does) try "paxaran" which is an alcoholic drink typical of the region, it is also delicious and doesn't half go down well. (It should be drunk straight with a cube or two of ice)
I am staying in "Burlada" (Hotel Tryp Burlada) which is a 5 minute taxi ride to the square and is walkable (as a last resort) at night should any other Bears staying here fail to get a taxi after the game. (however the square is lively and should still be the place to be after the game)
There are bars at either end of the stadium, (to answer the question put to me in the bear pit) however they only sell alcohol free beer as per the law in Spain which doesn't allow the sale of alcohol in and around football stadia.
My advice, don't get to the stadium too early if you like a beer.
My second piece of advice is this, DON'T QUEUE UP FOR HALF AN HOUR INSIDE THE GROUND FOR "A BEER" AS IT IS ALCOHOL FREE (Like you probably did in Villarreal to drink Spanish Kaliber)
I have not yet been to the stadium but will do so tomorrow, so I still have plenty to write about.
As for Osasuna, from an Osasuna fan.
"We have progressed well over the last few years and last year we thought we had the potential to become a force in Spain, however this year has proven that we do not have the team, squad or experience to compete in both the UEFA cup and La Liga."
"We are a club from Navarra, we are not Basque and although the Basque country class us as Basque and are lobbying the Spanish (Madrid based) government for Navarra to be classed as Basque the fans of Osasuna and the people of Navarra in general are Spanish and have no desire to be or be classed as Basque."
"There should be no problem in Pamplona or with the Osasuna fans, as long as you are not here to cause trouble we can all have fun together"
They asked if we were quiet and well behaved.
I said NO. As long as we can drink and sing though, we will get on fine, they laughed and said that it should be a great week!
Osasuna's league form somewhat contradicts their Uefa cup form with the fewest number of draws in La liga and 7 draws from 10 Uefa cup games.
This could lead to a nervous return leg should they keep that form up at Ibrox on Thursday.
In contrast, even a one goal lead would give us a great chance of progression.
It is currently 18:00 hours on the Sunday, 04 March 2007, 10 days before the match.
Tonight I hope to find information on the nightlife. What happens after the bars in the square close?
Part two will be with us sometime tomorrow or Tuesday!
The heart is pumping at the thought already!
P.S The temperature at present is in the high 60's, low 70's.
THIS IS NOT NORMAL FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR so although it is tee-shirt weather at present, bring a jumper just in case....As it probably won't last.