JUST when you thought it was safe to move again you needed a rethink. For suddenly around the corner came charging a giant bull – fierce as hell – with sharp horns and looking for an easy target.
And we found out first hand as we visited the small mountain village of Gaucin, some 30 minutes inland from Marbella at the weekend.
And no wonder as the classic white village was running its annual bullrun event on Easter Sunday, as it has done for centuries.
What we didn’t really know were the rules.
We were in the village to ‘watch’ (that’s the operative word) the famous Toro de Cuerda of Gaucin event.
READ MORE: Retired matador, 51, gored to death on the Costa del Sol while preparing animal for Easter bullfight
With its narrow streets and numerous balconies, it is the perfect place for the locals (who number 1,600) to take part in this centuries-old tradition – a release of three fighting bulls, some six hours apart.
When we arrived at 10am, the streets were already full of enthusiastic people making their way to the town square for the first release of the day at 10.30am.
After the mayor made a short speech a firework was launched to announce that the first bull had been released from the main square.
The bull then starts racing through Gaucin on a rough track that includes around a dozen streets.
Each bull is held on a 50 meter long rope supposedly held by runners, but often they are not able to hold on.
Another firework is let off once the bull is safely back in his cage.
We watched as hundreds of locals escaped the marauding bull by hanging onto balconies and window bars and down side alleys.
Meanwhile special railings installed for the day and designed just wide enough for people to slip through but too narrow for the bull, also offered a vital escape.
Despite these railings, it is strongly advised to stay safe. For the bull could always be right around the corner. Trust me, this is true.
My friend Manon Demerie, 21, (another intern at the Olive Press this Spring) and her dad Rob, 53, visiting from Belgium, told me how they escaped a ‘certain goring’ by literally seconds.
“We were walking up one of the narrow village lanes, thinking it was safe as the bull had already gone by some ten minutes earlier,” she told me.
“Suddenly there was a huge panic and a group of people started running towards us really fast and a few metres behind them the bull chased after them.
“It was terrifying and obviously we started running as well and literally only just got behind the barriers in time.
“Talk about panic. My heart was seriously pounding, while my dad couldn’t stop laughing.”
Despite the chaos, police and security teams somehow kept a tight watch and nobody was badly hurt by any of the three bulls released.
Meanwhile, bars and restaurants created a lively fiesta atmosphere in the streets.
Unlike the biggest bullrun in Pamplona, the bulls in Gaucin aren’t killed during a bullfight after the run.
At lunchtime the three bulls were auctioned in private, mostly to local butchers.
Click here to read more Spain News from The Olive Press.
