Founder’s Grand Cruise: Day 8

Scouting Pamplona, Spain: Day 8’s Travel from France to Spain

With our river cruise adventure at its end, the Authentic Voyages scouting team enjoyed one final morning aboard the SS Bon Voyage before starting off on the next leg of our journey – Pamplona, Spain. Home to the famed San Fermin Festival, and perhaps best known for the Running of the Bulls, Pamplona would prove to be a lively place, awaiting us with new experiences, friends, food, and more.

For Day Eight of our Founder’s Grand Cruise, we met for breakfast on the ship before disembarking to board the Authentic Voyages Pyrenees Express. Taking us across the Pyrenees Mountains and into Northern Spain, we would enjoy our scenic drive, explore a working bull ranch, and then check into our luxury golf resort hotel to rest. Full of activities, our last day in France and first day in Spain would have us say goodbye to one of the world’s most endearing cities, and introduce us to another.

Once in Spain, we stopped for late morning coffee at the Hotel Venta Etxalar’s café, a homely place tucked into the forested mountains. Once we were re-caffeinated, the Authentic Voyages Pyrenees Express made the rest of the drive, arriving just in time for our grand welcome to Pamplona.

All aboard the Authentic Voyages Pyrenees Express

We disembarked our ship that morning with the help of a few of the ship’s gracious crew. The captain – leading his team by example – assisted us in carrying our luggage across the quay and to our motorcoach. Our driver was a Pamplona native named Michel, a retired Formula 3 racecar driver and a dear friend to our founder. He would speedily take us to to our destination with the smoothest mountain driving we’d ever seen in a late-model Peugeot minibus.

Leaving Bordeaux behind at 9:30 AM that morning, we drove south towards the Spanish boarder. Eventually we connected with the lower French Pyrenees, before crossing into Spain. Along the way, we had the chance to see parts of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route, which runs from Lyon, France and south to Santiago, Spain. Certain spots between Lyon and Santiago, like the esteemed Bordeaux Cathedral, are UNESCO protected as destinations of the pilgrimage route.

Hotel Venta Extalar in Spain

After our scenic drive through France and Northern Spain, where we saw many of the same spots where Ernest Hemingway once fished, we made our way into Pamplona for a delicious lunch before our next excursion. Little did we know, our time in Pamplona would grow only more exciting as went to explore a working San Fermin bull ranch.

Visiting one of Navarra’s Bull Ranches

For our next excursion with our friend and driver Michel, we made our way to one of Navarra’s bull ranches, Ganadería Hermanas Azcona. Here, hundreds of bulls were raised in hopes of being one of the proud few featured during San Fermin.

Learning about Ganadería Hermanas Azcona

The Bull Ring of Ganadería Hermanas Azcona

Driving with the San Fermin bulls

We were welcomed by Felix, the owner of Ganadería Hermanas Azcona, a friendly Navarra local. Felix also owned a demolition business, and received the bull ring at his ranch when his company was charged with taking down an old one in the city of Vitoria. After some introduction, we had the opportunity to learn a good bit about the process behind San Fermin bull selection and the history of the area’s bull fighters. We were astounded by Felix’s knowledge, and even had the chance to drive amidst a herd of his San Fermin bulls. Safe in our vehicles but within fifteen feet of the bulls, we were in awe of the magnificent creatures.

We felt very fortunate to have been given a tour of the Ganadería Hermanas Azcona bull ranch. There, you could feel the intensity of the bulls, the same that brought the ever-adventurous Ernest Hemingway to San Fermin time and time again. Our team had the opportunity to learn quite a lot during our time at the ranch. When visiting as part of the Founder’s Grand Cruise, guests will also have the opportunity to learn the art of Capea – managing the matador’s cape – from one of Spain’s most famous bullfighters. While we didn’t get to learn that during our scouting trip, having the chance to see and learn about San Fermin from a bull rancher was an educational experience we won’t forget.

A Retrospective of Day Eight’s Excursions

​With our long day of traveling and inspiring activities coming to an end, we made our way to the Hotel Castillo de Gorraiz Golf & Spa. Arriving to spacious rooms with beautiful views of the surrounding villages and mountains, we checked in for a quick meal and then were off to our rooms to rest for our first full day in Pamplona.

​From the outstanding service as we left the SS Bon Voyage in the morning to the educational bull ranch visit that evening, each part of Day Eight only made us more enthusiastic for this next leg of our Founder’s Grand Cruise scouting trip. Our team was extremely pleased with the day’s adventures, which made us feel as if we were walking in Ernest Hemingway’s footsteps ourselves. We could hardly wait for the next day’s excursions, where we dived even further into lively Pamplona and San Fermin.