It is very likely that those who are new to San Fermines will be a bit lost when the fiesta “explodes” around them. Yes, the bulls will be running in the morning, there are bull fights in the afternoons and the nights are filled with booze, but what else?

We all owe very much to Hemingway for painting such a picture of these days in July. Since his work has left its imprint on the festival, it has ballooned into something of a beast. The town will inflate with visitors, hotels will be sold out, garbage is left everywhere and the locals will likely take off for the coasts. Yet Hemingway devoutly respected one thing, an element that has not wavered even with all of the attention and popularity: the culture of San Fermines.

Hemingway’s character Jacob Barnes in The Sun Also Rises can serve as an example.  He came to Pamplona to forget about everything and just settle down at the bottom of a bottle for a couple days. He roamed the streets all night, ran with the bulls in the morning, crashed during the afternoon and then made it to the bull fights in the early evening. This will be the typical agenda for many. But Mr. Barnes did it all with an open mind and an enthusiasm for what this fiesta means to the people of Northern Spain. He manages to share his appreciation with the other characters in the book, just as Hemingway has done so with readers around the world.

This appreciation begins with remembering that this is a fiesta, (the most international) of a series of summer festivals in this part of the world. You are also invited to forget everything else and mix it up with the locals, traditions, music and tastes of a very unique people.

Such an experience will require you to be a bit flexible. Outside of the bull runs is a much different world than you may be used to, you’ll have to expect everything. At a bull fight you will be dumped-on if your clothes are too white. Think about the relative merits of sleeping overnight in a park. Do try some Kalimotxo (wine mixed with Coca-Cola) or Rabo del Toro (bull tail). Hang out with a Peña and parade around the town. Go see Los Gigantes. Visit the statue of the Saint who started it all. Get lost trying to speak Spanish (you’ll find more friends). Jump in and you may find the reasons why Hemingway was so enthusiastic.

Jacob Barnes made a habit of coming back to San Fermin every July. Nowadays people make annual pilgrimages in the same fashion. These are some of the true ambassadors of the culture of San Fermin, and you’ll likely find them at a cafe on Plaza del Castillo right after an encierro. They will be there sharing their close calls with the bulls and stories from the night before, all over an early morning caña (draft beer). These traditions and stories have all made San Fermin something magnificent, magical, blurry and overwhelming. It happens only one week per year, and it will indeed explode around you. Make the most of it.