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Published: September 20th 2007
Valencia Train Station
Here we are checking out the train station in Valencia the night before we leave for Buñol.Yes, we came, we saw, we got completely covered in squashed, overripe tomatoes! We left for Spain on Tuesday, August 28th for a 3 day trip...the primary purpose of which was to participate in La Tomatina...the world's largest food fight. And not just any food...tomatoes! Matt and I arrived at the airport with our friend Egan and his friend Brian. We flew RyanAir which, for those of you who aren't familiar with it, it's a lot like Southwest Airlines back in the States. Cheap flights, no assigned seats, but who cares? Matt and I boarded before Egan and Brian and didn't end up seeing them on the flight, which worried me but we really weren't looking for them either. When we got to Spain we were waiting for them to get off the plane when Matt checked his cell phone and saw that he had a text message from Egan. They missed the flight!! They got so absorbed in reading my travel book and phrase book while they were waiting to get in line to board that they ended up missing the flight! Of course, Matt still hasn't let Egan live that one down 😊
So, we were on our
Waiting for it to start
Here are Matt and I in Buñol waiting for the beginning of the tomato fight. own in Spain...and without my travel guide and phrase book (they're like my wooby these days) but I survived. I really hit the big time a few weeks before when I was looking for a hotel in Valencia...a brand new Hilton had just opened and they were running some sort of special...62 Euros per night! Well, we usually don't stay in places quite that nice but who's going to turn down the Hilton? So we checked in, oohed and ahhhed over our really nice room (it had that "new hotel" smell) and headed out to explore Valencia. We walked around for a while, ate some Spanish food (which Matt and I aren't very fond of, actually) and checked the train schedule for the next morning. We had to catch a train as early as humanly possible from Valencia out to Buñol, where La Tomatina was going to take place, the next morning. Buñol is a really small town with not much in it, which is why most people that come for La Tomatina stay in Valencia (Spain's 3rd largest city).
Wednesday, August 29th
We got up the next morning, put on our white t-shirts, grabbed our waterproof cameras
Climbing the pole
First of all, look at all the people! And this was just a fraction of who was there. In the distance you can see the guys climbing the greased pole. and our swimming goggles (you need them to keep the tomatoes out of your eyes) and headed for the train station. You wouldn't believe the number of people that were in the train station at 6:30 in the morning in white tshirts sporting swimming goggles around their necks! We found out later that there were 14,000 people at La Tomatina this year...I believe it. We missed the first train...it was pretty packed...but the next one came along within a few minutes and Matt and I actually got seats and chatted with two Canadians while we waited for the train to fill and make its 45 minute run to Buñol.
The place was a madhouse when we got there. We bought a sandwich and a drink and followed the sea of white t-shirts towards the center of town. At this point it was probably around 9 or 9:30 in the morning. The tomatoes don't start flying until 11am but there's a greased pole with a huge ham at the top in the center of town that has to be climbed before the first tomato can fly. We watched for the next couple of hours while people of every nationality tried
The Water Cannons
Here's a great shot of us all getting hosed down. to get up that pole and get the ham. Meanwhile, we made friends with everyone around us...we ran into a guy that Matt works with (what are the odds?) and chatted with some Aussies too. The day was starting to get warm so the kind people of Buñol turned on the water cannons and hosed us all down periodically. Finally, someone got the ham! That's when it really got crazy. A group of people ripped Matt's t-shirt from him and that's really the last time I saw him until the end. A truck would come by about every 15 minutes or so full of tomatoes and the residents of Buñol would pelt all of the participants with tomatoes. We were all so smashed together trying to let the truck through that there were times I really couldn't breathe...not for the claustrophobia (I don't recommend this for anyone who gets anxiety in crowds by the way) but because I was literally having the breath crushed out of me! You just stood there and let the tomatoes rain down on you and collect in your arms. Then, when the truck moved on and everyone could decompress, you smashed the tomatoes over the
Here comes the truck
Here you can see the truck coming through to bring us more squishy tomatoes! heads of the people standing next to you, tossed them across into the crowds, and tried not to get trampled. The nice water cannon people kept hosing us down so, after a while, the water in the streets combined with the smashed tomatoes on the ground and we were wading ankle deep in what curiously looked like salsa. (Note: wear shoes that strap to your feet. You saw lots of flip flops floating away down that sea of salsa.)
All during the fight people were also throwing wet balled up t-shirts. I had read beforehand that they wouldn't let you back on the train to Valencia without a shirt so the next one that hit me in the head I saved for Matt...he needed something to get home in since his was in shreds somewhere in the salsa. Finally, at noon, we heard the signal that meant the end of the tomato fight. People started making their way back to the train station while the residents of Buñol hosed us down from their homes above and dumped water on us to help clean us off. Not everyone stopped throwing things...there were still t-shirt fights and some people were still
Laying Out
We didn't know these guys but they looked like they had a lot of fun! throwing the occasional handful of mushed tomatoes, but most people were tromping through the mess in the streets, looking for shirts and shoes to wear long enough to get them home. I saw one person with a lime green flip flop on one foot and what looked like a brown corduroy slipper on the other 😊 We met one guy who was wearing a girl's poofy-sleeved shirt because he needed something to get back in. I put on my new Tomatina t-shirt but kept my (now salmon colored) white tank top...lucky for the guy in line with us at the train station who didn't have a shirt and was turned away by security. I gave him my tank (which I had planned on throwing out anyways) so he could make it back to Valencia.
For anyone looking for tips on what to do and what not to do for Tomatina...
1. Goggles are a great idea but bring some fog-free stuff for them. It was hot and humid with everyone being wet and crammed into a small area and my goggles kept fogging up so bad that they were pretty useless.
2. Wear shoes that attach to your feet...preferably
Walking in Salsa
This is me, walking through the streets of Buñol after the tomatoes stopped flying. something that covers your toes. I saw some people who had duct taped their flip flops to their feet...great idea but much less painful to take off a pair of old tennis shoes or Tevas.
3. DON'T bring your wallet, purse, backpack, cell phone, etc. Matt's wallet fell out of his pocket in all the craziness and by the time we got back to the hotel someone had already started using his credit cards. Luckily, Buñol is a pretty small town and there weren't too many places to spend money. Put some money and your train ticket in a plastic bag and either attach the bag to the inside of your shorts somehow or wear cargo shorts that have zippered or buttoned pockets.
4. Wear a white t-shirt. Really, how can you tell in the pictures that you're covered in tomatoes if you're wearing black?
5. Girls...I read this online before I went and it's great advice. Wear a sports bra or bathing suit under your t-shirt. If you wear a bathing suit, make sure it's one you're not too attached to and triple knot everything.
6. We saw lots of people who had decorated their t-shirts with what country
Cleaning Up
We had barely started walking back to the train station when the residents of Buñol started cleaning up the streets. I have no idea how long it takes to clean up the mess that we made but my heart went out to them. they were from. It's lots of fun to see where the crowd has traveled from so decorate away!
7. Bring a waterproof camera. Don't think that you'll be able to shield your nice digital one from the water and tomatoes. There are sites that I found that describe how to waterproof your digital camera but I figure it's better to be safe than sorry.
Matt says he would do it again. I'm not so sure I would. While I'm really happy to have had the experience, but I think I'll just cross this one off my list and do something else next August 😊
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fantastico
Fantastic post! I'm going this year, and have absolutely no clue what I'm doing. I haven't even booked accomodation yet. Been doing a fair bit of reading about this, and this has to be the best page so far. Sounds like you had a great time. I'll have to revisit this for inspiration for my next holiday! All the best, Brandon.