Blogs from Buñol, Valencian Community, Spain, Europe

Ola, It was too early. I got up at 330am in order to catch a bus at 430am. I’m sure you are asking yourself, why would I get up at such an hour? It’s simple really. I was heading to the town of Buñol. There is nothing really remarkable about the town itself. In fact, it’s down right ugly. However, the day was more significant than most. The reason I was getting on the bus was because I was heading t a little festival called La Tomatina. La Tomatina is essentially the world’s largest tomato fight. I have no idea why they do it, something to do with getting a roasted pig off a long metal pole followed by throwing thousands of kilos of tomatoes around. I’ll chalk it up to a celebration of the harvest ... read more

Well its pretty much what they say it is. one giant tomato fight. The action began at about 9am with the Greasy Pole Climb in which everyone tried to climb a greasy pole to reach a ham that was tied to the top. At 11am the tomato fight started, with truckload after truckload of tomatoes coming into the square. Then the maddness takes hold with an every man for himself barrage of tomatoes in every direction. I was forewarned to wear goggles, clothes i didnt care about, and a disposable camera. all of which were excellent ideas. unfortuneatley the camera formated the picures strangely and im unable to upload them right now. this was one of the silliest festivals ive ever been to, and probably one of the most fun. When it was all over, the ... read more

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 ... read more

I cannot put La Tomatina into words. It was the absolute wildest thing I have ever been involved in. Bunol is this extremely small town where about 40,000 people are crammed into for the festival. In the center of town there is a ham atop a wooden pole that is covered in lard. When someone removes the ham, the festival officially begins. Sara and I got there about two hours early so we were in the dead center right by the ham. After about two hours one guy finally got the ham down and then the alley and everyone was soaked by these massive waterhoses. Soon the dumptruck came. I still don't know how this dumptruck made it down this alley that was completely packed, but somehow it managed bringing all the tomatoes with it. Once ... read more

Imagine will you...thousands upon thousands of people having made their way to a small town near Valencia, Spain. No more than 30 min. from the beach, this once quiet and serene town, Bunol, becomes the center of the worlds largest tomato fight. Crammed into the streets like cattle, the pushing, the heat and the overwhelming body odor combined with the the excitement of the being the first to throw the tomatoes, everyone is pumped and shouting with anticipation.... Once in the crowd and there was enough space between people, there were shouts of "camasita, camasita, camasita"! If there was a shirt on, you better beleive it would be ripped off! I was hiding between Alejandro and Laini, and I was the only one fortunate enough to had kept my shirt on! It is quite possibly one ... read more