La Tomatina!

Imagine a bucket of water being tipped over your head. For those few seconds you cant breathe. You stand helpless, holding your breathe with your eyes closed. Now replace the water with smooshed warm tomato guts! You are at La Tomatina with 40,000 people participating in the worlds largest food fight! Also imagine you have tomato in your hair.

Now WAKE UP!

La Tomatina. A massive tomato fight held on the last wednesday of August in Bunol, Spain. Population 9,000.

Rules of engagement.

1. No bottles or harmful objects

2. No tearing other peoples t-shirts

3. You must squash tomatoes before throwing

4. Avoid the trucks!

Lachie and I ready to kick some ass. (I look super tuffff... grrr)

To begin a ham is tied to a greasy pole and some macho individual has to try and capture it. Once someone fetches the ham a horn will sound. The fight goes for exactly 1 hour ending with another horn.

The problem with the festival getting bigger and bigger ever year is that the street the tomato fight is held in remains the same size.

(Don't mess with us, we mean business faces)

Imagine the smell of tones of hot mushy tomatoes. Gagging right now.

The locals are awesome!

From below the crowds were chanting for agua and the locals responded by tipping buckets of water over everyone. I feel sorry for anyone that wasn't standing under a balcony.

Crazy watermelon heads.

We couldn't get to the main part of the fight as there were so many people. We were in the middle and I am glad. It's like a mini big day out with no crowd control. People were pushing and literally crushing people at the other end of the street. I am surprised no one was crushed to death.

1 tomato truck= no tomatoes

2 tomato truck = no tomatoes

3 tomato truck = no tomatoes!

Feeling a bit let down. We came to fight!

Then the crowds started cheering again. A horn started honking and I could see a fourth truck coming. I started to panic with excitement. (I was excited and scared at the same time)

The crowd parted to make way for the tomato truck but then the horn sounded and the battle of the tomato was over. So I thought.... The next thing I knew I was drowning in an orgy of tomatoes. People were squishing them in my hair. Everyone on the truck was hurling them at me. All I could do was stand there and take it. (I sure showed them) I didn't even have time to put my goggles on!

Tomato stings your face.

After one of the locals hosed me off!