Ida Y Vuelta de la Tomatina

From Mike:

(He wanted to!)

This is the part of the trip that Greg enjoyed least. The day started at 1:00 am, that's when we went to sleep. The day started again at 4:00 am, that's when we woke up to head to Tomatina. Thinking the train would be crowded early, we got an early start. Of course when we arrived, there were about 10 people at the train station. During out wait, we me Alana from New Zealand, who latched onto us for safety. The station began filling as the morning went on, and by 6:30 was getting crowded. 7:08 our train arrives and the shoving begins. I guess those bastards figured why get up early when you can shove your way onto the train. We got on the first train, and after an hour train ride we arrive in Bunol. 3 hours til the madness begins. After a long walk we make it to the city, already filled with lots of people. They were starting to grease the pole with about 5 inches of pig fat. Then they hung the pig. For about 2 hours, people climbed over one another to reach the top and cut down the pig, which of course starts Tomatina. Lots of people filled the street and it became hard to move. Mashalls sprayed the crowd with water cannons, the t-shirt fight started pretty soon after. I was lucky enough to make some new friends from Balencia (Valencia) who kindly tore my shirt off. Greg got scared so we decided to head for higher ground. That isn't as easy at it sounds. Squeezing though we get about half way there, then Greg makes some new friends who decide he needs to show off those muscles, so they rip his shirt too. Finally make it to high ground, and the pig gets cut loose - BRING ON THE TOMATOES! The cannon sounds and the trucks roll in. Tomotoes start flighting, people shoving, and more tomatoes fly. We found that higher ground meant few tomatoes, so for much of the hour we pushed and shoved with everyone else. Towards the end of the fight the streets opened up so we were able to make it down. The streets were filled with tomato slop which was easy to scoop up and throw at not so innocent bystanders. This was much more fun, and messy, than throwing whole tomatoes. Hitting people in the face with a pound of salsa is quite entertaining. This went on for about 20 minutes as we made our way through town. We made it threw town and showered under the hoses people had hanging off their balconies. Running out of time and there isn't much else to tell, so we'll leave it there. Tomatina is defintitely something to experience. We're leaving Valencia shortly, heading to Alacante and flying to Scotland tonight for the Highland Games. We'll write more when we have time.

Adios.