Surviving La Tomatina

The following post is written by guest blogger, C - C for Clara and C for the formerly referred Canadian that would not shut up about Vancouver. She is the token Canadian in this travel crew and shares not as much love about yoga, but more so over the love of food and traveling. She falls under the average-tall category, eh.

La Tomatina is the infamous annual tomato fight festival that takes place in Buñol, Spain. On every last Wednesday of August, the town square is shut down for an hour long, full-fledged tomato fight. Here is an event which gathers 20,000 Spaniards and people from all over the world to one small condensed space to chuck tomatoes to friends and strangers alike until the streets flood with putrefied tomato soup.

Makes sense that this makes it to our bucket list right? However, there's a valid reason why this is a bucket list item: for sure you should do this once in your lifetime, but once is more than enough. For whatever reason, the bad travel juju stars have aligned for us (spoiler alert: see 'Losing Your Passport Abroad' post) and we had our car broken into resulting in everything stolen (e.g. passports, iPhones, and clothes).

Bad travel juju aside, everyone was safe, we were in good company, and we still had fun. We stayed in Valencia and drove in/out of Buñol for La Tomatina with our rental car. The weather was Goldilocks warm (not too hot, not too cold), the food plentiful (eating paella at its origins), and the people genuinely friendly (this is where a smile and sign language goes a long way).

Here are some useful tips that will definitely enhance your food fighting experience.

• Tomatina tickets:  funny enough, the first links you get when you google “La Tomatina” is not usually the official one. You’ll typically land on pages that sell packaged tours which could very well be exactly what you’re looking for! Just know that it is possible to just buy tickets and figure your own way in/out.
• Arrive Early: It's better to get there early to beat the crowd.  Expect to be there for at least the whole morning to account for getting your bracelet, getting to the town square, the walk, etc. If you have downtime, there are cafes you can grab a quick bite and order some sangrias. Even though it starts early, the sangria will start flowing by the time you arrive. 
• Bringing ID: When we purchased our tickets, we had to provide ID which you'll have to show when you pick up your bracelet. Try to use a less critical ID like a driver's license instead of your passport, so you can leave those important documents at home. Make sure you check the requirements on the official La Tomatina site for the most up to date information on these requirements.
• Waterproof (Tomato-proof) bags: You're going to start debating, should I leave things in the locker/car/bus or take it with me? My personal advice is to pack only the bare essentials and put them in a waterproof bag. Ziploc bags work well if you're in a crunch (even for iPhones and taking pictures through them). Ziploc everything (double, triple ziploc if you're the paranoid type), and keep it on you. A waterproof phone case like the picture would work well. If you have a dry sack, even better!

• Water: If there is something we've learned about surviving festivals, it's staying hydrated. Water is especially essential for this festival since it is both to drink (because like bugs on a motorcycle road trip, tomatoes are going to get in your mouth whether you want to or not) and to rinse off with at the end (drying, rotting tomatoes on your body under the hot sun is no bueno). There are plenty of Bunol residents that turn on their water hose for La Tomatina participants to rinse off, but be warned that these queues are long! If you can get a couple of big bottles of water, this will help you rinse off the chunky bits until you get to an actual shower.
  
  
• Eye protection: This is useful as tomato chunks, juice and acid are not pleasant to the eyes. You'll find plenty for cheap for sale, but be sure you try them on first because many of them are of such low quality that it's fogged up the entire time. So to see or not to see (literally) - that is your choice. Otherwise, be sure to pack your good swimming goggles. 
• Rental car insurance: Unless you plan on joining a bus tour, you may need a rental car. If you do, BUY INSURANCE. After our break-in, the police told us that rental cars are particularly targeted because they know you're going to be away for a guaranteed set amount of time. Try to leave nothing in your rental car.
• Squash your tomatoes: be kind and squash your tomatoes before you throw them. You'll quickly realize the validity of this courtesy act when you get your first unsquashed tomato to the face.
• Consider staying in Valencia:  Valencia is only about 40 minutes from Buñol and is easily accessible by rental car or one of those tour buses. It's also a city in itself that has great beaches, paella from the source itself and fantastic tapas restaurants with melt-in-your-mouth jamón (Spanish thinly sliced ham)
  
  

Enjoy the experience - it's not every day you get away with playing with your food!