Anyone who plans a visit to Spain next year, whether it's IWMH or not (not a plug to hijack the thread guys), I want to warn you off from a small valencian town where the natives are not as friendly as many make out. We were up there today with our friends James & Linda (fellow contributers to EOS), parked the car in a busy 'square' / piazza and were promply drenched in water and pelted with tomatoes.........................And we stayed !!!!!!!!!!
Actually it was the Fiesta La Tomatina and with this being my first visit, I thoroughly recommend it. We arrived shortly after 10am due to some briliant queue avoidance tactics by James (he missed the turn-off) but found a quicker entry into the town. Walk down the hill (approx 2 mile or so it seemed) and was duly showered from above balconies which i can only hope was fresh water !!!!!. We made our way down into the centre of the town where all the action takes place, literally unable to move any further due to the throng of people and again, with no protection (if only they made head sized connies) was soaked to the skin. At 11am, the cannons fire and then into the town parade 6 lorries full to the brim of ripen tomatoes which are then distributed without any grace into the crowd in number exceeding 130,000. Then the tomato fight begins.
What an experience, especially for those with hoses who enjoy for some reason washing the young female student attendees down............james, get your name down on the list for next year for that roll.! all the festivities continue on until 1pm when all and sundry emerge coated in a nice shade of fritto, even then, more are making their way into the town to make a mess of the remnents.
This happens on the last wednesday in August every year and well worth a visit, the fiesta is actually a week long with many team competitions over the days but the tomato bash is the best................from experience. Anyone fancy it next year we'll happily meet up and create a team of British Olympic Tomato throwers.
regards
darren
I Want My Tomatoes