Wine and Water Festival and La Tomatina

These have been the shortest three days ever (after the 20+ hours in transit that is). When I finally made it to Valencia I only had a few hours to rest and then we were back in the road again. This time to Requena where the Wine and Water Festival was to take place. My roommate, Sam, and I were very excited to see what this was all about.

Our first stop was the arena where everyone gathers to watch the brave young men prove their courage to their girlfriends by going up against young bulls. There was a cage at the center where they could take cover when the bull came close. I cringed as some of the boys got mauled by the bull, but the locals assured me there wasn't much danger because their horns had been wrapped. It was still pretty startling to watch the bull lower its heads, take aim and scrape its hoves on the ground. I could all but see steam coming out their nostrils like in the cartoons. To calm our nerves we turned to eating and drinking. Everyone brought little snacks and drinks to share. The locals were very welcoming and keen on sharing with us. 

When this all ended, around midnight, we joined the townspeople on a parade around town chanting and drinking wine which was provided by city trucks. Meanwhile, people were throwing buckets of water out their windows and hosing us down from their terraces. On this trip I met three American military guys based in Europe and two Australian girls taking a 2-month long trip around Europe. It didn't take long to feel at ease with them around. By the end of the parade we were feeling so happy it was contagious.

 Here's a small clip

After four hours of sleep, half drunk and half asleep, we were off to La Tomatina. The day was cloudy and gloomy but everyone was too excited to get discouraged by the imminent rain. When we got there, Sam and I were off to find our tall American friends, AKA our shields. But the search, amidst so many people (~20,000), was useless. Thankfully we met up with Antoinette and Gaby, our new Aussie friends, and we clung on to them for dear life.

The rules of the game were easy, squish the tomato before you throw it. Apparently, this wasn't simple enough and in the first 10 seconds of the fight, before I even had time to react, I was pegged in the neck with what felt like a small cannon. So painful, that I was ready to raise a white flag and surrender. But of course this wasn't an option so I retreated to the back lines and used my hands to shield my face. When it seemed safe, I would pick up all the tomatoes in my vicinity and fired away. After nearly an hour every square inch of our bodies were covered with tomato mush. In hindsight, it was a good thing it was pouring rain because otherwise the stench of tomatoes, and wet bodies being cooked up in the summer sun would have been a lot less pleasant. And that's it for now guys! Thanks for reading and if you have instagram add me #isscarissa

Now off to my next adventure!

Soon to come: pictures of the Tomatina from my disposable waterproof camera, pictures of Valencia and Granada. Stay tuned!