{"id":34180,"date":"2018-11-25T13:39:52","date_gmt":"2018-11-25T18:39:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.therockysafari.com\/?p=34180"},"modified":"2021-03-28T15:25:22","modified_gmt":"2021-03-28T19:25:22","slug":"rotten-tomato-eye-infection-la-tomatina","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.therockysafari.com\/2018\/11\/25\/rotten-tomato-eye-infection-la-tomatina\/","title":{"rendered":"Let’s Talk About My Rotten Tomato Juice-Induced Pink Eye Infection At La Tomatina"},"content":{"rendered":"

La Tomatina is the largest food fight festival in the world. Over 20,000 people pile into the tiny city of Bu\u00f1ol, Valencia to throw 30,000 pounds of rotten tomatoes at one another.<\/p>\n

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The official rules of the La Tomatina festival are fairly simple. First off, do not attend unless you have purchased an official ticket<\/strong>. Do not bring in any hard objects<\/strong> or any glass<\/strong> bottles<\/strong> that could injure another attendee. (Selfie sticks seem to be acceptable, however.) Do not rip or throw anyone’s t-shirts<\/strong> including your own. (Considering the amount of shirtless men we saw, this rule was either unknown or simply disregarded by the masses.) Squash every tomato before throwing it.<\/strong> (Getting hit with a solid tomato HURTS.) Keep a safe distance away from the trucks<\/strong> (HA – about that…) Respect<\/strong> and listen<\/strong> to all security staff instructions. Stop throwing all tomatoes once the second cannon goes off.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Jorge and I thought we could outsmart the system. Since we planned to share a locker and only I needed googles, we purchased different upgraded tickets. Jorge already had goggles so he got an entry+locker combo ticket<\/strong>. I purchased an entry+goggles combo ticket<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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After entering the event, we were met with tons of concession stands selling everything from beer to sangria to 3 Euro bocadillo sandwiches.<\/p>\n

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Jorge and I trudged through the crowds of people to find a decent spot where we could stand for the start of the festival. Prior to us attending, I had read some articles online about a pole climbing competition where people compete to see who can reach a special ham at the top. That pole was supposedly an excellent place to be – except, neither of us had any idea where that pole was in relation to where we were standing. With the crowds of people, navigating the streets to get anywhere more than a few yards away from the section’s entrance where you originally entered was nearly impossible.<\/p>\n

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The sun was ablaze and people were smooshed tightly together in the streets of Bu\u00f1ol. The lovely white Spanish-style houses were covered with tarps for protection from the tomato warfare that would soon ensue. The locals surely knew exactly what would be taking place along their streets in a matter of minutes and they looked as though they’d already prepared for this a million times over.<\/p>\n

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Prior to the start of the event, locals stood from their balconies throwing buckets of water on people to help us all cool down. They also tossed down a few tomatoes to prime us for what was yet to come. I remember at one point, I looked up at the five or six tomatoes soaring through the air and I turned to Jorge and asked, “Do you think there will be any more?”<\/strong> I wasn’t sure if THAT was La Tomatina – a fight using only the tomatoes provided by the locals – and I wondered if Jorge and I had really chosen a bad place to stand.<\/p>\n

HAHAHA… Oh, how little I knew!<\/p>\n

\"\"In a matter of minutes, TRUCKS were driving by UNLOADING POUNDS OF TOMATOES ON OUR HEADS. Even with goggles on, I was scared to even look up! I felt like a tomato would smack me right against my face and break my nose.<\/p>\n