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Mucky mayhem awaits at La Tomatina 2008!

La Tomatina, that crazy festival that is the ultimate in mucky food fights – the biggest in the world – takes place on the last Wednesday of every year in the tiny, otherwise unexciting town of Bunyol, near Valencia.

100,000 tomatoes awaiting hurling, 40,000 revellers just itching to be covered in tomato mulch – if you’re going, you’re in for quite an experience.

And the last Wednesday just happens to be next week… so if you’re cruising around Spain, get on down to Valencia (the nearest city) and join the masses as they bus, train, or hitch their way to the big crush.

Oh, and take goggles – you’ll need them.

Related entries:
Tomato Diving at Il Tomatina 2006
Il Tomatina: The World’s Biggest Foodfight
Il Tomatina: The ‘Human Gazpacho’
Portrait of a Food Fight: Photos from Il Tomatina

Travel resources backpackers might find useful:
Hostels in Valencia – find and book your hostels online (if you can find places with available rooms!)
Lonely Planet’s Guide to Valencia – useful info for Valencia (free pdf download here)
Valencia Travel Guide – free downloadable travel guide from ArrivalGuides.com

Posted in Destinations, Festivals | No Comments »

How Playing Spice Invaders Could Win You A Trip To Tomatina 2008

Tomatina is coming. Come August, thousands of tomato-pulp-loving backpackers will be making their way to the small town of Bunyol, in Spain, intent on throwing as many mushy tomatoes at one another as is humanly possible.

And then perhaps wallowing contentedly in the resulting river of goop.

It’s hot, it’s wet and it’s seriously mucky (ahem).

Well, if all of that sounds like your cup of sangria, then why not enter Big Tom’s ‘Spice Invaders’ competition. The prize up for grabs is a very lovely trip for two to the Tomatina Festival, complete with flights (not specified if this is limited to certain destinations), hotel and spending money.

And, to win, all you have to do is “Splatter your way through an onerous onslaught of evil drinks, hell bent on world domination, in a final attempt to restore a healthy balanced diet to the universe…”

So, if you fancy your keyboard skills, have a good strong internet connection, and happen to have a bit of spare time, it’s time to play ‘Spice Invaders: Attack of the Insipid Liquids!’.

Good luck, and may the Force be with you.

Travel resources backpackers might find useful:
Cheap hostels in Spain – find and book your hostel online at special discounted rates
Airtreks Travel Planner – plan your round the world trip with Airtreks
Backpackers Travel Gear – backpacks and other travel gear
Travel Insurance – instant, cheap travel insurance for backpackers
Travel newsletter – sign up for our free monthly travel newsletter ‘From The Road’

Posted in Competitions & Giveaways, Destinations, Festivals | 1 Comment »