Benicassim is growing on me, like I think we knew it would. Day three we didn’t escape, infact to start with we just got thrust more into the insanity. We posted our San Fermin costumes and a couple of other bits and pieces to Courts Dads house for safe keeping and it took an hour and cost 40 Euros with the cheapest option. It’s the third time we’ve posted things home and it’s going to be one of the last. It’s crazy expensive to post things from Europe to New Zealand so if you are expecting a present from us and were hoping for a big one, hope again. Anything we bring home is now going to be miniature, so it fits on the bike.
The queues at the supermarket were ridiculous as was the 9 Euros we paid for a coffee and a hot chocolate not long after. We discovered that today being the day the music starts, the beach filled up and the crowds got worse. But! But after spending 4.50 on a blow up lilo, eating our supermarket picnic lunch in the shade and navigating the crowds to find a spot to float our troubles away in the Mediterranean Sea, things started to look up. We spent a good while playing on the lilo in the quiet little waves and then went for a walk and ended up napping at the other (quieter) end of the beach. Courts went swimming again while I watched holiday makers make holidays, apparently avoiding the same people we were.
By the time we made our way to a restaurant for pasta and Sangria, I felt for the first time in Europe like I was on a Summer Holiday. The kind where you do nothing but BBQ and swim and tan and read and repeat the cycle. All I need is a good book.
On return to camp the music had started and the vibe was buzzing. I only know one of the bands on tonight and yet I see big screens and a big stage, hear big bass and feel big energy and I crave it. I expressed this to Courts and he just didn’t get it. Even if I knew I didn’t like the band on, I would see and hear and feel the same things and still want to be a part of it. Courts just couldn’t relate because it Was. Not. Metal. and so I ended up being a bit homesick and missing the people I know would just understand.
When we got closer to the tent it was apparent that more people had arrived. The gravel pathways are now overflowing with tents and our little space in front of our awning is full. The bright side is that it has been taken by a friend of the nice girls next to us and in tripping over all the chaos we landed in their conversation and found out the festival isn’t usually like this. Apparently they’ve been several times and its always been far more chilled. The find-a-tent-space game is something they’ve never seen nor heard of before and they said themselves the vibe has been very aggressive and negatively drunken.
Funnily enough, hearing that made things a bit better. It makes me feel better knowing I didn’t just choose a shit festival, other people that have loved it not just from afar but first hand have also been disappointed and said they won’t be back. I’m not old and boring, unable to enjoy a good party. It’s just poorly organized and managed. I can still feel the big-music vibe coming from the show grounds and I’m just a little bit excited to dive in. But I’ll leave that for tomorrow.
