White-water wallies warm up for carnival capers
IF you think you've seen a raftload of Disney characters, super-heroes or men in wedding dresses floating down a river running through the orange groves, you would normally be forgiven for wondering what colourful potions had been slipped into your paella – but on Saturday, February 15 in the Pego Marjal, you're likely to witness similar bizarre scenes even stonecold sober.
Blink and you'll miss it, though – the borderline-insane crew-members tend not to stay afloat very long. In fact, within a matter of minutes, they usually end up underwater.
The annual baixada al riu is not dissimilar to those character-building children's camps where they teach you to sail across a crocodile-infested river on a handmade boat thrown together from oildrums, toilet-roll holders and sticky-backed plastic – with the major difference being that the sailors are clad in the wackiest costumes known to the imagination.
They will be hoping to net a few euros in prize money for the silliest get-up and most imaginative craft – let's face it, there are no prizes for being the first to cross the finishing line at the mouth of the river, given that few actually make it that far.
Past editions have seen Supermen, the Lunnis – a homegrown variation on the Muppets – and crew-members in huge, curly wigs sitting on armchairs attached to a raft whilst playing cards, reading the newspaper or consuming copious amounts of alcohol.
Naturally, there is nothing in the rules about being drunk in charge of a jerry-built raft. Actually, there are no rules, only that the vessels must be made with environmentallyfriendly materials. They do not necessarily need to be seaworthy, or even river-worthy.
After a Saturday morning's soaking in icy waters – get there for just before noon to avoid missing the action and to make sure you can park – this warm-up for the annual Carnestoltes gives way to the real thing.