Pole-Climbing

Last Sunday we had the opportunity to attend the final day of a 9-day celebration in El Callejon. This 9-day "fiesta" began with a parade that went by our house, made up of people in the community and a princess who had been chosen in the school. It reminded me of an outdoor homecoming ceremony. Sunday, as I said, was the final day and something like a carnival was set up in a big field.
The main event at this carnival was groups of men climbing a big telephone pole covered in grease to reach prizes at the top. These prizes included salami, coupons, and some envelopes containing various amounts of money. I must say, I wish there was more of this in the States - it was highly amusing. This giant pole was brought in on a truck, raised with ropes and dropped into a hole, and then prepped with the prizes. It was easy for men to climb to the top and it was fun to watch them scramble up, but right before the contest started the pole was drenched with motor oil and grease. Enjoy the pics - wish you coulda been there!




They literally stacked themselves on top of each other and then climbed over one another to continue the pile.








My favorite was when the knees of the men at the bottom of the pole would buckle and the entire stack of men would come sliding down the pole, sometimes leaving one stranded at the top.



We watched for 2 hours and unfortunately NO ONE made it to the top. After we left they had to chop down the pole in order to get the things on top. I was told that in years past the pole had been half as tall, making it an easy feat for the men - I think they overcompensated...