It is one of the most anticipated of events during the Sant Antoni fiestas - the climbing of the pine (Pi de Sant Antoni) in Pollensa's Plaça Vella. While parts of Majorca struggled with snow and wind and had to put off the traditional animal blessings, there was no deterring those who set off for the Ternelles finca to collect the pine and wheel it into the town. They were, as is also traditional, well fuelled, following the lunch at the finca.
There were no mishaps, such as when someone lost a finger one year after it was caught in a wheel of the carriage or with the wheels coming off, which happened last year (a master wheelwright in Sineu was commissioned to put the carriage back together again).
Once in the square, up the pine they went. The climb proved to be a great deal easier than last year, when it was so greased up that it took an age for there to be a victor. It was all over in a few minutes. Sergi Gómez, for the fourth time, made it to the top, but not without some controversy. There were a few boos. He should have let someone else have a go. Magnanimously, he only emptied the bag of confetti and left the prize of the cock to another.
In Puerto Pollensa, meanwhile, they weren't quite so lucky with the weather. Rough seas meant that the Formentor pine had to arrive by truck rather than by boat. This pine, which goes up in the afternoon rather than evening, was scaled by Patricio Medina.
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