T h u r s d a y, May 31 - We d n e s d a y, June 6, 2012 Scunthorpe Telegraph 47 STE-E01-S2 w w w. t h i s i s s c u n t h o r p e . c o .

u k
Its like a scene from a World Cup
as thousands dance their hearts out
Tr avel
FOODDRINKMOVIESMUSICTHEATREPUBSEVENTS
I
magine the Grand National
horse race. Now swap the
racecourse for the cobbled
streets of a quaint town of Caravaca,
south east Spain.
Throw thousands of people to line
the streets and for every single one
of the 60 horses, four boys hold its
har ness.
Add lots of wine, carnival bands
and what do you have? Wine Horses
Fe s t iva l .
The free traditional extravaganza
runs from May 1-5 each year and
follows a 17 century ritual taking
wine to the Sanctuary to be blessed
and the lavish costumes worn by the
companies of Moors and Christians.
The festival starts with a
traditional flower offering, followed
by a horse contest and an exhibition
of horse cloths.
On the second day, its a 4am start
for the syndicate teams to dress the
horses in handmade tapestries
worth 40,000. Firecrackers and a
chime of bells at 7am wake the town
in time for the opening of the
ceremony, which starts at 9am with
a mass. The horses join a parade
through the town before a race up a
80m hill in the afternoon.
I joined the sea of white t-shirts
and red neckerchiefs, with Bota
wine bag in tow to watch the
festivities. Picking up a Spanish
pasty en-route, it was like a scene
from the World Cup, with groups of
brass bands dressed in their team
colours meandering through the
streets, singing, smiling and
dancing their hearts out.
The horses are full of excitement,
galloping, spinning and bucking in
their droves. As we waited at the
brow of the hill on the edge of the
finish line, crowds parted like the
Red Sea but it wasnt like the bible
tale of God using his powers. It was
a galloping horse, four boys and the
fear of being trodden on that made
the crowds part for safety and allow
the horse to pass through.
Within the first 10 horses a new
record of just over eight seconds
was recorded. But this was smashed
with a horse that ran almost a
second faster to snatch the
6,000Euro prize.
If theres anything to learn from
the Wine Horses Festival is that you
s h o u l d nt take your eyes off the
horses. I experienced not one, but
two horses charging towards me. I
BY SELINA MAYCOCK
selina.maycock@gsmg.co.uk
had a flashback to my childhood
parties of pin the tail on the donkey,
only the roles had been reversed
and these were horses.
You wouldnt think that living on
the edge would have an appeal but it
did. Unscathed, I was ready for
more adventures.
South East Spain has lots to offer
whether you like to discover the
ruins of Cartagenas Roman Theatre
and Roman Forum of Molinete,
sample Spains answer to
Glastonbury with its annual music
Festival SOS 4.8 where Pulp
headlined, or simply get out into the
sea with an exhilarating speed boat
ride or scuba dive.
E
xploring the coast of
Cartagena is best aboard a
twin hulled boat. The hour
long excursion, complete with tour
commentary, took us on a circular
route around the harbour, departing
from Alfonzo XII dock.
For someone who gets restless
lazing on a sun lounger I would
recommend a holiday that consists
of a variety of hotels. Yeah it felt
like a back-packing holiday having
to live out of my suitcase but at least
I have great stories to share from
the people I met along the way and
lots of sights that Ive now seen
outside the walls of a self-contained
resort. It also means that if youre
not too crazy about a hotel choice
you have pot luck of staying in
another the next night without
having to spend a fortnight there.
Hotels:
Hospederia Nuestra Senora Del
Carmen, Caravaca de la Cruz A
one-star hotel, very clean and basic
breakfast to get you ready for the
day ahead. It has an ideal central
location for the city and Wine
Horses Festival. If you plan a
holiday where you are out
sightseeing for most of the day then
this is the perfect hotel to give you a
good nights sleep.
4* Hotel Principe Felipe, La
Manga Club www.lamangaclub.com
A perfect hotel for a self-contained
holiday that oozes with relaxation.
We ate at La Bodega, a 10-minute
walk to a tapas restaurant.
The in-house Piano Bar has the
best live entertainment to get your
holiday off to a swing in more ways
than one. Stars like Matt Damon,
Gloria Estafan, Sir Cliff Richard
and Robbie Williams to name but a
few have stayed at the resort.
4* Hotel Las Gaviotas La Manga
Strip Ideal for any kind of holiday
with stunning views of the
Mediterranean Sea and the Mar
Menor lake. Prime location for
exploring the locality and even out
of season, you can find a friendly
bar with electrifying atmosphere in
walking distance. With 31 days of
sun, with an average temperature of
18 degrees Celcius, is tempting
enough after all, the rain in Spain
falls mainly on the plane.
5* Intercontinental La Torre Golf
Resort, Murcia One of my
favourite luxury complexes to
indulge in pampering and soaking
up the sun by the pool. Again, all
activities golf, spa, pool, shopping,
are pretty self-contained and just a
20 minute drive away from Mucia.
Tapas in the La Vinoteca restaurant
overlooking the pool and greens was
b re at h t a k i n g .
LUXURY COMPLEX: Intercontinental
Hotel, La Torre, Spain
Club is best way to keep stress levels down and energy high
Pre-book your parking online
at www.manchesterairport.
co.uk/car-parking for some
great savings.
Vantage Club check-in is the
best way of keeping stress
levels down and energy high
with complimentary on-board
meals.
Monarch, the scheduled
leisure airline, operates year
round flights to Alicante,
Spain, from Birmingham,
London Gatwick, London
Luton and Manchester
airports with fares, including
taxes, starting from 38.99 one
way (69.50 return).
Monarch also offers a range
of value holidays, accommoda-
tion, car hire and travel
insur ance.
For information or to book
Monarch flights, Monarch
holidays or Monarch hotels,
visit www.monarch.co.uk
www.ayto-car tag ena.es
www.planeta-azul.com
www.car tag enapuer tode
cultur as.com
www.turismocar avaca.org
www.enmar menor.com

If theres anything to learn from the Wine Horses Festival

is that you shouldnt take your eyes off the horses. I
experienced not one, but two horses charging towards
me
THIRSTY WORK: Selina enjoys a drink from a Bota wine
carrier during her trip to the quaint town of Caravaca
ON THE RUN: The crowd parts like the Red Sea when the horse and its team
charge through the streets
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Thu 23 Edinburgh Tattoo 3 239
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