Let's see who guesses first... which Catalan town "los paellones" are from.

Long ago, timber was transported from the Pyrenees to the flatlands and the sea by river. The adventure began in the forest. It was the work of the log cutters, who felled the trees and then, aided by encounters, carried the logs to the water. Then it was the work of the rafters, who made the logs into a floating platform—a raft—which they carried downriver to their destination. "The rafters' earnings could triple those of the farmers. It was good work; in the 18th and 19th centuries, a good part of the population of Coll de Nargó was dedicated to it," explains Emili Molins, a member of the Ribera del Segre Raftsmen's Association, a recipient of the Creu de Sant Jordi.

"It was a very family-oriented and hierarchical profession. There was the front row—the one who went up front; he was the experienced one—and the tail row—the one who went behind; he was the apprentice—(each with an oar, which was used more to guide than to advance)," explains Emili. It was risky work, yes, but there are no records of deaths (there were injuries). And it was entirely male-dominated. The woman stayed at home, taking care of the children, the garden... and much more than you can imagine. In Coll de Nargó, there is the Fuente de la Mujer del Raier, which pays tribute to them.

I arrived a quarter of an hour after the agreed-upon time at the Museu dels Raiers—I hadn't calculated time for parking; it's impossible to do so where the museum is located, in the old part of Coll de Nargó—and I found Emili sweeping. Located in the Roser chapel, it's a small but tightly packed museum. Emili volunteers hours to keep it ready for visitors.

The raft was both a vehicle and a cargo. It had only one lifespan. When they reached their destination—usually several rafts traveled together—on the plain, on the Ebro River, or at sea, they were dismantled and the wood they were made of was sold. It was much like a hauler selling a truck coming from Germany when it reached its destination. Some unloaded cargo—oil, fruit, coal, etc.—but this was exceptional, and they could also carry people on some stretches. Normally, the raft was empty.

"The rafters weren't the owners of the wood they transported, but rather employees of the carpenter, who paid them based on the journey or job he gave them," Emili tells me as I listen to the sound of water running down the river—it's the museum's soundtrack.

Suddenly, Emili grabs a frying pan with a very long handle and says to me: "Take this paellón. It's what the rafters used to cook (on the riverbank, not in the raft). That's why the rafters of Coll de Nargó – and by extension the inhabitants of Coll de Nargó – were called "paellots." They often went hungry, and were lucky to get the river trout, and the maurada (a cake that "lasts a long time" and is not cut with a knife; you break it following the scores; it is occasionally sold at the Reig bakery in Coll de Nargó). It is said that some rafters played games to see who ate what (lizards, slugs...).

My attention is drawn to a panel containing a "catalog" of long, horizontal timbers, with the measurements of each one. Many of the rai trunks—mainly pine—were already brought down prepared for their intended purpose: beams for houses (Barcelona's Eixample district was built with wood from Coll de Nargó. Look, a possible headline for this article... but I've already chosen another one), masts for ship sails... Spain suffered many shipwrecks in the Caribbean due to a series of hurricanes. New ships had to be built. "This rai!" thought the people of Coll de Nargó, and they brought down rai and more rai to make new ships for the navy.

"The year twenty-seven was the last year that timber was removed from the river. Then came the trucks," I read on one of the museum panels. These are the words of one of the rafters, indicating the date on which this trade ended. Roads and trucks—and reservoirs, the final blow—sentenced them to death.

I leave the museum having learned a lot of words: square (make the logs square, since they were to be beams), to ravine (lowering untied logs through torrents and streams, in difficult passages; the raft was not mounted until the river was wide and full enough), enjoy (reconsider the state of the river before putting the raft in the water), espadrille (walking back home, wearing esparto sandals), redorta (birch branch that tied the raft logs together – you can see it in the museum)...

Finally, Emili suggests we take a walk around the town. We pass under bridge of a house that, to gain space, must grown to the Roser Chapel. We continue on to another, older church (pre-Romanesque and Romanesque). It's the magnificent Romanesque church of Sant Climent, located on the plain. Beforehand, we poke our heads out at the Cabo del Roc viewpoint, where we have a splendid view of the Segre River and the tail end of the Oliana reservoir. "Do you see that bridge over the river?" Emili tells me. "It's the Espia Bridge. From that bridge, the Count of Spain, a despot who participated in the First Carlist War, was thrown into the river, tied to a rock."