New Mexico Flotilla Mail Cover...1980

Found this interesting cover going through a hoard of first day covers.... Not sure what to make of it. Maybe a local spoof cover?

I'm fairly confident it travelled the way it did, but is basically private carriage since it's by local post. The spoof/funny part is "flotilla" and using a PAQUEBOT marking. There are still lots of covers carried by hot air balloon with similar markings (balloons often land wherever they end up) plus pony express re-enactments. Some are unofficial, some with postal sanction, carrying "real" mail along with unaddressed souvenir mail.

I would like this better if it actually went through the mails at some point.

I would suggest balloons always land where they end up

The humorous aspect of this cover for those who live in other countries and may not be familiar with the geography of the USA is that the State of New Mexico is completely landlocked. The nearest access to the sea is the Gulf of California which is about 200 miles away so the idea of a New Mexico Navy is silly. This cover was put on a small inflatable raft that went a short distance on the Rio Grande river which is only a few hundred feet across and very shallow in this part of the USA and you can even just walk or wade across it in many places. Here is a photo to give you an idea of how small this river is in New Mexico. About the only kind of boat that can go on it safely are inflatable rafts and kayaks.