Carrera Espana 2002: Day 5 and 6

Let’s get the bad news out, right away. Yesterday was a disaster for us. There is no other way to describe it.

Yesterday had three Regularity Stages, with each one having two timing points….so in effect we had six stages. We got through the first a few seconds off…..continuing to reduce the timing distance with a couple of crews ahead of us……as I have been reporting for most of the week. The second Regularity had two stages and was the longest of the rally….28km. Off we went…. and neither of us noted in the Route book that there was a sharp left hand turn 260 meters from the start. We missed the turn and continued on a road over a big mountain. We completed the entire 28km; realized that we were on the wrong road; drove back the 28km to the start; and then drove the correct route after making that left hand turn. Of course, the Marshall’s had shut down the timing points and we were awarded maximum penalty points…..4 minutes (two for each of the timing stages).

When we showed up at lunch stop, the organizers were about to send out a search party for us. We assured them we were fine; only our egos were bruised. To say we were embarrassed and pissed off would be an understatement. At dinner, we were each awarded an “Ugly Medal” for the screw-up and everyone had a good laugh at our expense……..All I can say is that into every life a little rain must fall.

Observations: Spain is the forgotten gem of Europe. The people, the culture, the history, the art, the food and especially the weather is the equivalent of the UK, France and Italy……and less expensive. Many British and German families have second homes or retirement homes in Spain, especially in the South. The ocean living, golf, athletics, are easily accessed here in Spain. One of the competitors is a retired classical musician from the UK (and his wife is a retired prima ballerina from Argentina) and they have found happiness in retirement in Spain.

Nature: during the last couple of days we have seen hundreds of storks and hawks hunting in the countryside. They float on the air streams looking for a field mouse or other small vermin. The hawks have small nests in the trees, but the storks have very large nests, usually on power poles or church steeples. I’ll include a few pictures on the blog.

Today (our 6th) was a rest day in Salamanca. After breakfast, Brant and I took a cab into the center of the Old City. The Grand Church is special, huge --- dominating the landscape. It was built over a couple of hundred years ago starting around 1215. Today there were several weddings going on and I found it a bit peculiar that many of the ladies who were dressed very smartly were wearing fur collars. I hadn’t seen this kind of embellishment on a fancy dressed lady since my grandmother’s time…..a bit strange, but what do I know about fashion.

Salamanca is major place of academia. The University of Salamanca goes back to the early 1200’s when it was recognized by the Pope and a proper teaching institute. That puts it in class of very early universities like Bologna, Oxford and Cambridge. The University here in Salamanca has a big international student population and brings in substantial revenue to the region.

Off tomorrow for the second half of our journey…..

A stork’s big nest (and stork)
on a church bell tower

Big question about this building on Main
Street of Salamanca. Although under restoration,
this building was once a Synagogue or a Jewish
Community building.