Day 8 - Carrera Espana

A former monastery turned into a lovely Paradore;
our home tonight,

Good day. Rain was predicted, but it stayed dry all day.

There were three Regularities today. We were assessed a total of 8 seconds of penalties (4,1, and 3).

Several competitors continue to have trouble with their cars. Our baby continues to perform perfectly. In the last 10 years Brant and I have put approximately 35,000 hard miles on the car and she has given us very few problems…..she is a well-designed and well-maintained Rally Car….thank you Brant!

Observation: just before this rally, I spent 10 days driving Route 66 from Chicago to LA. During that trip we passed hundreds (perhaps thousands) of homes with large piles on junk in their front yards…old farm equipment; old cars; refrigerators; sofas; just plain junk that should have been towed to a junkyard. Not so in Spain. Even in the oldest and poorest places we drive, the residents keep their property clean and orderly.

We have been told that if one begins to accumulate junk, the authorities will order it removed and, if ignored, you will receive a serious fine.

Spain looks much better for this attitude.

Second Observation: Just like California, every hillside in Spain is being planted with wine grapes. Spain originally supplied wine to Rome during the Roman Empire, but today it is growing exponentially. Surely, we’re quickly approaching a time when the world will be drowning in wine.