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Day 18: Rest Day, Lima
The Anita Goulden Trust
A special ceremony took place while we were in Lima. Tim and Wendy Franey, who are participating in a Toyota Landcruiser Amazon, have been working hard to raise funds for the Anita Goulden Trust, a Lima-based charity, for the past ten years.
The Trust exists to care for and educate children from Lima who are sick or disabled and have been thrown out on the streets by their families. Such children are regarded as being a liability since they are unable to work and bring in money for the family.
Over the past year or so, since deciding to take part in the Inca Trail, Tim and Wendy have raised a tremendous amount of money and made their own personal contribution, too. Our event gave them the opportunity to come to Lima and hand over their cheque in person. In front of Inca Trail participants and in the presence of Roger Hart, British Ambassador to Peru, they presented a magnificent 50,000 pounds to the Chairman of the Trust.
Tim explained later: 'We first heard about Anita Goulden's work about ten years ago through a documentary on TV. We were so moved by what we saw that we knew we wanted to support her efforts.'
The matron of the Children's Home was moved to tears when she heard how much money was to be handed over. A little makes a huge difference in countries like Peru. We're delighted that these Inca Trail participants have been able to make such a splendid contribution.
The best laid plans (1)
Many crews planned to use their day off at Lima to work on cars and several had ordered replacement parts via such carriers as Fedex or DHL. Plans were thwarted, though, by Peru customs officials. Yes, the consignments had arrived OK, but due process meant that nothing could be liberated until 11.30am the following day by which time the rally would be well on its way to Nasca.
Alastair Caldwell must have thought he'd bucked that trend. He'd arranged for good friend David Hall to fly from England to Lima. He'd be carrying car parts in his personal baggage together with a few other items urgently needed by the HERO admin team.
It was not to be. David's flight involved a change of planes at Miami, where US security staff gave him the once-over. They sure didn't like what they found:
- Four rather suspicious-looking satellite telephone handsets.
- Assorted items of computer modem cabling
- A large quantity of cash in the form of US Dollars
- Various car parts, including a Ferrari differential.
Sweeping innocent explanations aside, the latter was deemed to be 'a lethal weapon'. David was thereupon put on the next flight back to Britain. For those who don't know him, it's just possible that he's still using a passport showing his occupation until his recent retirement: airline pilot. Maybe adding to his problems in the current climate of suspicion? Better luck next time, Alastair.
The best laid plans (2)
Leo Schildkamp isn't having too much luck, either. After having to abandon his damaged Volvo Amazon at Potosi, he's been looking forward to seeking out a replacement to continue the event with co-driver Cees Willemse.
Contacts in the Automobile Club of Peru thought they could guide Leo to a couple of good options: a Mercedes or a Mustang. Leo went along to look. Neither, he thought, were likely to be up to the job. But then he noticed a modern 4x4 on sale by the same dealer. After giving it a try, he decided to forgo the joys of classic motoring and join the Adventure Drivers for the rest of the event.
But Fate played her hand yet again. He needed to get cash from a bank to do the deal. The first bank didn't have that much money. Meanwhile the dealer hung around to contact the car's owner from his cellphone. Leo headed into another bank. The counter staff were just about to hand over the readies when the dealer rushed in to say that the car's owner wasn't around and couldn't be contacted to hand over and sign the documentation. End of deal. So Leo is still looking. Anyone know a good used car lot in Peru or Chile?
Yellow Peril
Looking around the rally car park at El Pueblo, the distinctive Toyota 4-Runner of Arnold and Melanie Meier was looking a little corrugated down one side. It turns out that this less than pristine appearance was caused on the Explorer Section en route to Huancayo. The Toyota went too close to the right, and dropped on its side into a ditch. They were rescued by James Taylor's Chevrolet Avalanche with no ill-effects to the crew. But the Toyota's battle scars linger on...
Leg One Prizegiving
Spirit of Adventure
Prizes were handed out to crews from the Classic Reliability Trial who had done well on the event's first Rio to Cusco leg at the final dinner of our stay at El Pueblo. Special 'Spirit of Adventure' awards went to two 4x4s as well.
One of these went to the US father and son crew who are driving the oldest 4x4 on the event. Robert and Ryan Lowe rebuilt their 1961 Land Rover Series llA as a special project for Ryan when he was still at school. It's only recently been finally completed, and before coming on the Inca Trail had only done a few thousand miles of trial runs in the States. But it's going well enough, and the crew are having a great time in the most primitive of the 4x4s on this event.
The second award went to our Irish crew, Barry Aughey and Gerry McGuigan. They always look like they're having a tremendous time, and need little excuse to don their Ireland rugby shirts at the end of a long hard day. They've been super sports, too. A few days after the start, they 'adopted' Ralph and Dorothy Jones in their lovely Aston Martin DB4, guiding them through some of the tougher stretches and helping find alternatives wherever they could to ease the way for the older couple. How nice to have the relaxed company and a touch of the Blarney to keep spirits high when the going gets tough!
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