|
Day 25: Salta - Catamarca (609km)
Another superb day for scenery. After yesterday's arid volcanic highlights, the contrast was stunning. From the fertile plain surrounding Salta, our road entered a gorge - the Quebrada de Cafayate - remarkable for its rock formations in the reddish-brown windshaped sandstone. Then quickly into a fertile wine-producing area - one of the best in Argentina - and on again to more mountains, lower this time, surrounding a valley reminiscent of Britain's Lake District, and full of the remains of ancient civilisations. A long sinuous drive - superb for sports cars - on a main road descent through a deeply-wooded valley raised plaudits all round... then on to a gravel road notable for storms of yellow butterflies rising around cars as they passed, disturbed from where they basked on the road.
Though today contained no competitive sections for the classics, another Gold medal claimant fell by the wayside. Paul Merryweather was forced to push his Mercedes through the early morning Salta start control, claim his due time and then head for the local Mercedes garage. He and navigator Sandra Deacon were last seen sitting outside - waiting for opening time. They still hadn't arrived in Catamarca by the time the results update was published - showing a clutch of penalties for the day they hadn't driven.
More potential bad news among those still on medal status. The Liddell/I'Anson Escort has been driving for two days with just the bottom three of its five gears. Tonight it was confirmed that the box was beyond repair - it's a specialist unit, and none exist in South America. 'We'll just have to drive on as best we can using good earplugs,' quipped I'Anson.
Though today was a reasonably relaxed one, it was one of the toughest for the Porsche of Pauline Harris/Ann Locks. 'It began at 6.00am, when we discovered we had a puncture before the start. And it got worse from there,' says Ann. About five kilometres out, the fuel pump failed: they changed that. Things held together a long time after that: at least they enjoyed most of their day. But then the rear shock absorbers let go on the afternoon's gravel section. 'All part of the learning curve,' said a philosophical Ann, 'Changing the shock absorbers for myself is another job I've just done for the first time. By the time we got in here tonight, I looked filthier than the mechanic we found to do the welding.'
John Aspinall is 'over the moon' to have managed to get his Mustang repaired at Arequipa. 'We were worried that that might have been the end of our rally. But they did a brilliant job. The worst problem was the electrics, but it's all sorted. - we wouldn't have missed the past two days for the world. Superb.. The highlight of the rally so far for us.'
Lost and Found Department
Alastair Gibson would like to return an item to its rightful owner. Returning to Alastair Caldwell's Ferrari at Salta after its sump repair, he was surprised to discover a Viagra (Ereccionale) tablet on his passenger seat. Whose can it be? Don't all rush at once!
Easily Confused Marshals Department
The marshalling crew of Jingers/Williams/Surtees Jnr had arrived in plenty of time for the control they were to run today. They felt they deserved a beer once they'd identified their spot. So they sought out the nearby bar marked on the roadbook, went into the front garden, asked for three beers and sat down. The beers arrived, and the owners sat down, talking between themselves. The woman started to breastfeed her baby, talking to her husband still and glancing over at the crew from time to time. They were obviously worried about something. Then the penny tumbled: this was a private house. They finished their drinks, handed over three dollars without being asked, and quickly left. They never did spot the 'official' bar. Maybe it closed ...
|