Sunday 1 December 2013

Only 24 hours in one day :)


How much can you pack into a normal day ? Take up endurance rallying and find out just how much is possible.
For example yesterday alarm goes at 5.30 ( strangely not Julie's although she's positive she set it !!!)
Load the car, eat some sort of breakfast, check out. Drive out of town, arrive at the first time trial and by 7.15 you are on the start line of a cinder race track about to have the time of your life. The object is one flying lap, fast as you can. Just for fun the organisers have chucked in a few chicanes. We love it Molly comes an amazing 9th. Which we are over the moon with.
Now nearly 8.00! Off we go for about 100 Km to another flat out time trial. This time over some very rough ground, we have to cross an old river bed. We don't like this one much, Molly is too low. We come in 2 minutes late. Still not bad. Now its about 9.00. Another 70 km drive on mixed roads to the Chilean border. After all our worries about the Chilean border staff being on strike/go slow we sail through, thanks to the skill of the organisers.
We now drive to the hotel Explora Salto Chico in Torres del Paine. This is along a dirt road only about 25 km but takes as we have just entered a National Park which without doubt offers some of the most stunning scenery anywhere in the world. Every corner we turn is another Wow and photo stop.
We arrive at the hotel, still only midday!
This has got to be one of the best hotels we have ever stayed in. I wish the photos would load but the Internet is rubbish. I am writing this looking out of the room window, across a clear blue glacier lake, majestic mountains all around and a huge Condor circling over the rocks by the waterfall. 
Quick bite to eat and at 3 o'clock we are off on a 'short' hike. We should have realised it was not that short or easy when we were given a survival lecture and accompanied by 3 highly qualified guides. We walk up for about 1.5 hours to the top of a rock called Condor Point. The wind up here is so strong that its nearly impossible to walk. It is possible to hold your coat out like a wing and lean at 45 degrees into the wind. Looks really cool. Not quite so cool when the wind slows and you fall base over apex into the sharp thorned bushes.
Back down the hill, back to the hotel. Cup of tea. Attend a lecture about the area and all the hikes we can go on tomorrow. It's now 7.00. Drink in the bar. Dinner time. 
Julie and I are new to this rally world, but we thought we had got the hang of it.
During dinner we observe a rallying tradition we were unaware of. It seems that you have to drink a glass of wine or 2 and then the gentlemen on the table have to swop clothes!! Shirts and trousers!! Luckily no one had gone commando and even more luckily I can't load the pictures.
It's now about 9.30, time for Andy and the Headgaskets to entertain us (that's what Andy says) 
Julie and I retire hurt at about 10.30.
It's now 8 in the morning and I think the music has stopped.
So that's a fairly typical endurance rally day. I feel another quote coming on about rallying
'come'n have a go if you think your tough enough'
It's just bloody amazing ( ok Mum I know 'no need to swear David' )

All the crews are still together and apart from the early car failures all the cars are making it and having a ball.
Someone pointed out there are only 3 more days driving, where did all that time go.

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