RTG Espana Daily Dispatch - mid-res - Flipbook - Page 21
Day 9: Monasterio de Ribas de Sil to Cangas del Narcea, 3 May 2022
Gerardus Mercator, Dispatch reporter
Photos: gerardbrown.co.uk
Following the track action the rally headed to the
Regularity at Belesar through a lush pastoral landscape far
removed from the epic and rugged mountains we’d become
used to. Fred Gallagher and Loren Price sent the cars on
their way and, almost 8km later, Dr John Llewellyn and
Bob Hargreaves welcomed them home with a click of the
stopwatch and a time on their card.
The Time Control at La Nueva Ruta was in a modern
BP fuel station with all the amenities required for a mid
morning comfort break. The second Regularity through the
foothills of the Cordillera Cantábrica was fast approaching,
so prudent crews did what they needed to before getting
back on the road.
The Liñares Regularity was an epic, at almost 19km
long. It demanded close attention to both the clocks and
the road, with sets of tricky hairpins and long straights
working to upset whatever rhythm the crews could find.
Once this section had ended and as 242km clicked onto
the tripmeter, there was some respite in the form of the
Time Control in the Meson Catro Ventos (the House of the
Four Winds) where a memorable lunch was served. More
used to catering for trekkers on the Camino de Santiago,
this hostelry proved to be the ideal place for a rally load
of hungry people to spend an hour. Plates of BBQ’d meats,
toasted cheese sandwiches and a selection of tapas were
quickly delivered to each table and just as quickly they
disappeared. The coffee machine - which never faltered
- will likely need a full rebuild after the abuse it received
today.
There was only one Regularity in the afternoon, from
the village of Neguira in the very compact Sierra de Uría,
where the apple trees, in full blossom, hinted at what was
to come later in the day. Soon after pulling away from
the final timing point we crossed into the Principality of
Asturias, an ancient, proud and distinct region of Spain.
After crossing the 1116m Sierra de Rañadoiro we’d find our
night halt the Parador de Corias in Cangas del Narcea.
Once we’d washed the dust of the day away, we were
treated to a session of traditional cider tasting thanks to
Rally the Globe club members, Mike and Maria Velasco, who
hail from this area. Apples and cider (sidra) are a big part of
life here and Mike, a man who certainly knows his fruit, had
organised the pick of the crop before dinner. Each glass
was poured with a technique known as escanciar, whereby
the bottle is held at head height to better aerate the liquid.
A veal steak for dinner rounded off another superb day on
the Carrera Espana.
Keith Ashworth and Norah Ashworth, 1938 Frazer Nash-BMW 328
Geoff and Penny Rawlings, 1934 Talbot 95/105 Alpine
Ean and Alison Lewin, 1973 Ford Escort Mexico
www.rallytheglobe.com