Day 34 Ancona to Viareggio

The ferry trip was a great change of pace and calm seas made it enjoyable for everyone. Unfortunately the sunrise was hampered by heavy overcast. I just got this picture before sunrise and the adage “red in the morning, sailors take warning” held true as the weather worsened as the day progressed.

These boats must fish all night – hope they are catching something …

The ferry was late and getting off was not easy as we were parked all the way in the bow – hence the last ones to leave. To add insult to injury, a serious accident along what was to be our route caused us to detour and created an additional delay in getting started. The Main Time Control (MTC) had already been changed due to the late arrival of the ferry and the detour only made matters worse. Oh yes, we had 434 kms. scheduled to be traveled in now what was less than a half day.

But our problems were small compared to some others. This is the “wingless” Lagonda you saw only a couple of days ago now being relegated to the back of a truck – what a shame.

And I guess we should be thankful that we have a roof over our heads – not everyone is so lucky – but it only gets wet when you stop. Remember the traffic jam mentioned above … the umbrella is such a nice touch.

Even in the rain there were people out to see the cars – sorry about the rain spots on the windows …

Pretty dramatic mountains which we couldn’t see ourselves no less get a picture, but look to the left of the sign and there is the shoulder of a mountain which goes almost vertically into the clouds – very impressive even if we couldn’t see the whole thing.

The revised starting point for the day and the Time Trials was located in Birra – oddly enough at a brewery …

We were late arriving based on our starting position in the bow of the boat but the folks at the brewery provided lunches for everyone. Lloyd took the opportunity to adjust the brakes again and we reset the tire pressures for the Time Trials only to learn that all timing for the day had been canceled – good thing as that would allow those still following the route to arrive not long after dark.

In Anghiari, a walled city dominates the approach to the town – this must have been there for centuries but is well preserved.

Tuscany has many beautiful roads like this one, however, they are much more enjoyable when it is not raining.

And of course there are the vineyards which at this time of year are quite barren of grapes as the harvest is already in. They would look better if we weren’t moving so fast.

And finally one of the little towns along the way – all very nicely kept.

In order to save time we resorted to using the Autostrada which saved us both time and mileage – good thing we had maps to help create a new route. We arrived at the hotel in Viareggio shortly before 8 pm – not many cars in our parking lot – either some have not yet arrived or they have skipped on to another location closer to Paris.

A Rally Short Story – Back in Silvri (just west of Istanbul), Gernold Nisius from Maine stepped out on his balcony around 11 pm with a cigar and his cell phone. While chatting with a friend in Germany, he closed the door to the room to prevent smoke from entering. Having completed his call, Gernold discovered that he could not open the door and was trapped on the balcony with only his cell phone and his Rally ID which we all wear hanging around our necks. After a couple minutes thought, Gernold decided to call the doctor J.P. Carpenter (key rally contacts numbers are printed on the back of the IDs) reasoning that a doctor would always answer the phone without regard to the time whereas the mechanics would not be so inclined. Having woken J.P., Gernold asked him to contact the hotel and explain his predicament. A few minutes later, J.P. and a couple of security men arrived and attempted to open the door from the inside – no luck. A maintentance man was summoned next and arrived with a complete tool box – good thing as he had to remove the entire door from the frame. The good news was that Gernold had plenty of time to finish his cigar and a funny story and a funny story to boot.