Who said the Monsoon Season was over?
Think again; today’s almost 8 hour drive was done in a torrential rain storm. The higher we climbed; the more it rained. Several times we were swamped by a passing bus or truck (lorry in these parts). After you get good and soaked, you stop caring......and we were in a closed car; pity the crews in the open pre-war Bentley’s.....ah, the British, a hardy people.
Crazy drivers, crazy rain and very poor roads made for a most interesting day. Most of the big potholes were filled with water and it made it very difficult to see them until you drove into them. When we finally started climbing into the Himalayas, it was one hairpin turn after another; first gear is getting a real workout. Brant did an excellent job handling the car through rain, potholes and hairpin turns.
But notwithstanding the rain, the animals were out. Joining the regular parade of cows, we saw Brahman Bulls, sheep, goats and many monkeys. As we headed into the mountain forest, the monkeys became more numerous. My room at the hotel tonight has a small patio (which I can’t use because of the rain) and on the glass door their is a big sign that reminds you to keep the door closed to prevent the monkeys from getting into the room......and tearing it apart.
There was one Regularity Stage today and I think we did well. The results have not yet been posted, but we believe we missed ideal time by one second so we should do OK in the results which should get posted after dinner.
Tonight’s hotel is at about 2,000 meters (approximately 6,000 ft.); tomorrow we climb even higher as we reach Manali.
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