Apologies for the gap in postings. I was called away at short notice on a freelance travel assignment I couldn't refuse. A man named Brian called me up, full of apologies for the last-minute nature of the request, but could I possibly fly out to Nicaragua in four days' time to be one of the drivers of a couple of Ferrari 599 GTB Fioranos on the next stage of the 15-stage Ferrari PanAmerican Expedition, which had begun in Brazil on August 24th and is due to finish in New York City on November 17th.
I said yes, flew to Atlanta GA, stayed overnight and flew on to Managua, Nicaragua - a country I have always wanted to visit, thanks to the struggles of the Sandanista regime and the outrageous war waged against it by Ronald Reagan and the CIA. Next day I met up with the Ferrari team and the other temporary drivers. I shared a car with an editor from the Italian newspaper La Stampa, Vittorio Sabadin; the other car was shared by a young journalist from the Italian edition of Vanity Fair, Matteo, and freelance photographer Enrico Fantoni. Vittorio and I would drive the red car one day and the blue one the next. (The red's interior is black, the blue's cream). They are testing out special tires made by Pirelli on this 20,000-mile run.
We set out from Managua on Saturday the 7th, crossed into Honduras and headed north as far as San Miguel in El Salvador. Then Guatemala, and finally on to the great Mayan site of Palenque in southern Mexico. A great journey, and great cars. 0-60mph in 3.7 seconds; 620 horsepower; six forward gears; and when you drive sedately, as you sometimes must, given the roads and the other vehicles on them, these superbly-engineered and beautiful cars are also quiet and comfortable. I'd buy one if I could. They cost $300,000 each.
How was it?, asked Brian, when I got back. A thrill from start to finish.
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