Race day, in more ways than one

It’s race day in Baku and a complicated one for us. It’s also our checkout day as well as our flight to Turkmenistan later today. That meant figuring out our logistics. It was fortunate that check out here is at noon so we were able to pack in the morning shower, etc. without rushing around. The hotel looked after our luggage while we went down to the race track and lounged there until the race began at 3 p.m. We pre-arranged a driver to pick us up at our hotel at 6 p.m. so we were hopeful that the race would be over by five-Ish.

As it turned out, it finished well before because Max Verstappen basically took the lead from his pole position and never gave it up. It was a forgone conclusion that he would win, but we stayed right to the end. We had ample time and were back at our hotel by 5:15 to await the drive to the airport.

Getting to Ashgabat in Turkmenistan is complicated. As the crow flies, it is simply across the Caspian Sea from Baku. But there are no flights that go from Baku to there. We need to fly to Istanbul! Yes, we need to fly three hours to Turkey and then take another three-hour flight from Istanbul to Ashgabat! Craziness. But such is life. We’ll arrive in Ashgabat in the early morning.Read more