IRAN TO THE TURKISH BORDER

Initially the plan had been to stay on the island for 3 or 4 days... this soon dragged out to over a week as we stayed at a beach side restaurant for a few nights. We met Ali (the owner) whilst heading for the ferry and were invited to stay with him and his wife. Great food and a place to relax (some more!).

Swimming in the Persian Gulf, right in-front of the restaurant we slept at.

As we finally made our move for the ferry the temperatures had reached 52° C and this climbed up to 60° C as we reached the mainland, I was suffering! Not even ice-cream could help with this unrelenting heat... instantly melting. That night we found a secluded beach camp and waited for the cool ocean breeze.

Temporary relief from the heat!

I awoke at 3 AM, peaked out of my tent and saw the other two sitting there. A groan and a mumble “40 degrees still”. I collapsed my tent and tried to get a little more shut eye right on the sand. That day it reached 54 degrees and was very tough on myself and the bike, covering lots of miles with camp that night in a palm plantation.

Mosquitoes were bad but not as bad as the heat, where's the air-con!

The landscape was still moon-like and dreamy to ride along!

Up and down the mountain roads, like on TV!

Temporary repairs carried out on the failed tent pole...

1000 m altitude had made a substantial difference, early in the morning I even got to use my sleeping bag, brrrrrr. This morning however the coffee went straight through me, oops... I ran off into the bushes in my PJ’s. All of sudden there was yelling nearby and 2 Iranians came storming through the bush... I was standing there like a stunned gazelle as they blabbered on in Farsi, eventually inviting me to join them around their fire (no man, I have to do my business). I’m pretty sure these guys were high... I half ran / hobbled in my thongs down the ravine to escape their annoying attempts at getting me to join them.

As I was climbing out of the valley again on my return to the camp the plug on my thong broke and I ‘stacked it’ straight into the dust. Here I had one of those out of body moments... “Half naked clambering around the Iranian mountain side covered in dirt” What am I doing!

Streams, rivers and taps make for cheap showers when camping!

After a quick shower using the farmer’s irrigation I rode to Shiraz and on to Persepolis (Greek for city of Persians). Here I negotiated with a local guy to have a ride on a camel, $3 was the agreed price. After my ride (which was mediocre but I only wanted a photo anyway) he demanded $15. After a short argument I just hopped on the bike and left... what an ass! Another camp that night, tomorrow off to بهشت گمشده (AKA Lost Paradise) bring it on!

Tourist attraction in Shiraz, landscapes seem to be more impressive lately...

Woooo camel, next I'll have to find a wild one to jump on.

Well Lost Paradise was definitely not as lost as the name would suggest, it was packed to the brink. To the point where the car had difficulty doing a U-y to get out of there! We continued on 30 KM and found a lake to camp at... but not before the car got bogged in the mud... 3 hours later and we were on hard ground cooking dinner... tasty 2 minute noodles!

Jack it up, build a road and drive straight out... sounds simple right?

Sending messages to home, having a SIM card is definitely more convenient than searching for WIFI.

All set up!

Turned out this spot was quite popular as well and before long Stevo had used his car to pull out 3 others and more were still coming. Each time he saved someone we were given food and drink for our efforts, pretty good deal!

The Pajero slowly rescued each car while they revved their engines to the limiter, crazy!

Free mud bath!

Here we met Mojtaba and his entourage. Within 30 minutes of meeting this guy he was letting me shoot his shotgun, pouring shots of whiskey and had invited us to eat kebab with him and his family. Over the next few hours it went like this: shotgun, vodka, snacks, whiskey, fire, dancing, kebab, party, music. Among the food was also some of the birds they shot earlier. By 2 AM they were ready to leave, inviting us back to theirs as well. But after all that drink we decided to not join them on the 50 KM drive and camped where we were.

They didn't tell me if they'd loaded the shotgun with buckshot or slugs but it was still fun!

Explaining that the 3rd drink is called the "love drink"... Okidoki.

The following days consisted of me riding in to town to stock up on food and provisions, then spending the rest of the day swimming, washing clothes and enjoying the scenery.

Morning swims...

Loved this location, sunrise!

Riding to do the shopping before the sandstorm hits!

And too late, smashed!

After a few days we realised that our 30 day visa was going to get tight towards the end, with almost 3000 KM left until the border and many places to see along the way. That meant back on the road! Up a 3200 m pass that day and a camp site at 2700 m. It was a cold and windy night made worse by the fact that my petrol cooker stopped working halfway through preparing dinner. At least I’d finally properly fixed my tent and it was all holding up well. Woo!

Final morning at the lake...

Off the highway and exploring the back roads of Iran.

Nice temps, good roads and beautiful land formations.

There's something cool about farm land... I don't know what it is though.

Down we go....

And up and up and up, getting chilly again!

3200 m, over 40 degrees the day before and now there's snow... mad!

Goat herds still haven't stopped, most mornings they wake me up as they pass by the tent...

Road up the mountain on the way to a wild campsite.

Amazing what you can stumble across... great spot for the night.

Enjoying the sunset just before dinner...

The next morning we turned off the main road and took an off-road track through the mountains in an attempt to reach the peak over 4 KM high. The road became quite ‘hectic’, especially for a fully loaded bike! Unfortunately the road became rubble and in parts non-existent, that meant taking another track back to the highway and continuing on to Isfahan (The centre of the Middle-East). That night I pulled my cooker apart and found the jets blocked and the needle broken... crap. It had been a pretty awesome day with the small towns getting cheaper and cheaper and people even friendlier. The boys in the car even managed to get a full tank of free Diesel, whereas I was still paying 30 c / L for petrol! It’s going to be rough paying close to 8 times that once I reach Turkey!

8 degrees in the morning but not a cloud in the sky!

On the road early to cover some distance!

Looking at the map it's impossible to imagine what you will find!

And it just got better and better, could not believe it...

I didn't understand him and he didn't understand me but 15 minutes later the road was cleared for us.

On my way to the base of this mountain, getting excited for the challenge!

More landscape...

It just doesn't get better for adventure motorcycling... I was in love!

BOGGED! My road tires had found their limits and the climb was getting tough.

Overlooking a small town in the valley... but the road ended soon after.

After lunch we returned to the main road and continued North, leaving the snow behind.

One last glance at the Dena mountain range!

Another city below... rest stop for some snacks and drink.

One of the many famous bridges is Isfahan, a pretty cool design!

Camp just south of Tehran, going for a personal record without a hotel!

Today I rode through Tehran, the huge capital city of Iran! The drivers here were even crazier than before (in AUS we’d call it hooning) but here everyone just does it, crazy! Up into the mountains with a camp at 2900 m... my highest yet!

2.9 KM above sea level, something you just don't get in AUS!

Fixing my phone charger, electrical issues have not stopped this entire time!

After a freezing shower under a snow-melt waterfall I rode North to the Caspian Sea. Here we met another extremely friendly local called Amin, he’s studying German and Mechanical Engineering. We had a great home cooked meal with him and my first hot shower in over 3 weeks! We stayed the night in his living room and the following morning started heading up the coast again.

Using a stream to wash my T-shirts... I'd like to think it was semi-successful!

That days riding, amazing roads...

I’m now sitting here writing this blog overlooking the Caspian Sea reflecting on my time in Iran, in the next few days I will be in Turkey. The country has been visually stunning, the people extremely friendly and everything has been surprisingly modern. Before I came here I tried to not have any pre-conceived ideas of the country, but we all know that’s impossible... either way it’s been nothing like expected and eye-opening for sure!

UPDATE: The internet stopped working at the beach and I only just managed to upload this entry a few weeks later... Next blog is the crossing of Turkey!

4000 KM so far through Iran and another 1200 KM to go to the border!