From the Caspian to Tabriz
It has been another stunning days driving. We awoke to driving rain and wind and set off up the mountain on a steep, winding, tree lined road which, alas, had no view as we were in a cloud. We went up to about the same height as Darjeeling and it had a similar feel, apart from missing the Himalaya! We had to keep reminding ourselves that we are in Iran. Once we went over the top the difference was immediate and dramatic. The sun was shining and is was warm, dry and arid. All quite beautiful. It was very sparsely populated, just a few isolated, dusty villages.
We continued through more stunning, ever changing scenery to the large city of Tabriz, our home for the night. It has been a relatively short day and we arrived at 3.00pm, a real treat. Rally days are long and tiring. A typical day sees us up at 4.30 or 5, a quick breakfast, a raid for lunch and off. We usually drive for 12 hours, or more if we break down. Only once in 26 days have we stopped for a quick 45 minute lunch. Normally it is a packet of crisps, a snickers bar or whatever breakfast raid has provided us with. We arrive have a couple of refreshing beers, except in Iran, have dinner, repair to our room, if we have one, and collapse ready to start all over again. The one sad thing is that we are passing by so many places that I would love to explore but, with such large distances and such difficult conditions often we just have to keep moving. Even stopping for fuel and to go to the loo feels like an indulgence.
Tomorrow we leave Iran and enter Turkey, another very long day. Border crossings are always tedious and with such a large group delays are inevitable. I need to gather my thoughts about this country. It might be easier with a beer or a glass of wine once we are in Turkey. How this rally has survived three dry days is a miracle. I just hope our first Turkish hotel has stocked up.
The plucky car is behaving beautifully at the moment. We have even been through three countries without a puncture. Perhaps I shouldn't have said that!
We continued through more stunning, ever changing scenery to the large city of Tabriz, our home for the night. It has been a relatively short day and we arrived at 3.00pm, a real treat. Rally days are long and tiring. A typical day sees us up at 4.30 or 5, a quick breakfast, a raid for lunch and off. We usually drive for 12 hours, or more if we break down. Only once in 26 days have we stopped for a quick 45 minute lunch. Normally it is a packet of crisps, a snickers bar or whatever breakfast raid has provided us with. We arrive have a couple of refreshing beers, except in Iran, have dinner, repair to our room, if we have one, and collapse ready to start all over again. The one sad thing is that we are passing by so many places that I would love to explore but, with such large distances and such difficult conditions often we just have to keep moving. Even stopping for fuel and to go to the loo feels like an indulgence.
Tomorrow we leave Iran and enter Turkey, another very long day. Border crossings are always tedious and with such a large group delays are inevitable. I need to gather my thoughts about this country. It might be easier with a beer or a glass of wine once we are in Turkey. How this rally has survived three dry days is a miracle. I just hope our first Turkish hotel has stocked up.
The plucky car is behaving beautifully at the moment. We have even been through three countries without a puncture. Perhaps I shouldn't have said that!
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