Hi all,
Today was the day I was supposed to leave Iran. When Mahdi, a tobacco farmer close to Marivan lake that offered me a roof last night, saw me grab my matrass this morning, he was a bit puzzled and upset. Perhaps he thought I would stay one week full-board. I will never know as we have only 20 common words to communicate.
However I agreed to have a shower and to stay for lunch. So after lunch, dessert, tea and shisha, the car was packed and I was ready to go with a renewed library on my Ipod.
The border is less than 10km away. It is 3 pm and I hope I can clear customs and immigration on both sides before dark. Sun is shining, a cool 25 degrees and as every day, U2 opens the playlist with A Beautiful Day. After the last ridge, the border post appears just down the valley. A small twist in the stomach later (even if it is Kurdistan region, that is still Iraq after all), I am at the gate...
... And I will not go further. I have chosen a border post far too small and they cannot process my car. They tell me there is still a possibility to leave my car there and go alone but they understand quickly it will not help me to reach Belgium with my Land Rover.
The only border crossing for me is Piranshar, 250km up north. I suspected that but still tried my luck. I don't regret it as it was again another type of landscape with golden hills and small oaktrees. Just the 2 hours at night in a police station the day before yesterday to explain what I was doing in their lovely country is an experience I wish I could have avoided. This time even Marcel the Camel was of no help (Usually they think that no spy right in his mind would travel with a small camel and they are probably right and they let me go after 10 minutes).
So I am back at Mahdi's after a little tour in a nice bumpy track in the moutains. For him, there is not even another alternative than sleeping again at his place. I will do the 250km (with 100km of bad track) tomorrow. It will be Eid here (I believe it is today in the rest of Middle-East) and I hope it will not interfer with the border crossing.
It is a week day but a lot of friends and family drop by to harvest vegetables, say hello and drink tea. I trained a kid to be the tour guide of the Land Rover in Farsi, so I get there only for the unavoidable pictures.
I will keep you posted. I am sorry to tell you that my story-telling skills are far better in french than in english. These posts in english are far more factual than romanced. I hope you still enjoy them :-)
And Eid Mubarak to all my muslim friends and followers !
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Today was the day I was supposed to leave Iran. When Mahdi, a tobacco farmer close to Marivan lake that offered me a roof last night, saw me grab my matrass this morning, he was a bit puzzled and upset. Perhaps he thought I would stay one week full-board. I will never know as we have only 20 common words to communicate.
However I agreed to have a shower and to stay for lunch. So after lunch, dessert, tea and shisha, the car was packed and I was ready to go with a renewed library on my Ipod.
The border is less than 10km away. It is 3 pm and I hope I can clear customs and immigration on both sides before dark. Sun is shining, a cool 25 degrees and as every day, U2 opens the playlist with A Beautiful Day. After the last ridge, the border post appears just down the valley. A small twist in the stomach later (even if it is Kurdistan region, that is still Iraq after all), I am at the gate...
... And I will not go further. I have chosen a border post far too small and they cannot process my car. They tell me there is still a possibility to leave my car there and go alone but they understand quickly it will not help me to reach Belgium with my Land Rover.
The only border crossing for me is Piranshar, 250km up north. I suspected that but still tried my luck. I don't regret it as it was again another type of landscape with golden hills and small oaktrees. Just the 2 hours at night in a police station the day before yesterday to explain what I was doing in their lovely country is an experience I wish I could have avoided. This time even Marcel the Camel was of no help (Usually they think that no spy right in his mind would travel with a small camel and they are probably right and they let me go after 10 minutes).
So I am back at Mahdi's after a little tour in a nice bumpy track in the moutains. For him, there is not even another alternative than sleeping again at his place. I will do the 250km (with 100km of bad track) tomorrow. It will be Eid here (I believe it is today in the rest of Middle-East) and I hope it will not interfer with the border crossing.
It is a week day but a lot of friends and family drop by to harvest vegetables, say hello and drink tea. I trained a kid to be the tour guide of the Land Rover in Farsi, so I get there only for the unavoidable pictures.
I will keep you posted. I am sorry to tell you that my story-telling skills are far better in french than in english. These posts in english are far more factual than romanced. I hope you still enjoy them :-)
And Eid Mubarak to all my muslim friends and followers !
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
