Tuesday, November 29, 2011

I did it !


Shame on me, I didn’t give you news since the 24th of September.  Thanks to all the people that ask for news.  And my apologies for not having been in the mood for writing.  I arrived in Belgium on October 2nd, after 2 months, 12600 kilometers and 17 countries.  Family and friends were on the main square of my hometown to welcome me.

I am writing from a shisha place that I discovered in my town.  I heard my engine roaring again today (better than ever) and I received the green light for my Iranian visa.  So I am in an excellent mood.  It has not always been the case in the last 2 months.

I planned a pit-stop of 3 weeks here to see some friends and service the car before hitting the road.  Unfortunately it has not been that straightforward.  The engine was pretty worn after 22 years of service and more than probably lack of correct maintenance at times.  Since Kosovo, I was running on 5 or 6 cylinders instead of 8.  It was not only a carburation and ignition problem, but also a totally worn camshaft.  So it took me already one month to find the places with availability, skills and fair price to do the jobs. 
And you know how it is when you want to change the curtains : “Maybe we could also repaint the walls in that nice yellow.”, then “Well, if we do these changes now, why not increase the height of the door, we always wanted to anyway.”  And you end up with three times more work at five times the expected budget.

It was exactly the same here : “As we took the engine out, we might as well have a look at the cylinder heads” then “Since we opened the cylinder heads, we might has well have a look at the pistons.” Then “You know, since we opened the engine, it would be a pity not to change the rings and have a look at the conrods bearings”.  And it went on and on.
So I have now a totally renewed engine.  Maybe not a bad idea after 22 years of service, but maybe at a wrong timing financially speaking.  I hope at least that I will have now the sensation to drive a F-16.  Let’s see.

The visa for Iran was another story.  I expected a 2 days process like in Dubai.  But from Europe I needed an approval from the Ministery of Foreign Affairs that arrived only today after 7 weeks (note to travellers : If you fly to Iran with a European passport, you get the visa on arrival).

It has been pretty frustrating to be only 2 months out of 8 on the road (Even though I spent 2 amazing months).  I started my trip at the worst time.  Camping along the Gulf shore on the first days of August is not something I would advise to my worst enemy.  And I will start the way back at the deepest of the winter…  At least I am sure I won’t see too many tourists on the way.
These 2 months in Belgium have not been quality time.  I was on call everyday for my car, working in 3 different places, driving to get parts everywhere, as far as in Germany.  So I could not plan anything else.  You know how it is, as an expat, when you go back home, you have a schedule that even prime ministers don’t have.  I have never been so long back in Europe, and I have never seen so few people.  Pretty frustrating… 

Now, I can really start preparing the car for the way back and I hope to be on the road in less than 2 weeks time.  When I see Emirates cargo planes landing at our small airport, I start feeling homesick.  Either in Singapore, Bangkok, Atlanta, Lagos or Cape Town, when I climb in an Emirates plane, I feel already home. 
So I don’t have any bottlenecks left before I can start travelling again.  I can’t wait to be back on the road, enjoying amazing landscapes with good music in the ears.  Depending on the weather, I will cross rapidly all these mountain ranges that separate Europe from Asia to reach quickly the deserts of the center of Iran.

I will let you know.