After the event of the passport, scary, I started to enjoy Iran. I haven?t got many plans, just see things day by day. In Germi I found the first internet cafe, although in fact it was a bookshop, they let me use internet for free.
After checking mails, impossible to answer all of them, I continued cycling. Landscape relaxes the spirit. The owner of the shop invited me for lunch, first and seconds just meat. Nasser is 26 and is the owner of this modest bookshop. After lunch he asked me to stay at his place for a night, I had not cycled much but he was so kind....As soon as we arrived, women of course disappeared, genders are really separated in these countries. In the afternoon I did some magic tricks for them and for the kids of the suburb, but they did not understand my sense of humour, magic with humour and Coran are like water and leather, they do not get on well.
People in Iran are so warm and nice that my plans of 100 km a day were not possible. When I arrived in Meshigini it was getting dark. I found a hotel, 20 euros a night, I went near the market to find something cheaper and that is when I found the owner of the internet shop gave me the solution, you sleep in my house but first we will go for dinner (meat of course) with my friend and for an ice cream.
Houses in Iran do not usually have beds, people sleep on a mattress. Next day, put away the mattress and off to work. But, that day the back tyre was losing air. One of the glasses I came across in Georgia had done its job. That is the good thing about Iran, there is no alcohol, although my host, 43 and still living with his mum, had his alcohol bottle hidden behind the sofa!.
I changed the tyre and set off. I came across 5 guys on their bikes. They had just passed by Ahar and a man invited them for lunch and to use his shower, I also met that man but could not accept his kind invitation because Ali had invited me before. Ali, an engineer student in Teheran helps his brother at the supermarket, he took me for lunch and did not do anything else for me because I did not let him do it, it was far too much.
From Tabriz, tired and burnt by the sun and the wind, happy to keep on going, Peace and Well Being, Alvaro, the Biciclown
