Tag Archives: fog

Part 15 – Wanaka, our (last) best hope

The weather this morning matched our mood: It was raining, fog was hanging everywhere. Still, we had a shower and (freshly cleaned up) we had a mission. Today, we would use the charged starter battery for as long as it would run, no stopping, to make it as close to Wanaka as we could get. At least halfway, so that the AA would have to tow us to Wanaka instead of back to Haast.

The first half felt quite tense. It was also hard on the kids, especially Number 3 was worrying a lot. After Haast pass, the tension started to ease…we would definitely be towed to Wanaka now. Also, we left the clouds and the rain at the west coast. Going down along lake Wanaka, the sun was shining. Oh, Wanaka, why are you so pretty?!? I was quite sad that we couldn’t stop at any of the lookouts or walks, it all looked so wonderful in sunshine. We crossed over to Lake Hawea which was equally marvellous.

We got something better though. Timmy lasted us all the way to Wanaka! We even managed to get a powered site at a campground before the battery was completely drained. In the end, trusty Timmy got us the 140km to where we needed to go. As we had to get here in one go, it was only lunch time. It being Sunday meant that we had a whole afternoon in Wanaka to fill with sunshine and fun before any workshops would open up again tomorrow.

That’s what we did. We hung out at the lake, had a splash, relaxed and treated ourselves to a lovely dinner at Kai whaka pai in town.

Monday morning came around. Now we needed a real fix for Timmy. Our hopes sank again. Nobody was able to check out our problem with the motorhome until the middle of next week. By this time, I already needed to be in Dunedin to research. Around 10am, Flo’s luck in talking to any mechanic in a 50km radius was turning. A workshop in Queenstown offered us an appointment on Wednesday! Not nearly what we had hoped for but much better than waiting for another week. That settled things…we would spend another day in Wanaka, today, and then go to Queenstown tomorrow. Two days in Wanaka and two days in Queenstown sounded like a holiday rather than a wait for a mechanic.

Since it had gotten very cold overnight (seriously Wanaka, 27 degrees yesterday and then just 2 degrees at night? What is up with that?), we spent the morning in Puzzle World, walking the gigantic maze and doing the 8 illusion rooms. In the afternoon, the kids spent a lot of time on the playground and we walked to see #ThatWanakaTree.

In the evening, the kids befriended another German kid on the campground’s playground so that we had lovely company and good conversation for a good long while. 🙂

View towards the mountains from our campsite in Haast

Day 292 – Aras River Valley

No snakes or other big creepy crawlies to report in the grass

Our camp spot remained hidden until we had packed up in the morning. All that we left behind was a patch of flattened grass…and an allan key that Flo luckily discovered when he rode Rocinante out of the meadow. From here, it was another 130km to Babak Castle which we wanted to see. The first moment of joy came early when it was confirmed that the nasty noise from yesterday was indeed the chain that was too loose.

Riding in the morning, up in the mountains was cold but beautiful. We made good progress and arrived in Kaleybar, the village next to the castle, around 11 am. I felt like the whole vilage smelled of freshly baked bread. We stopped to try and figure out how to get to Babak Castle as there was no sign in the village so I hopped off the bike to buy some of that fresh bread. The bread here is still a flat bread but much thicker than the usual sheets and reminds me a ot of Turkish flat bread. Asking for two loafs, the baker gave them to me for free, still warm. Thus, we both had a bite of warm, fresh bread and were really keen on lunch soon.

up in that white blob would be the castle

Up the mountain side, we found the path that leads up to Babak Castle but the whole top was in clouds. Not wanting to spend an hour hiking up, paying the entrance fee and then hiking back down for no views, we decided to skip the castle. With just a hint of regret, we moved on. At least we have done the Assassins’ Castles in Alamut Valley.

Going over the mountain range, the weather got worse. It didn’t rain but the clouds were hanging really low. The visibility got incredibly poor; to me it looked like a range of three meters. Many cars stopped (why don’t Persians turn their lights on in bad conditions?) but it was too cold for that so we slowly rode on. It remained this way until we got back down on the other side where we greeted the sun enthusiastically and stopped for a great lunch break.

Real borders are strange. left Iran, right Azerbaijan

Entering the Aras River Valley from the east, we rode towards Jolfa. The river seems to be the natural border between Iran and the neighbouring countries: First you ride along the Persian side of the river with Azerbaijan on the other side which, after a while, becomes Armenia instead. The river valley with its towering mountains to both sides is quite the experience. When it is flat enough, locals sell their honey and fruits on the road side but mostly, you see watch towers and guys from the army keeping an eye on the border…if you see anyone at all.

Walking towards the main building of the monastery

Following the river for 120km, we reached Jolfa which is the border town with Armenia. It’s not a touristy place but quite industrial and the amount of Turkish goods available increased drastically. We didn’t stay but only stocked up on food before heading out to the St. Stephanos monastery, an Armenian church that is a Unesco World Heritage Site. The ride there was beautiful, just interrupted by a police check point, and the site itself was rather busy with Iranians. Many decided to have a picnic in the wider monastery as only the main building has an entrance fee.

This is well preserved

The church has been renovated and is pretty from the outside. Especially the southern courtyard with its blooming roses makes for a good place to spend some time. The inside is less well preserved and there were scaffolds around so maybe it’s not finished yet. While wandering around, we got quite a few requests for photos again, but one lady also offered to take a picture of the two of us.

Leaving St. Stephanos in the evening light made for a pretty ride. Some of the mountains looked red now and I tried to take photos without getting the police check point on it (which I nearly did). This time, we just passed through Jolfa to get fuel. It was getting late so we set the GPS to our next destination, the city of Tabriz, and left. About 20km out of Jolfa, we found a great camping spot off the road where we had a view of the hills and Flo cooked a delicious dinner. We only attracted the attention of one shepherd who promptly had his flock of sheep circle us once so he could have a look. Sheep are the ultimate eating machines; it was so noisy when the flock passed our tent.

: No snakes or other big creepy crawlies to report in the grass

: Totally inconspicuous

: off we go, northbound

: again, high peaks on the horizon

: up in that white blob would be the castle

: Still going through lush green landscape

: Authentic ice cream 😉

: getting closer to those clouds

: who needs visibility, I have Chutzpah!

: Looming cloud like the fog monster in Lost

: Down there and then to the left we go

: great spot for a break and to warm up again

: picnics are the best lunches we have in Iran (Shiraz excluded)

: The namesake river in its valley

: Real borders are strange. left Iran, right Azerbaijan

: Not much traffic except for Azerbaijani trucks bypassing Armenia

: It got dryer and steeper

: … and also much warmer.

: One can see the train line on the former Soviet side

: High peaks far on the other side

: Not this time …

: Walking towards the main building of the monastery

: Looking towards one of the renovated wings

: The main chapel

: Well-meant but the roof has been cut on this

: Time for a rest in the shade

: This is well preserved

: A well preserved Armenian cross

: We think these might be for/by beneficiaries

: The sanctuary on the inside

: Looking up into the dome

: Two of the preserved angels in the corners

: The portal looks like a mosque’s one would

: The stoning of St. Stephanos and a cross window in the back wall

: Time to leave

: Red mountains

: Meadow with a view

: Last glimmer of light…

: …while a huge moon rises on the other side

: Camp in twilight

: Woolen visitors with an appetite

Day 291 – Thick as a brick

Our awesome view was almost entirely replaced by fog and rain

As we got up in the morning, we sure got a load full of what Iranians come here for: Thick fog and drizzly rain. We got up a bit early since our guesthouse owner insisted, three times, that we would leave at 8 am. Everything was done, packed and ready to go onto the bike – yet no guy and thus no passport anywhere in sight. We made the best of it and got the bike loaded up. When it was all done, there was still no one to be seen. I gave him a call in the end and I am pretty sure I woke him up, that joker.

Almost an hour late and packed like little Michelin men we hopped on the bike to brave the rain. I briefly considered taking the pass from here to Tabriz, but a quick inquiry revealed that it was unsealed. Not something I’d like to tackle in the cold and wet. That meant back to the Caspian Sea and due north instead.

Sorry for the creepy look. That’s what you get for trying to take pictures in the pouring rain!

Nina’s comment: We stopped shortly in the first village that we reached from Masuleh: Fouman. Already on the way in I had seen posters of a particular kind of pastry everywhere. Now, on the way back, I bought two of them to try. It’s a pastry filled with a cinnamon paste that is eaten warm and it was just the thing to try when you ride through the rain. By the time we thought of taking a picture, even Flo had bitten into his. The boy who had sold me the pastries saw what we were doing and ran out into the rain to give me a free third one so that we could take a picture of a whole one. So freaking nice!

The forests are so wet that fog escapes from them into the sky

The ride along the coastline was much the same, but at least with fewer towns and tacky tourism than yesterday. Repeated showers hit us from a clouded sky in regular intervals while we made good progress towards the pass to Ardabil. We did briefly consider to stay at the coast, but we were still itching for some more km (and better weather).

The pass was a dodgy affair in the rain and with heaps of weekend traffic. It got even more disconcerting when we hit the cloud level and visibility was reduced to 25m at times. Even this did not stop some Peykamicazees to barrel on at 75 km/h. I was mostly worried with how slippery the road was.

Another round of emptying out the puddle

It was a big relief to hit the top and come over onto the Ardabil plain. Just, that it was cold, so very cold. It got better for me when I drained my left shoe for the second time of the day and ran some laps to heat up.

Back on the bike, a noise that started this morning got me more and more worried. A metallic rattle when accelerating. It was a bit hard to pin down, since it only sounded in gear under load. All potential loose screws were checked but nothing could be found. When we started looking for a camp spot, I got one more clue and it was horrifying. I could feel a rattling crunch via the gear lever, further narrowing the scope. Some loose part in the gear box? 1000 km before the border? Nothing could be done for now though, so we continued our search for the spot while moving towards the next item on our “to see” list.

Looks like the perfect environment for camping

The third try was the charm this time. After a beautiful site that unfortunately was always in view of the road and another one that had a settlement nearby, we scored. A little orchard tucked about 100m from a bend in the road provided perfect cover from prying eyes and the deep grass made for a great camp spot. It was quite cold though, as it turned out after dinner.

Regarding the bike, I went to bed thinking I might have dodged a huge bullet, though. While doing one last thorough check and opening the front sprocket cover to check for damage there, I noticed scratch marks on the chain. It was loose! Like, really loose and it looked like it had scratched a lot today. Come to think of it, the last time I adjusted the chain was in Sohar … idiot that I am. Let’s see. Tomorrow’s first kilometers will tell.