Day 11: Vimercate
We enjoy an Italian coffee before starting for what we hope will be our last day of driving. It is difficult to find our way on the peripheral road of Milan. We are tensed because the traffic is terrible on the other way and we really don't want to have to make a U-turn. Turin! The signpost is here, we are saved and we recover hope. We follow our direction and we know that in a couple of hours we will have to take the Mont Blanc tunnel. We cross the Aoste valley: it is a succession of tunnels. It is a good way to get ready before the big one. We arrive at the bottom of the Mont Blanc (4707 m) the highest mountain of France. The tunnel is 11 km long and when we will see the light again we will be in France. James Blunt says Goodbye to his lover and we say Arrivedeci to Italy.
Home sweet home! We have done it: 6500 kms and we have done better than our objective: 11 days only. We are happy to listen to the French radio. But it announces heavy rains, storm and hail exactly on our way. We hurry up but are so tired that we have to change the driver often. We stop at a rest area and meet the French customs. They stop us, ask questions and open each single luggage. Did we have any problem in Iran? We are happy to tell them that on the contrary, it was a wonderful experience and that people we met were extremely nice and welcoming.
Do we carry anything: Cigarettes? Some. Jewellery? None. Money? Turkish lira, Iranian riyals, dirhams and Dollars, but sincerely nothing much. We are clear; we can pack everything back and go. Welcome to France.
55? 46? 35 km to Dijon, Elise's home town. We are so impatient. Up to now, our only technical problem was with the MP3 player? who was on strike all day yesterday. Thank God we had no problem with the car (?Titine? for intimates).
0 km, the typical Burgundy roofs appear and the streets become familiar. We arrive at the 5 rue Beranger and hoot the horn to alert our arrival. Everybody comes out onto the pavement to welcome us, reassured to finally see us physically.
The end: see you soon for another adventure and thanks to all who support us.
Day 10: Bari, Italy
Bonjourno! We unload the car and reach the highway without any custom clearance or passport checking. Aaah Europe? We are following the Adriatic coast, the sea is blue. We stop in a very nice small town for lunch. The road is quiet and highways are in good condition. It is a pleasant journey. We have planned to stop in Bologna but are there early so we decide to continue and try to reach Milan.
In fact, Elise will probably settle next year in a small town close to Milan: Vimercate. So we decide to stop by and have a look. It is an industrial area: headquarter for several multinational companies with a picturesque city centre. We try to find a hotel because it is late already and we don't want to get stuck in Milan traffic. The first hotel is fully booked and excessively expensive but they announce us that most of the hotels are full and that they are all expensive because they host mostly business travellers. We have no choice: we stay in the only hotel that has a room available. The kitchen closes in 5 min, we can not smoke anywhere, and Italy is playing semi-final tonight. Help! We take refuge in our room and go to sleep after watching Italy win their match. Tomorrow, we will be in France Insh'Allah. We will have nice dreams tonight.
Day nine: Viera
We are following the direction of the highway, but as usual it is closed. We have to take another route in the mountains. It is foggy and rainy so we travel at 30km/h on average. It seems to be the usual nightmare. In fact, Greece seems to be a big stone heap. After a couple of hours of vertiginous driving we reach Loannina which is half way to our destination: Igoumenitsa. The highway is supposed to start again from there.
The nightmare is over, we can stop for lunch. Back to the car, we search for the highway. But the direction of Igoumenitsa is only indicated via secondary road. We follow it and we end up at the bottom of a sinuous road going deep in the luxurious mountain. We stop the car, fed up to be tensed by vertigo all day long. We decide to find the highway following what the map indicates despite the absence of signs. We go back in Leonnina; the highway should be on the opposite side of the city. Finally, 20 km later, one sign shows Igoumenitsa via highway. We are so happy. But our enthusiasm is soon broken: the highway suddenly stops after only 2 km. The detour indicates Igoumenitsa: 65 km, but we don't know by which road. No choice, we have to follow it. It takes us into a tiny road going straight into the mountains. We begin to feel desperate! We stop on the side. It takes us a while, but we finally decide to go back to the first way: the secondary road. U-turn, again we cross Leonnina (if you ever need to know something about Leonnina, just ask us, we are becoming experts...) and now Igoumenitsa is indicated 92 km. Last step but definitely not the least one... The road to reach Igoumenitsa is very difficult, we are tired and tensed.
At 5.30 pm, we finally reach Igoumenitsa. We buy our tickets for the boat and promise ourselves not to come back to Greece before they build proper highways and learn to be polite. We were intrigued as well by the hair fashion: most of the young males we saw had the "hedgehog" "Iroquois" haircut, red.
We are not due to board the boat before 11 pm, 5 hours to wait. Internet, diner and playing cards help us to kill time. In every cyber cafe we went in Greece, we had to fight to make ourselves some room between excited teenagers playing network war games.
Our experience in Greece was not fabulous but it was probably due to the contrast with the great time we had in Iran and Turkey. The port looks like an airport terminal. We check in. It is much simpler and faster than it was on our journey from the UAE to Iran. The ferry enters the port at 11.30 pm, the loading of the cars and trucks starts straight away and takes less than half an hour, it is very well organised. We feel so small on the huge boat. We are also very impressed: it is exactly like a hotel with the reception and staff carrying our luggage to the cabin. Waouh, it is clean, big enough, with a TV and even a bathroom! The difference in price with the "air seats" (seats like in an aircraft) was not big. We opted for the cabin because we had to drive the next day but we never expected such comfort. We visit the boat: There are restaurants, a disco, a steam bath and even a casino. We are amazed. We are definitely too tired for anything and go straight to bed. When we wake up, we will be in Italy.
Day eight: Uzunkopru
To reach Ipsala, we enjoy the countryside of Turkey with its fabulous gravel roads. The only vehicles we cross are tractors and carts! The inhabitants seem used to seeing lost foreigners as they all show us the right way to the Greek border. To exit Turkey it is quick and easy but we are not the only ones to enter Greece. We wait behind a long queue of trucks but apparently cars have the priority and the camionors make us signs to let us know when the way is free.
Welcome to Europe! The customs guy is very rude and really unpleasant. He doesn't really understand: Two French girls in a car registered in Dubai? "What the hell are you doing here?" He asks us a lot of questions and takes a while to stamp our EUROPEAN passports. Next counter, checking of the car, everything is fine, we just robbed a sunflower on the Turkish territory!
We stop at a restaurant to buy some refreshments and a road map of Greece. Big dilemma: We don't have any Euros and they don't accept any currencies we have left with us: liras, rials, dirhams and dollars! We hope that Elise might find in her 'French' wallet some euros left from her last stay in France. There is no exchange office at the border and we have to stop in the closest city, Alexandropouli. Another problem is that it?s Sunday and everything is closed, except the restaurant. We are so hungry and each time we pass in front of one we slow down and stare at the plate with envy.
We continue on our way to find a bigger city with an ATM. As the fuel gauge is soon at the middle level, we decide to stop by a charming village along the sea where we enjoy a kebab. We regret not to know the name of this very nice place.
Our next stop is Thessaloniki where we try to find a hotel. The town is quite big and after several u-turns, we decide to leave to find a smaller city. Next stop: Veria. At the top of a hill this city looks perfect for our night break. The tariffs start to change, 60 Euros for a double room with breakfast for a hotel with no charm at all. But we are so exhausted by the Greek road.
Again we are surrounded by mountains and each time a highway exit road is indicated 2km, we find it is closed and we have to make a detour by the mountain. The road is really tiring. We are half the way to Ignoumetisa to take the boat to Italy.
Day seven: Ankara to Istanbul (but they end up in Amasya!)
We have 680 km left until we to reach Istanbul. The first half of the trip we are still surrounded by mountains, we feel like it will never end. Two hundred kilometres later, we finally find the highway to Istanbul.
Thirty kilometres later the road is closed. Detour! All the cars and trucks are in a queue, whilst we descend from the top of the mountains. Back to the highway we stop at a rest area to have lunch.
We are so impatient to reach Istanbul that we forget to watch the petrol gauge! Our first rule: If the gauge reaches half - we refill.
The red light appears just before crossing the Bosphorus bridge. We pray not to stop in the middle of it.
The view of Istanbul from there is amazing. We have been driving through the Asian part of Turkey for more than 1000 kilometres and now we are on the European side. No petrol station in sight. We stop the AC, we drive below 50 km/h and we pray.
We decide not to enter the city center of Istanbul as we think there is more chance for us to find a petrol station on the highway. After 30 minutes, we decide to take a chance and exit in Selimpasa.
Thank God, there is a petrol station 50 m in front of us. Another issue: As we run out of petrol, we do not have any more Turkish liras. Fortunately, they accept our dollars.
We decide to go straight to Edirne, the last city before the Greek border. When we enter the city centre, all the streets are decorated with colorful flags. We choose the Kervansaray Hotel for our night break.
Unfortunately the hotel is full and the receptionist tells us that a festival is going on and we won't be able to find any room.
After calling each and every hotel listed in the lonely planet, it is confirmed. Searching for another city closer to the border, we discover that there is another border post at Ipsala, 100 kms south.
We decide to follow this direction and take a chance that we will find a hotel on the way. It is already 7.00 pm, in one hour the sun will be down, we have to hurry up before its dark as we are in the middle of the countryside.
The first village (6000 inhabitants), 1 hotel on the main street, full!! We are desperate but we carry on our quest. Finally, we end up in Uzunpokru in a clean place. Just on time again for the football game, tonight France is playing against Brazil and we have supporters among the hotel customers!
The nice daughter of the hotel manager brings us a meal plate, delicious!
As in every single place we've been in Turkey, they offer us very very hot and strong tea to welcome us. Turkish people are very warm and friendly.
Tomorrow Greece, other places, other people, other culture, let's see!
Day six: Erzurum to Ankara
After discussing with the hotel manager, we discover that there are two different routes to go to Ankara: One is an hour longer but the road is much better and the landscape nicer - we opt for this one.
After 200 kms, a policeman stops us and tries to explain something that we can't understand. He draws on a paper and finally we got it: the road is closed because stones have fallen from the mountains.
He draws also a kind of map with the names of villages we will have to cross. Another man joins the conversation and explains to us in something approaching German that the road is bad and our tyres are going to be "Kaput"! We do not know what to expect, maybe it is better like this.
Two kilometres later, we begin up the rise of a mountain, Elise stops in the middle of it, shaking. She suffers vertigo. The road is vertiginous and sinuous. We have now see the head in the clouds.
A heavy fog encircles us, we do not have any visibility at 1 m and on the top of it rain starts. We are now at the top of the mountains, but our martyrdom is not finished we have to drive all the way down facing tight turns, horning to alert the drivers coming the other way of our presence.
Down, we arrive at a crossroad, we don't know where to go, fortunately a police car is there to show us the right way.
After all this tension and the delay due to the detour, we decide to stop at Amasya and avoid Ankara. We do not know what other surprises might occur and we don't want to drive at night.
One hundred kilometres later, Amasya, it is 4pm - the detour was worth it. Amasya is a quiet town along a river (Yesilurmak).
We end up in a charming pension in a restored mansion authentically decorated with low lying beds and typical carpets all over the floors. We have a walk in the city centre - what a pleasure to have dinner on a terrace.
At 8.30 pm, the night falls, we go to bed as tomorrow we have to reach Istanbul to make up for the time we've lost.
We have already driven 4000 kilomteres.
Day five: Tabriz to Erzurum
Waking up is difficult but we have to be at the border early as we don't know how much time we will spend there. 280 kms to reach Bazargan, the Iranian side of the border. As soon as we arrived at the first gate, people are running after the car to exchange any money we want, to wash our car... The custom guys guide us through the only two offices! First they check our passport then the mini and stamp our carnet de passage after a quick look inside the car. Apparently they love the Mini! It takes us less than half an hour to cross the two portals between the two countries. Turkish side: same process, same time. Finally it only took us one hour to cross the border! As at our arrival in Bandar Abbas, we enjoy a saucisse sandwich.
We are now driving on the Turkish roads which are quite surprisingly far worse than in Iran. Sometimes without any notice, the road becomes a gravel track. We are again driving through the mountains, the landscape and the colours are wonderful. The driving attitude is better than in Iran, the drivers respect the signs more but really the roads are terrible!!!! The hands contracted on the wheel, our four eyes fixed on the road trying to avoid the enormous holes to not leave a wheel there!!! The driving is so terrible that we have to take turns at the wheel constantly.
We reach Erzurum (280 kms) at 2.00 pm, 4 hours of driving. We decide to spend the rest of the day there to make a real break for the first time since our departure. We enjoy walking on the pavement with a fresh breeze and tasting a doner kebab. Finding a hotel in a city using the Lonely Planet map only is always difficult. This time a policeman kindly guides us. The hotel looks a bit obsolete. In the room there is one king size bed and a normal one, who will get the chance to sleep in the big one. Let's play cards to select the lucky one. Elise won that one! It is time now to go to bed as tomorrow we have to drive more than 900 kms to reach Ankara.
Day four: Tehran to Tabriz
Our first proper breakfast and what a feast! Today we are going to Tabriz, our last stopover in Iran. The only way for us to get out of Tehran in what we hope to be the right direction is to follow a taxi. Fortunately for us all the road signs are in both Farsi and English and all the cities are well signposted. Waiting at a traffic light, a nice Iranian man ask us where we come from and we have only 72 seconds (there is a meter at each traffic light) to answer him before being horned at and pushed. When speaking with us, he told us that he was in France last month in a city called Dijon, the world is so small! Dijon is the home city of Elise! We are very happy to find the highway for Tabriz even if the road is full of surprises, mainly natural holes and bumps! Many people are waving to us nicely on the way, what a warm country!
The landscape is now slightly different: greener, there are even forests! The weather is cooler compared to the south of Iran. We lost almost 15 degrees, we drive with the windows wide open, we feel like we are on a small countryside road like in France.
The only road going to Tabriz, is passing through high mountains (Mt Sahandhuk - 3707 m - Mt Sabalan - 4811 m), we cross typical villages on mountainside.
The route from Tehran to Tabriz (680 kms) took us 8 hours because half of the way was small roads in the mountains and to overtake a truck is really a pain!
In Tabriz as usual people show us the way and this time we are more lucky as the driver's best friend (his volleyball coach more precisely) is managing a hotel. We have coffee with them and they offer to guide us around their hometown but we are so exhausted that we have to decline.
Tomorrow we have to wake up again very early to be at the Turkish border around 8.00 am in order to be the firsts in the queue! We have a great dinner, the best since our departure and sweet dreams of Iran. All our fears are very far now, Iran is a really nice place to visit. We are confident about the coming days and we hope that the next country Turkey will be as welcoming as Iran.
Day three: Bandar Abbas to Tehran
We set off for Sirjan. The road is busy with trucks. The Iranian way of driving is simple: No rules at all. We arrive in Sirjan at 9am and stop at a small market to buy water and fruits. A little girl is looking at us with questioning eyes, we know that communication will be difficult but a smile comes to her face when we give her sweets and pens. Back in the car, heading towards Yazd, half way to Tehran. Driving, driving... into a surprisingly monotonous desert surrounded by arid mountains.
It was 11.00 pm when we finally saw the lights of Teheran. We have done it!!! 1300 kms in one day. Arrival in the capital is really something: Driving there is worse than a nightmare. Red lights? Forget it. Lines? What for? Our horn and concentration are our best allies. Imagine yourself, exhausted, searching at night for a place to sleep where everything is written in a language that you do not understand. Fortunately, people are extremely friendly, patient and helpful. The best way to be understood is to speak with hands and as the city is labyrinthesque, the easiest is to follow someones car and try not to lose him in the crazy traffic. We arrived just on time to watch the French team playing the world cup with pizza and coke. And France won, what a day! Usually when you tell someone you are French the first name that comes is Zinedine Zidane and we were quite surprised to hear Nicolas Sarkozy... 1 am the same night, we are awake since 4 o'clock this morning. Exhausted, we finally go to sleep.
Day two: Hormuz to Bandar Abbas
With the lights back on, everybody wakes up slowly and stands in the queue for breakfast. On the menu: tea, bread, carrot marmelade and cream cheese.
At 9.30am, we enter in Bandar Abbas port where everybody rushes to the door to touch the ground after 15 hours at sea. Passport checking is quick and easy but typically, when we ask how to get the car back, somebody asks us to sit down and wait. Like our experience at the port in Dubai, we go from office to office with the help of a very nice Iranian called Ali.
Five hours later, when our helpful savior finally tells us "khalas," you can go get the car, we end it up with the tickets for two cars: ours plus a nice Lamborgini which was next to the mini on the boat. We decide our mini will be more comfortable.
Ali takes us to various local insurance companies where we sit and wait. We have long negotiations. The first proposal was $200 for six months. Twenty minutes later we get six months for just $115, before finally negotiating $46 for one month.
It is now too late to leave Bandar Abbas as the way to Sirjan sounds ?very very dangerous.? Suleiman who issued our insurance policy decides to show us Iranian hospitality and takes us to all the places we need: money exchange in a mall that has nothing to envy to Dubai's Karama, a travel agency for a map (only available in Arabic) and finally a hotel.
We decide to leave Bandar Abbas at 5am the next day to reach Teheran, an 18 to 20 hour drive.
Shower is a paradise, throne toilet a benediction and the sleep is a gift of god.
Day one: Dubai to Bandar Abbas
We departed from Mirdif with an air of uncertainty. The last-check-call to the ferry company is stressing our last minute preparations: we were supposed to load the car in the morning ?! We jumped in the mini fearing the Sharjah traffic jam: direction Port Khalid.
After two hours of driving around the port, we eventually managed to get the car boarded on the ferry and after another hour of queuing in the immigration office, a bus took us at the ferry "Iran Hormuz 12" at 5pm.
On the boat, we are comfortably settled and have had dinner. The multitude of children seem very at ease and very happy about their journey.
We are gaining experience of the head-scarf, observing more experienced people in order to understand how this thing can stand still on the head. It seems that every single lady is spending a lot of time readjusting it.
We received a lot of smiles already, even though we can't communicate as much as we would like because of the language limits. An Iranian lady already invited us to stop by her place but unfortunately it is not on our way. In the boat we feel as if we are already in Iran: currency, time, TV, language... After eight and a half hours the car meter is still showing 29 km. 5471 km to go, we are not there yet!
The lights of the UAE are now behind us, the shop is closing, the lights are slowly going down, inside the cabin, the children are getting tired, everybody is trying to prepare his night comfortably rocked by the floods of the Gulf Sea.
