Waifs, strays & Christmas dinner
25-04-2010
As our journey continued in an westerly direction we found ourselves thinking about the mundane chores that needed to be done and were now logistically becoming easier due to our proximity to Europe. 
Tyres were needed for both machines and a drive chain and sprockets for mine (Pete), so a large shout out to the global motorcycle communities and along came David, a UK expat living in a beautiful mountain valley 20 kilometres from the Mediterranean town of Kas. 
Not only did David arrange with his local bike shop to have the required tyres shipped in from Istanbul, personally stumping up the deposit until we arrived so they would be waiting for us, he also contacted an expat friend who was, at the time, in the UK asking her to take delivery of the drive chain and sprockets, be the mule and bring them back to Turkey AND he and his wife Juliet took us two waifs into their home (full of stays) for a week and let us kick back and enjoy a superb holiday from the holiday. 
A chance conversation over one of Juliet's many meals brought up the fact that being in Goa for Christmas had one (but important) aspect missing, dinner, so on April 22nd 2010 we all sat around the dining room table and had a full blown Christmas feast, including proper roast potatoes, homemade stuffing and sausages wrapped in bacon, the finale being a flaming Christmas pud with brandy butter, YUMMY. 
David being a keen off road motorcyclist only added to the pleasure of staying with them, taking us out and showing us the mountain trails and back roads. On route we had fresh river trout, soaked up village life and took in the gorgeous views of the turquoise coast. 
David being a keen off road motorcyclist only added to the pleasure of staying with them, taking us out and showing us the mountain trails and back roads. On route we had fresh river trout, soaked up village life and took in the gorgeous views of the turquoise coast. 
The route we took in Iran caused us to come across a great deal of building works and the remains of a distinct lack of it. The war between Iran and Iraq had certainly left it's mark along the Persian Gulf, but the people we met seem to be moving on and taking advantage of the economic success the country is experiencing at present (in some cities by charging us rates we would have expected in a reasonable hotel in central London.)
Bit of a disappointment really, UNESCO had got their hands on it 
These images are better than reality 
but we had a good picnic 
with a nice view
Landslip on the Black Sea Coastal Highway 
Feels like we're on a 2 week holiday still