Day 136 (Iran): Shuraq - Sarakhs (almost out of Iran)

daily distance: 65km
total distance: 8307km
riding time: 4h

I left Shuraq early, hoping that the wind would not be as strong. It worked … for the first 15 minutes or so. Soon enough, the wind was blowing in my face again. Seems to happen quite often when I leave a country. Same deal as in Turkey …

After a few long hours battling the wind I finally make it to Sarakhs where everything is pretty much the way things are in border towns. It is lively and happening … and then shuts down at 2pm. This is the last chance for internet uploading so I convince the internet cafe owner to let the upload of the pictures go ahead during the afternoon break. No problem. Great.

Kids pester me throughout the afternoon, people creep me out in a park and I eventually turn back to the internet cafe. No place to sleep yet. I spend a few hours there, many more than I wanted to and Siavash, the owner asks me where I plan to sleep tonight. I meant to go to a small hotel. He says no, invites me to his home and so off we are. The bike stays in the internet cafe and we have a good time with a bunch of his friends. Great ending to the hospitality I received so many times in Iran.

I have also been told that the police have found the second person, the guy from Esfahan. They have locked him up, he claims to have sold the money for a ridiculously small amount. The police have informed his family to bring the money by or he will stay where he is. Not sure what to make of it all, but hey …