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Thursday
10th September
Quite thankful to get up, we set off good
and early after a chi in
Tabriz. Reached the Turkish border about 12:00, but with a 1
½ hour time change we left it at 11:30. Magnificent view of
Mt Ararat, which stands way above everything else, rather like
Kilimanjaro, which makes it the logical place for the ark.
Stopped fairly soon for a first ambrosial
taste of Turkish coffee and
ended up having a full lunch. We were hoping to make Erzurum, but fell
about 60 miles short. Camped in a deserted valley. I slept in the van,
to try and stay warm. I'm not sure the others believed me, as they
hunted wolves near here!
Friday
11th September onwards
The daily diary runs out here, so a brief
summary of the remainder of
the trip follows.
We spent a day or two in Istanbul, so George
could pick up the
meerschaum pipe he'd ordered and I could find a nice sheepskin coat.
We spent a pleasant evening in Zagreb. I'd
finally been able to contact
Gordana, but, as she had a boyfriend, we spent the evening mostly in
the company of two friends of hers whom I also remembered from
Cambridge.
We detoured, at Mike's suggestion, to Bled
(in Yugoslavia) –
which was every bit as beautiful as he had promised. (Footnote
– I returned there with Pat, this time by motorcycle, a few
years ago – write-up ).
We called in on our moules-frites
man in Ostend to present him with a little cup that we'd brought back
with us, as requested, from India. He was utterly bowled over, and
insisted we go back to his place to meet his wife.
Finally, we ended up back at Trottie's. The
odometer read just a few
miles over 15,000 more than when we'd set out. I found the bed I'd been
given too soft, and had to sleep instead on the floor – a
lovely thick carpet, just the job!
I've been boring people about my "trip to
the Punjab" ever since.
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