Miyandoab

The comforting pitter patter sound of rain of the previous night became annoying in the morning. The ground around the tents was muddy & extra care needed to be taken to keep dry things dry.

Sebastien was having a bad morning, he had pedal problems & the replacement of his well worn old chain was a nightmare. Unfortunately he'd left the old one on too long & had ruined his cassette, which required him going back to Tabriz to get m new one.

Left alone again I headed South on a gray day. The scenery probably would have been nice had it not been cloudy but as it was there was nothing really to see.

At lunchtime I arrived at the town of Bonab. I decided that I wanted dizi again so when a car pulled along side to take a photo of me I asked where the nearest place for dizi was. The photographer, a mulla in full robes, hopped in a shared taxi & guestured that I follow. A short ride later he gets out & takes me into a restaurant, orders for me, pays the chef & leaves. So much that stereotype that Iranian mullas are all about fatwas, stoning & hanging.

I continued on & arrived at Miyandoab where I found a small vegetable market. Before I had a chance to purchase anything a small crowd had gathered around, one of whose members could speak English. I asked him where I could buy chicken pieces. His uncle had a poultry farm & lived just down the road. One thing led to another & shortly I was sitting in his home chatting with his family who could speak English. It was wonderful Iranian hospitality! They fed me & gave me a nice insight into the life of an Iranian family, with the mother, 2 sons, daughter & nephew that I'd met at the market. I left with a bag full of chicken & kebab meat. To top it off when I went back to the market to get vegetables none of the stall holders would accept money from me.

I had to rush out of town & just managed to find a place to pitch my tent as it got dark.

I cycled 86 km in 5 hours & 26 minutes