It was interesting staying with Somayeh & Mehdi. They were a lovely couple. However the jitterbug in me regretted the time in the previous afternoon & the morning not moving. I left Hamedan as quickly as possible. A bit too much so as I missed the turn off to the road I intended to follow & had to backtrack a few kilometres which immensely annoyed me at the time.
The terrain South & East of Hamedan was as it had been the previous day to the North, that is dry rolling hills. It occurred to me that it had been several days since my road had been below 1800m in altitude. I think that around 1300m is the lowest I've been in Iran so far. I contrast this with the thought that my balcony in my flat in Amsterdam would make a decent diving platform if the sea dykes burst on a bad day.
The road rose to a peak of 2100m, gently & easily done courtesy of a strong tailwind then dropped 500m over a great 10km into a wide plateau. The first part of which was the first uncultivated flat land I'd come across. There was no water about. Further along the plain was cultivated. I suppose the irrigation systems that I'd seen in many other places can carry the water from its source only so far.
I followed the quiet highway until just before it got dark & found a camping spot off the highway beside a pumping station which elevated the water in the local irrigation system. Once I'd committed to the spot I realised I had company. The farmer of one of the plots around was still at work. He wasn't the least bit bothered by my camping plans though obviously thought them odd. He offered me the use of his little hut which had a bed as well as some food. He seemed impressed when I showed him my camping & cooking setup. Shortly I was left alone to enjoy a quiet star filled night.
I cycled 123 km in 6 hours & 44 minutes
Total so far 3834 km in 53 days
GPS Coordinates of end point - N 34°36.510, E 49°20.898
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