Sweden-Tibet-Australia

Back to Sweden

2009-02-17T15:47:00.005+01:00

Since we have had some communication problems, the blog has not been updated as frequently lately as planned. We are sorry about that.

A lot has happened since then and we promise to write more about all our adventures before mid March.

Since the latest update we all visited Tanzania and Malawi. Lina, Richard, Oliver and Tuvalie left back to Nairobi, Kenya and stayed for x-mas and New Year in Nanyuki. They are now back in Sweden. Lina is working (!) and they are expecting another little one in May =)

Tanja, Luka, Pia and Milan drove through Zambia which is where they celebrated x-mas with the hippo's in a very special camp site in the South Luangwa National Park (http://www.flatdogscamp.com/). New years eve was spent in Livingstone close to the Victoria falls. In Botswana they drove through Chobe National Park, Kalahari and in South Afrika they went as far south as possible with car.

The nice pictures taken on family Poznic's amazing adventure from Kenya through Malawi, Zambia, Botswana and South Afrika will be published here when they arrive in Sweden. Now the pictures are in a container together with the Defender 130 getting closer and closer to Rotterdam/Holland.

Thanks to Stena Lines we will be able to finish as we began the trip from Sweden in February last year; going with their nice ferry from Kiel to Gothenburg.

In the beginning of March we will all be back in Stockholm and the 13:nth to 15:nth of March we will attend “Vildmarksmässan” in the National Exhibition Centre in Älvsjö, Stockholm.

See U there =)

Kenya

2008-11-18T20:14:00.009+01:00

As we left Ethiopia and headed for the Kenyan border it was pouring down with rain. Not the best of situations since we knew the road we had ahead of us would be quite a challenge anyway. We were going to travel the toughest road since the start of the trip, a 240 km long stretch which is commonly known as the bandit road. There had been some reported problems of hi jacking and theft and part of the road we would be accompanied by a military. So this was a distance we wanted to do as quickly as possible, but the rain would certainly slow us down. At on part of the road it was so bad, one bus and one truck had been stuck in the mud for two days. As we tried to pass Pia and Milan slid down into the ditch and go stuck as well. With some help of sand ladders and a Kenyan who knew how to dig we finally got out and with mud up to our ears we could continue the nightmare road. The second day was drier but equally as challenging, especially for the poor cars. On corrugated roads we battered the cars going not much faster than 15km an hour. Even so we had to stop to let Lina and Richard´s shocks to cool down slightly, they were not appreciating the treatment. The 240 km to get us down to Isiolo and some tarmac roads took us all together 16 hours!

Finally, out of the mud. /Pentax

On the way to Samburo national park. /Pentax

After these rough days on the road we decided to visit Samburo National Park for some game viewing. It was a beautiful place and the children’s first encounter of some African wildlife. Although Luka kept asking if we would see a hedgehog (!) and Tuvalie was most excited by a squirrel with a blue tail (- We have to phone home to mormor and tell her we are in Africa and I have seen a squirrel!) the rest of us were pretty amazed by the elephants, giraffes, buffaloes, zebras and antelopes... We spent the night by the pretty river inside the park listening to lions roaring as we had our dinner. The next morning we got woken up by groups of baboons and vervet monkeys climbing the cars in search for leftovers. The baboons are rude monkeys that grab every opportunity to steal food and we had a couple jumping into the boots of the cars grabbing bread and bananas until Milan chased them away with his baseball bat.

Sunrise in Samburo. /Pentax

Enjoying the scenery. /Pentax

One of many elephants in Samburo. /Pentax

Baboon waiting for an opportunity to steal food. /Pentax

Giraffes on their way. /Pentax

As we had a couple of days before it was time to go to Nairobi to pick up Pia’s parents we wanted to stop by in Nanyuki and meet up with our Swedish overlander friends, Gustav and Kina. Gustav we had met at a show, Resedagarna, in Stockholm, when we were all camping in Kungsträdgården. Gustav and Kina had started from Sweden in June in their yellow defender 110 and they were now staying at a friend’s place in Solio, Nanyuki. As we arrived at Annie’s place we were warmly welcomed and treated to a wonderful and much craved for barbeque. At this point we were all pretty fed up with the canned food and pasta and at Annie’s place we felt just like home. We ended up spending quite a few late nights drinking whiskey and talking. We also got a chance to visit Solio Rhino Park together with Edward, Annie’s friend and owner of the park, a beautiful area with loads of wildlife and over 150 rhinos in it. After some memorable and fantastic days at Annie’s it was time to move on and get to Nairobi to meet up with Pia’s parents, Marja and Alvar, who were going to spend three weeks with us.

Looking for Rhinos in Solio. /Pentax

Sunset in Solio Rhino Park. /Pentax

Together with Kina, Gustav and Annie. /Pentax

With Nairobi as a base we headed off for some more safaris. Firstly we travelled north to lake Navasha where we had a great boat tour on the lake, getting up close to some hippos. We then continued up to Nakuro Lake Reserve, full of birdlife and other wildlife, where we spent one night in the reserve. Back in Nairobi again, Lina and Richard are facing some car problems. The vacuum pump has given up so the breaks are nearly non-existent. So Pia and Milan, Tanja and Luka, Marja and Alvar all squeeze into the 130 and head off for majestic Masaii Mara and then for a few luxury all-inclusive days by the coast whilst Richard and Lina stay with the children in Nairobi.

Getting canvas car seats fitted from our new sponsor. /Pentax

Tuvalie on lake Navasha. /Pentax

Marja and Luka getting ready for some hippo safari. /Pentax

A hippo family. /Pentax

Oliver. /Pentax

Flamingos by lake Nakuro. /Pentax

An ugly buffalo. /Pentax

A pretty zebra. /Pentax

View over Nakuro national park. /Pentax

Sunset in Masaii Mara. /Pentax

Getting close to a sleepy lion. /Pentax

Lunch in Masaii Mara. /Pentax

Alvar, Tanja and Luka enjoying the coast. /Pentax

Tanja after a few hours in the pool. /Pentax

Pia’s parents have now left us and we are all back here in Nairobi giving the cars some long needed service and seeing through. The plans are a bit vague as for where we will go afterwards, Uganda, Tanzania or for some further travelling around in Kenya? One thing is for sure, we will remain in Nairobi for another week or so before it is time to move on...

Ethiopia

2008-11-04T19:48:00.005+01:00

Ethiopia is a country we have mixed feelings about. We met a lot of friendly people here, but also some of the most hostile individuals so far on our journey. We had heard stories of stones being thrown at you along the road and although this only happened to us once, we did not always feel as welcome as we had been in other places. However, we also met some of the most interesting people in this contrasting country.

We were surprised by the beauty and the greenness of the country. The scenery as you drive through is wonderful and not quite what we had expected. As we crossed the border from dusty, hot Sudan we were welcomed by a long awaited rain. I did not think I would miss rain so much!

Driving in Ethiopia is no problem. The roads are good and there are hardly any cars as everyone walks everywhere. You have to watch out for wandering cattle though, that don’t seem to have any traffic safety sense what so ever...

We ended up rushing through the country though, since we had to get to Nairobi for Pia’s parents arrival on the 22 October. Something we regret to a certain extent, since we feel the country has a lot more to offer than the short glimpse we got. Two weeks and it was time to move on to Kenya...

Welcome to Ethiopia! First fuel stop. /Pentax

Rain...rain, glorious rain! /Pentax

Annual festival in Gondor. /Pentax

Visiting a monastery in Bahir Dar. /Pentax

Everywhere people on their way somewhere... /Pentax

Beautiful scenery! /Pentax

Curious ethiopians. /Pentax

Steep slopes on the way to Addis Abeba. /Pentax

Tuvalie's fourth birthday in Addis Abeba. /Pentax

Fellow overlanders from Germany by lake Langano. /Pentax

The father of Pia and Milan's three new foster children in Aswan. /Pentax

White Desert, Egypt – Khartoum, Sudan

2008-09-23T23:19:00.008+02:00

White desert by night. /Pentax

We reached the White desert late in the evening in complete darkness. The white desert is supposed to offer unique scenery and strange rock formations but all we could see was the stars and the sand track in front of us. After driving around on sand tracks with dead ends trying to find the camp site, we realised we could just camp anywhere. Waking up in this magical place is a dream like experience, and the fact that we arrived in the dark made it even more amazing. We would have liked to stay a day here exploring this strange but beautiful landscape but unfortunately we had to move on. We only spent one night in Luxor and much to our disappointment we had no time to see all the interesting ancient sites such as the Valley of the Kings, Karnak and the Luxor temple. We had a boat to catch…

Where have we just landed? /Pentax

Oliver. /Pentax

An amazing sand pitch! /Pentax

Tuvalie in the white desert. /Pentax

Strange rock formations. /Pentax

To reach Aswan, where the boat leaves from, you have to go in a convoy from Luxor. At eleven we all met up to start the journey (two police cars, three buses, us and an English family we met already in the Sudanese embassy in Cairo. They, Martyn and Tanja are traveling with their two children to south Africa). The convoy sped through all the check points and small villages and we struggled to keep up with the pace.

In Aswan, it was time to deal with the dreaded task of organizing our ferry crossing to Sudan. The easiest and most common way to do it is via a agent. We contacted mr Mohammed Abuda who helped us out with all the paperwork. Firstly, you have to hand in your Egyptian number plate and confirm with the court that you have not committed any traffic offense whilst in the country. It sounds simple enough, but in reality it means that you have to visit five different offices in one building, two offices in another building and then back to the first office you where at to get your final stamp! Half a day later we were ready to buy our tickets for the 16 -24 hour long journey. (We set our minds on 24 uncomfortable hours. Since we were late buying our tickets we only managed to get one double bed cabin to be shared between the eight of us. Cosy!)

The boat was to leave in the afternoon the next day (no exact time) and we were told to be by the boat at 9:30 am in order to leave enough time to do further paperwork and load the cars that were going on a separate pontoon. Few things seem to be really quick and easy in this part of the world. An hour late we turned up to get our carnet and passports stamped and around three we got on the boat. Richard and Milan had to wait by in the sun for their turn to load the cars on the disturbingly overloaded pontoon. They teamed up with a German biker, Claus, who also is heading for south Africa. Two hours in the heat they finally squeezed the cars on in between boxes of sunflower oil, refrigerators and tomatoes. It was quite an interesting sight, and with a concerned mind we saw the heavy pontoon steer away as we were still hanging around by the port. (The pontoon travels slower and would arrive a day later.) Finally around eight our boat left the harbor. By this time we had already spent five hours trying to entertain four children in an 8 square meter dirty, but luckily air conditioned, cabin, and we still hadn´t travelled a single meter… With the children asleep, maybe not in the cleanest of sheets, we had a chance to wander around the boat for a bit. Which proved to be almost impossible since most floor space is covered by luggage or people resting. Most passengers do not travel as luxuriously as we did, and many travel on the top deck where they all roll out their carpets for the night.

Yes, our cars are supposed to get on there somewhere... /Pentax

Loaded! /Pentax

After a cramped night we woke not entirely refreshed but happy to hear that we would arrive in Wadi Halfa around lunch time, at least six hours earlier than what we had expected. Once off the boat there is quite a procedure you have to go through with customs, transport, hotel and security registration. Luckily we had an agent also here helping us out with all this so everything went very smooth. Together with Claus and two other travelers we met on board (Andy and John, both from England) we checked in to a simple hostel and waited for our vehicles to arrive or the train to depart

Richard and Milan spent the next day watching the sunflower oil, refrigerators, tomatoes and everything else slowly coming off the pontoon whilst the cars remained. Lastly, at around six in the evening they were allowed to drive the vehicles off the emptied boat, only to find out that the customs office had closed for the Ramadan breakfast and that they had to come back the following day to pick up the cars. We came to the conclusion that probably some “backshish” (=bribe) to the captain would have saved us the long wait and the extra night in the hottest hotel room on earth…

We all somehow liked Wadi Halfa, a village with nothing special to it that comes alive only two days a week when the ferry from Egypt arrives and departs again. Maybe it was because of the friendly Sudanese, the laid back atmosphere and the endless numbers of tea ladies lining the streets. We were finally in Africa and it felt good. Like a relaxing haven compared to hectic and, to be honest, quite exhausting Egypt.

Feeling at home in Wadi Halfa. /Pentax

On the Thursday we set off south along the Nile road towards the capital Khartoum. Our first goal was a small village south of Abri, where we were going to drop off a Sudanese guy, Ahmed, we met on the boat. He was returning back home after four years in Egypt. The roads in Sudan are not great to say the least. For eight hours we battered the land rovers through an incredible mixture of corrugated roads, dusty trails, and deep sand tracks. We had been warned that Sudan would be incredibly dusty but had not understood how dusty something can get....

Ahmed's village south of Abri. /Pentax

Our guest room. /Pentax

The local shop. /Pentax

Ahmed, back home after four years in Egypt. /Pentax

Ahmed's neighbors. /Pentax

More neighbors, relatives and friends. /Pentax

After a very pleasant and cool night in Ahmed´s brother´s house we were looking forward to another day of mistreatment to our cars. But by now the Land Rovers started to protest, and in a way that would hit us hard. The air conditioners decided to pack up. Lina and Richard could luckily get theirs working again after removing a couple of kilos of fine dust that had found its way in to the electromagnetic plates. But Pia and Milan had lost all their gas because a pipe had finally rattled lose. So, with windows down they had to continue through the heat with an unbelievable amount of dust getting in absolutely everywhere.

With one AC broken down, we decided to go all the way to Khartoum, although it was too long a drive really. Around midnight, after fifteen hours in the car, we reached the, despite the late hour, buzzing city and camped at the Blue Nile sailing club. The next day was spent cleaning the cars… as was the next.

After two terribly hot nights in the tents we moved to a youth hostel, which turned out to be a good idea since we had the most rain since the start of the trip that night. We now have organized our Ethiopian visas, done a lot of cleaning and washing and seen hardly anything of Khartoum. All packed and ready we set off towards the Ethiopian boarder tomorrow, together with John and Martyn, Tanja and their children.

Pia and Milan's AC decided to give up. /Pentax

Dust and sand and open windows... /Pentax

Petra, Jordan – Cairo, Egypt

2008-09-23T21:52:00.009+02:00

Luka´s getting a kiss from a friendly camel. /Pentax

We´ve just left hectic Cairo and are heading towards Luxor. The desert road does not offer massive variety in scenery. Desert, desert, desert and the odd broken down truck or bus on the side of the road… We can now happily track every move we make with Iridium satellite tracking, usb GPS and Touratech. Once again we find ourselves puzzled over how time seems to just disappear. We have less than a week left on our 30 day Egyptian Visa and end up having to rush trough the Valley of the Kings and Luxor. On Monday we plan to take the weekly ferry to Wali Halfa in Sudan. So, what have we been up to for the last month?

Petra was simply magical. Walking through the narrow gorge leading to this hidden ancient city is an unforgettable experience despite the busloads of tourists. Petra was built in the 3rd century BC by the Nabataeans in a hidden valley completely concealed from the outside world and all the temples and tombs are carved out of sandstone cliffs. The Nabataeans where Arabs who controlled the trade routes of the region in pre-roman times and all the great caravans passing through from Damascus to Arabia with spices, silk and slaves had to pay taxes and protection money. Petra is believed to have been abandoned in AD 555 due to several earthquakes and was left a secret until the early 19th century when a Dutch explorer discovered the mythical city.

The magnificent entrance to Petra. /Pentax

Tanja and Oliver in Petra. /Pentax

After a whole day of wandering around this fascinating site (We worked out we walked 30 km in that day and Tuvalie impressed us all by doing 15km herself!) we were pretty exhausted and although people say you can spend days exploring Petra, which is probably true, we were all quite content with the one day. Dusty, sweaty with aching legs, tired children and one broken buggy we were extremely happy to pay a ridiculous amount of money for a cold beer. On the second day Pia and I took an alternative route in to Petra (not really open for tourist unless you have a guide, which we didn´t) whilst the rest of the gang recovered from the previous day by the poolside at the camp.

Getting a ride back after a long day walking. /Pentax

Tired Tuvalie and Oliver hitching a ride on a donkey in Petra. /Pentax

After Petra our next destination was the desert National Park Wadi Rum. We had a great time driving around this extraordinary desert landscape and only got stuck once. We camped all alone in the middle of the desert and got invited for tea by our Bedouin neighbors a few rock formations further down. A picnic on a rock watching the changes in the scenery as the sun set was a perfect ending to a perfect day!

Stunning scenery in Wadi Rum, Jordan. /Pentax

Picnic in the sunset, Wadi Rum. /Pentax

Pia admiring the view. /Pentax

Richard climbing the rocks in the desert. /Pentax

Luka waiting for his hommos and olives. /Pentax

From Aswan we took the ferry over to Nuweiba in Egypt. We did consider going through Israel to avoid the costs of the boat crossing but since some countries in the Middle East and Northern Africa (Sudan, for example) do not let you enter with Israeli stamps in your passport or carnet we decided not to risk it. Instead we finally got into Egypt after eight hours of ticket buying, paper handling, passport stamping, boat travelling, paper handling and pass port stamping (again) on a ferry that really should take roughly one hour! And it costs too…

Camping 20 meters from the reef in Ras Mohammed national park, Egypt. /Pentax

In Egypt we wanted to spend some time just relaxing by the Red Sea and decided to go separate ways for a week. Richard and Lina headed south for Dahab and then Ras Mohammed National Park, whilst Pia and Milan went north to Basata, a camp/resort that turned out to be a little paradise. We spent the week snorkeling on the reefs and building sand castles. Pia and Milan had a broken vaccum pump to replace and Richard of course had his usual weekly need to empty out and reorganize the entire car, but apart from that we didn´t do anything too exhausting. Pia and Milan met us up in Ras Mohammed national park where we decided to spend a few more days snorkeling and building sand castles. We just can´t get enough of the wonderful and amazing world under water. And Ras Mohammed National Park is probably one of the best places in the world to enjoy this. We camped in a designated area where only campers and researches were allowed, no tourist buses or boats, so we had the place pretty much for ourselves. Luka got hisown set of goggles, snorkel and fins and was splashing around like a mad fish. Both Tuvalie and Luka almost swim by now (and Tanja likes to think she can J)!

Tanja can almost swim! /Pentax

Let´s leave the washing up until later. /Pentax

Underwater wonders. /Pentax

Exploring the deap blue. /Pentax

Milan watching the sun rise on top of Sinai mountain. /Pentax

Beautiful view from Sinai mountain. /Pentax

One day we went into Sharm el Sheik, the city by Ras Mohammed built only for tourists. It is terribly over exploited and with little charm but Richard and Lina wanted to show Pia and Milan their favorite place from when they were here in 2003, a restaurant/beach/bar/club on the tip of Sinai. Unfortunately, just as we were leaving after yet another day mostly spent in the water Luka had an accident in the playground. He had, not only what we first thought knocked one of his front teeth out, but broken part of the bone on his upper jaw. After a long night at the hospital with anesthesia, operation, a replaced bone and a few stitches a dizzy Luka awoke with the comment - I want to have as many eyes as you have, mum.

With a good prognosis and instructions to only eat fluid food for a week, to stay out of the sand and dust for a couple of days and to stay still (! not easy for a four year old) brave Luka left the hospital with two relieved and tired parents. We had to pack up the camp and check in to a hotel in this tourist town. After a couple of nights in a ran down place, which happened to be exactly the one Richard and Lina stayed in five years ago, we swapped for a much nicer, all inclusive resort for another two nights.

By this time Ramadan, the Muslim holiday and month of fasting, had started. For us that meant that we should avoid eating and drinking in public out of respect (children excluded, of course) and it would be hard to find restaurants that serve food between dusk and dawn. And generally, everything will be a bit quieter and slower, since many people spend the hottest time of the day resting. At sunset the places come alive with all the people gathering together for the Ramadan Breakfast. Sometimes we felt it was a little unfortunate that we timed our visit to Egypt with Ramadan, although it gave us a nice opportunity to experience an important religious event, a lot of the places and cities we visited seemed dead and deserted.

On a camel (again) in front of the pyramids, Cairo. /Pentax

We then headed for Cairo, a week or so later than we originally planned. We saw the pyramids, of course, which was quite amazing. But apart from that, none of us seemed too much in the mood for sightseeing and instead we spent a few days dealing with practicalities such as: getting our Sudanese visas, seeing the dentist (for Luka) and servicing the cars. We also spent a couple of evenings with old Egyptian friends (Pia and Milans colleague with family from KTH in Stockholm) and newly made ones (a family Pia and Milan got to know at Basata camp in Sinai). We have found that the nicest and often best way to get to know a country and its culture is by meeting and spending time with the people, and not so much through the tourist sites.

After almost a week we said goodbye to Cairo, an ugly, dirty but strangely fascinating city, and headed for the desert and Luxor.

Happy mechanics in Cairo. /Pentax

Turkey (again!) - Syria - Jordan

2008-08-08T15:10:00.001+02:00

Here is finally a short update of what we have been up to lately. A lot has happened and we have seen many beautiful places (and countries!) in the last couple of months. After three wonderful months in Iran we returned to Turkey where we stayed for two weeks to do some repairs on the cars and see places we missed the first time we passed through.

We spent two weeks in friendly Syria after getting our visas without problems at the border. In Palmyra we found the best camp site one could wish for... plenty of shade, a nice pool and right next the magical site of Palmyra. And after that we spent quite a few days in Damascus, since it was simply the nicest city we all have been to.

Jordan next. Another country that we did not have any expectations of. And yet again have we been overwhelmed by friendly locals, beautiful scenery, interesting history and some adventure. We would like to come back to Jordan another time, to spend more time. After a few days in Petra we are now heading for the desert and the nature reserve Wadi Rum. We hope to spend a couple of nights with the bedouins before we continue to Egypt...

Back in Turkey again! Enjoying the beautiful sunset and a very much looked forward cold beer in Dogubayazit. /Pentax

Tuvalie, Oliver and Richard doing some geocaching in Mt Nemrut, Turkey. We camped right by one of the five crater lakes in this amazing volcano, the Green lake. Also called the hot lake since it has several hot springs where the volcanic gas still bubbles up. /Pentax

Camping with our Dutch friends and a week long travel companions Saskia and Sjef. By Lake Van in Turkey. /Pentax

The Poznic family ready for the steep climb into the crater of Mt Nemrut, Turkey. /Pentax

Hasankeif, Turkey. This old village with unique historical and architectural value is one of many in south-east turkey to be covered in water in seven years time, due to an extensive dam project. /Pentax

Tuvalie is reading a story for Oliver at the camp in Nemrut Dagi, Turkey. /Pentax

Richard under the grape vine in Nemrut Dagi, Turkey. /Pentax

Milan, Luka and Tanja fighting the wind on top of Nemrut Dagi, Turkey. /Pentax

These amazing stone heads and man-made peak of pebbles (believed to be an old tomb) can be found on top of Nemrut Dagi, Turkey. /Pentax

Fellow overland traveler from Sweden? /Pentax

The impenetrable crusader castle Crac de Chevalier in Syria – the castle in every child´s dreams. /Pentax

Some odd looking speed bumps on the road to Palmyra, Syria. /Pentax

Just another morning in the tent for the Poskitt family! Palmyra, Syria. /Pentax

Sunset in Palmyra, Syria. /Pentax

Camels with tourists in Palmyra, Syria. /Pentax

Camping and swimming right by Bell´s Palace in Palmyra, Syria. /Pentax

Luka in the ruins of Bell´s Palace in Palmyra, Syria. /Pentax

Just outside Umayyad Mosque in fantastic Damascus, our favorite city so far, by far! /Pentax

Richard’s off for some water activities in Wadi Mujib, not only the lowest nature reserve on the planet but a great play ground too! Jordan /Pentax

Pia is bopping around like a cork in the salty Dead Sea, Jordan. /Pentax

One of many fantastic views along King´s Highway towards Petra, Jordan. /Pentax

This is where we are now! Enjoying some wine by the poolside, getting ourselves prepared for some serious hiking in Petra, the ancient “forgotten city” in Jordan. /Pentax

Wild Turkey

2008-08-08T15:05:00.001+02:00

From Yazd we drove to Esfahan where we met some friends which we got to know during our previous visit. However, the two days left on our exit VISA forced us to move on to Tabriz early next morning. The border crossing between Iran and Turkey was very smooth, although we overstayed our Carnet (car document) by roughly two months. In fact it took less than one hour to get in to the Turkish side where we spent much more time than we thought. The reason being that Milan and Richard went to acquire a Turkish car insurance but found a duty free shop full of beer whisky and other liqueurs J. Imagine that after 3 very dry months. With the fridge fully loaded we speeded to a previously visited camping in Dogobayazit. Everything was perfect except a small worry which had been growing in Pia’s and Milan’s mind since we left Tabriz. Car trouble...

From Tabriz the Defender 130 has developed both a ticking noise from the valves and a sign of a problem in the rear axle. A valve adjustment solved the ticking problem, at least temporarily as the two valves which were completely out of tolerance were both working on the same cylinder and this may indicate future trouble, but let’s deal with that later. The rear axle problem turned out to be a very worn out driveshaft which had to be replaced. It turned out to be a small hassle to get the parts, mainly do to the extreme overprizing from the dealer in Istanbul who wanted 500 euros for a driveshaft inc. postage. It would have been much cheaper to by the part in UK and have it sent by express couriers and in fact Richards father kindly bought the part for us and was on his way to send it. However, some phone calls later (sounds easy….) the part was on its way from Ankara for less than 50 euros. Waiting for the arrival of the parcel, Richard and Lina decided to move on by themselves to later meet up in Urfa.

After a few days the parcel arrived and so did some friends which we previously met in Yazd. It was the Dutch couple with their dog on their way back home after an overland trip to India in their fantastic Landrover camper. Pia and Milan had a couple of late evenings with their new friends and the purchases from the duty free shop. On the morning at which Pia and Milan were supposed to move on Milan woke up very very early for some reason and thought he will have a nice peaceful morning. After making a strong Turkish coffee he sat down beside the car to enjoy the view when a weird sound interrupted the quietness. “What the hell is that?” was the first thought. The source of the sound was getting closer and now originating from around the back of the vehicle and getting louder. The appearance of a huge Turkey put a smile on his face as it was not an unknown Turkish monster as he briefly had considered. In less than a microsecond the smile changed simultaneously into a shout, jump, run around the car and climb up on the ladders to the roof tent. The wild Turkey attacked!!!

The bloody animal destroyed the morning completely. Everybody where sleeping, except Milan who was the only victim the thing apparently could think about. Every movement he made the turkey ran back the few meters of distance it had given to the stranger. The 20 meters run to the shower would have left Carl Lewis scratching his head on the start line in the Olympics, at least that was what went through the head of a shocked person who had far to much whiskey for his own good the night before.

The not so friendly Turkey. /Pentax

Iran, Shiraz-Yazd-Kharanaq

2008-06-26T08:43:00.008+02:00

Luka. /Pentax

Oliver and the 17th century shaking minaret. /Pentax

Tuvalie and friend. /Pentax

Tanja and Pia in Kharanaq. /Pentax

After the decision to change our route to Africa instead, we all feel quite relieved, excited and very happy. Although it means some back tracking, we can now concentrate on enjoying ourselves with not too many worries. We all thought we would have a smooth and fast departure out of Iran, towards our new destination, but once again Iran seems to hold a grip of us…

We passed Yazd on our way back towards Tehran and turkey and decided to go for a slight detour to a village called Chak Chak, the most important Zoroastrian pilgrimage site in Iran. We were hoping to see the annual festival for which thousands of pilgrims gather, but we just missed it by a couple of days. Chak Chak houses a fire temple and one of the few remaining Zoroastrian eternal flame (the fire is said to have been burning for 4000 years). Since we were not allowed to stay the night (only Zoroastrians are) we headed on towards Kharanaq.

Chak Chak in the middle of the desert. /Pentax

The fire temple in Chak Chak. /Pentax

Kharanaq is a beautiful village where parts are believed to be more than 1000 years old and it´s been occupied in some form for more than 4000 years. Some restoration has been done but many buildings are unfortunately deserted and falling down. The views are spectacular though and we enjoyed just wandering around along the ancient irrigation system and getting lost in the old parts of town.

Beatiful Kharanaq. /Pentax

We planned to stay for one night but once again our stay was prolonged by an accident. Our travel companion Chi got hit by a motorcycle and injured her knee, so we had to visit the hospital and stay a couple of days in order for her to rest. Since both Chi and Linas and Richard´s Land Rover where in desperate need of some further maintenance (x-rays and new universal joint) we all headed back to the city Yazd.

We are now in Yazd since almost a week, and Milan has damaged his eye once again (!) and not allowed to leave until the doctor gives us permission. This time it is slightly more serious and Milan has to go for daily checkups in order to make sure the infection does not get worse. So, until Milan gets better we try to enjoy our days in the old winding mud alleys and colorful bazaars. Lina and Richard have taken the opportunity to improve their car slightly, by adding an AC and an extra fuel tank for example.

We just hope we will all be in good enough condition soon (both cars and passengers) in order to continue our travels, now towards Africa!

Slight change of plans…

2008-06-26T08:41:00.000+02:00

Back on the mainland, we were all quite exhausted by all the turns at the immigrations office and the news from Pakistan. We had to reconsider our route now, since none of us were that excited about going into Pakistan after the last couple of incidents in Islamabad. Also, after our three month stay in Iran the weather conditions in both Pakistan and India are not exactly ideal… 50 something degrees and aver 70 percent humidity. And then the monsoon... Unless we limit our visit to the mountain areas only, our stay would most likely be somewhat unbearable. And we didn´t really want to rush to south east Asia, since this area would also be too hot and humid to enjoy.

So, one alternative would be to go north through Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, and Kirgizstan but that route would either take us through China, which we know involve a daunting amount of paper work and money, or through Afghanistan which we did not know if it were possible at all. Our initial option of shipping from Bander Abbas to India did no longer feel like an alternative. Too hot, too much paper work and money and to be frank, we all had enough of bureaucracy for the time being…

A third alternative, and one that had kept popping up a number of times during our journey so far, was to go to Africa instead. We know, it´s not quite what we had planned initially. J But after meeting a number of overlanders coming from this direction, and others coming from the Indian/Pakistan direction, we all thought that Africa would be more pleasurable, less hassle with paper work and Visas, no shipping (!) better climate and a more laid back atmosphere. (For Richard and Lina it is also somewhat like going home… ) So there we are, Africa it is! Our somewhat altered route now goes something like this: Turkey (again), Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa. So, for all of you who plan to visit us somewhere on the way, we really hope to see you in Africa instead!

Iran, Kish no 2

2008-06-26T07:47:00.010+02:00

So, here we are, one month later and we are still in Iran! We ended up staying a lot longer than planned on Kish Island due to a number of incidents…

1. Oliver stood on a scorpion and had to be rushed off to the hospital. No damaged done though. Luckily for him, the scorpions on Kish are not so poisonous. After an injection he seemed to have more energy than ever! He is now nick named Scorpion Boy.

2. We bumped into Mohammed, who works as a diving instructor on Kish. Pia and Richard were offered to go for a test dive and after that we all decided to get a PADI open water diving certificate. Kostas and Chi kindly offered to look after the kids whilst we did our intensive four day course. A good reason to stay for a couple of extra days we thought…

3. On day three of our diving course Tanja managed to poke Milans eye so badly so he had to postpone his last dive. After a couple of turns to the hospital (again) his eye finally healed enough for him to finish his course as well.

4. It was now time for the turtle eggs to hatch. Originally we thought we would miss out on this but by this time we had extended our stay for so long, we might as well wait for a couple more days for the chance to see the little turtles dig themselves out of the sand.

5. Our visas were expiring and in need of extension. This proved to be harder than we thought, but after quite a number of turns back and forth to the immigrations office we managed to get a few more days in order for us to get back to the mainland where we could extend our visas further.

All in all, five or so days ended up in a three weeks stay. Towards the end, we were all quite desperate to get of this Island. We felt as if we would never leave… But looking back, we had some incredible time and unique experiences on this strange Island. For some of us it was first time breathing under water! Diving is just amazing and we cannot wait for the next bit of coast on our journey where we can test our skills.

Tuvalie and Richard having some fun on the beach. /Pentax

Richard and Pia getting ready for their first dive. /Pentax

Tanja is testing out Oliver´s swim aid. /Pentax

Luka´s found yet another interesting crab! /Pentax

Mourning procession on the death day of Fatime, Prophet Mohammed´s daughter. /Pentax

Inside the great mosque on Kish Island. /Pentax

By the green tree, where people come to tie ribbons around the branches for good luck. /Pentax

And we did manage to see those tiny little turtles with a lot of effort digging themselves out of the sand and scurrying down towards the water. Such cool little characters…! One night turtles had hatched outside one of the fenced off areas so we were all searching the whole beach with torches helping the lost turtles into the water. The waken nights and lost sleep was definitely worth it. And we made some friends for life! The guys at the center for monitoring and protecting sea turtles are like family to us now. Almost for three weeks they let us stay with them, they cooked for us, played with the children and shared their work and lives with us. Hamed, Ali, Camran, Arash, Hossein - we do hope to see you sometime, somewhere again!

Newly born! /Pentax

Getting some help into the water. /Pentax

Just crawled out of the sand. /Pentax

Another close encounter with a turtle. /Pentax

Hamed, Camran and Ali. /Pentax

Preparing the catch of the day for barbecue. /Pentax

Iran, Yazd – Persepolis – Kish

2008-05-26T09:26:00.015+02:00

Pretty neighbour at the parking lot in Yazd. / Pentax

Yazd is one of the oldest, still inhabited cities in Iran and is home to the largest Zoroastrian community in the country. Zoroastrianism was the main religion across the Iranian plateau before Islam and it was one of the first religions to have one supreme god. Yazd turned out to be a very interesting and pretty city with its mud houses and narrow lanes, but very hot and with few places to escape the sun with the kids. After another couple of nights at the parking lot of the silk road hotel , we made friends with a couple from Holland traveling overland to Malaysia. They were going to drive north in search for some nomads to camp with since this is the time of the year when the nomads move from the lowlands to the cooler highlands. They inspired us to change our plans slightly and instead of rushing towards Pakistan, we decided to go south towards Kish Island in the hope of bumping into some nomads. Kish Island, we were told, is quite a paradise, where foreign women and men are allowed to swim together without the woman having to wear chador (cover and veil). After four days in dusty, hot Yazd we were longing for the beach and some snorkeling… Costa and Chi would continue with us. We all wander a bit how it will be when we finally separate, now they´ve become like family members…

On our last night in Yazd we camped by the Towers of Silence. This is where the Zoroastrians used to place their dead for the vultures to take the bodies. According to their belief cremating or burying the dead would pollute the air or soil. They stopped doing this in the 60´s and now the 5500 remaining Zoroastrians in Yazd bury their dead in the small graveyard next to the towers.

Camping by the towers of silence, Yazd. /Pentax

This is where Zorastrians used to put their dead. / Pentax

Driving south from Yazd in the lookout for nomads we soon realized that we probably missed them. By this time most of them would have headed further up north, towards Esfahan because of the heat. So with no nomads in sight we turned off the desert road to camp in a small oasis village about 200 km north of Shiraz. We met a very friendly farming family that let us camp on their grounds. After a refreshing, cool night we continued south…

Some curious bikers in Firuz Abad. /Pentax

Friendly farmers. /Pentax

Next stop was Persepolis, an ancient site of the Achaemenid empire. This city was built between 518 BC and 400 BC and was the place where people came to pay homage to the kings during New Year. Persepolis was burnt to the ground in 330 BC by Alexander the great. We camped right by the ancient city, and had a long walk around the magical and fascinating grounds.

Persepolis. / Pentax

We continued further south and given up our hope to find nomads we got to Firuz Abad, where we spent one night by the ruins of Ardeshir´s palace. The ruins show what is thought to be the earliest examples of a squinch, which is what the domes rest on. After a morning wander around the palace, we started our, what was going to be a very hot and sweaty, drive to the coast. With over 40 degrees in the car and warm wind in our faces reaching the coast was like driving into a wall of humidity. The change is quite drastic as you get to the Persian Gulf and as there was no breeze by the sea we were all quite desperate to get into the water. (Pia and Lina still in their clothes however).

Costa and Chi measuring and taking notes of Ardeshir´s palace./ Pentax

Desert, desert, desert... /Pentax

To find out how and when to get to Kish Island took us a day or two and after finally finding a friendly captain with a ship that would take us without charging over price (they don´t seem to be so used to foreigners going to this island by car) we departed Bandar-e-Charak very late at night. We had to wait (for about six hours!) for trucks to load onto several ships before it was our turn to go. An estimated midnight departure turned into three o clock and with four sleeping children and six very sleepy adults we were finally on our way. We all tried to catch some sleep on the boat and arrived to Kish at 6 in the morning. At the port we had to wait for another of couple of hours for the immigrations office to open before we finally were released onto the island.

We soon find out that the so looked forward to foreigners beach had been closed down. Pia and I were now directed to the women´s only beach which is the only place on the island where women are allowed to swim. Not quite the paradise we had thought! Very disappointed it was however quite an experience to go to this beach where security is more strict than on any airport. No cameras or mobile phones are allowed, they search through the bags (and body!) carefully, and guards walk along the surrounding walls with shock guns in case of unwanted intruders. Inside is like any beach apart from the no men bit, and here women are free to wear bikini and no head dress. There is a life guard that whistles very angrily at you if you swim too far out (which Pia and Lina did all the time : ) ) or too close to the edges…

Beach bums! /Pentax

After a couple of days on the island were introduced to the Center of protection & monitoring of sea turtles. Sea turtles come to Kish to lay eggs right around this time of the year. To have a chance to see the turtles we camped by the little hut on the beach where they have guards 24 hours a day monitoring the turtles. Two years ago people would dig up and eat the eggs and they still do if they get a chance.

On the first night we had no luck even though we all stayed up half the night. But on the second night we actually got to see a Hawksbill turtle lay her eggs! It is so incredible to have seen it in real life. For one and a half hour we were watching this turtle digging, laying eggs, carefully covering the eggs in sand and slowly disappearing back into the water. We are now here by the Center of protection & monitoring of sea turtles for the fourth night and we´ve been lucky enough to see one more turtle. Tired however from the lack of sleep (it is now 3:18 and Costa is doing a last search on the beach) we spend the days on the beach or in the cool shopping malls which is not so bad. Today we managed to find a secluded beach with a cove where we all could swim together. (Feeling a bit like criminals however since it is strictly forbidden.) The day after tomorrow we will leave Kish and head for Bam, and Pakistan two weeks later than we originally thought.

By the center of monitoring & protection of sea turtles. /Pentax

Heading back to the sea after laying eggs. /Pentax

Iran

2008-05-10T17:43:00.014+02:00

After Lina and Pia had changed their western clothes to something more appropriate we entered Iran a month ago. Crossing the border was no problem. Since then we have visited a number of places, a lot of nice people and learnt a lot about a country we knew hardly anything about - and a lot of what we thought we knew is not as we thought =)

Pia enjoying her new outfit in the Tabriz bazaar (Pentax k10d)

The first stop we made was in Tabriz, where we stayed two nights and arranged with the car insurance. At the place we stayed we met a guy called Costa and his wife Tsi. He is originally from Greece and she from Japan. Costa has been travelling for eighteen years, including living one year naked at New Guinea. The stories he can tell…! Since then they have been travelling with us, Tsi in Richard and Lina’s car and Costa in Pia and Milan’s.

Costa and Tsi showing us where to go in Indonesia (Pentax k10d)

We stayed two nights in a park in Zanjan on our way to Tehran. It was meant to be one night but due to the cue for diesel we had to stay one more. The diesel, by the way, is 1 Euro for more than 100 litres =).

Queing for diesel. 1 euro for more than 100 litres :) (Pentaxk10d)

We where recommended by some people we met to stay at the Shrine of Imam Khomeini where there is a nice park, 24 hours toilets and subway into the city. We had to arrange with the visa to India so this seemed like a perfect place; two of us could stay in the park with the kids and two go in to Tehran. The place, however, is a very religious place. During our stay people tried to get us to put our kids in the Islamic school by giving us water, juice and cakes – a lot. Richard ended up in a tent with a young guy and his five doves. He wanted to “guide” Richard. Different place and probably not representative for Iran, but we had many interesting conversations and met many friendly people. We even had food cooked for us in the park one night.

Unfortunately there has been too much time spent on the Indian Visa. First they didn’t want to issue one. After we mentioned that we were filming, they said they will consider issuing them and that it will take a month… to be continued… We stayed in Tehran four nights and then we left to go to Kashan.

The myth says that the three wise men travelled from Kashan when they heard Jesus was born. The city is also known to be a very nice place with different architecture. We stayed outside the town, at a place called Fin Garden. The place to be, we noticed. The actual garden is located at the end of a long street. Along the street, on both sides, there is water from natural springs which they also have lead to a park area where you can sit in the shadow and have picnic. Having picnic is however the national sport. They have picnic everywhere at all times. The Iranians love their parks and so do we. Wherever there is a park there is clean toilets, sometimes showers and tourists are allowed to camp everywhere. Very social. We first stayed four nights in a parking place, in the upper corner as far away from everybody as we could for privacy. It did help but despite the fact that we thought no one would spot us the drove across the empty parking to take pictures of the children… We spent time in the garden, at the bazaar of Kashan, bought water pipes (which we by now are totally addicted to) and visited a home where we got served tongue. Milan and Richard got their hair cut by Costa and his trimmer and now they only have about one centimetre of hair. Tsi and Costa stayed two nights in the house of an Iranian family. The fifth night in Kashan we where invited there as well (all ten of us!) to stay in their house and have dinner. The house is situated in Kashan, near the centre and is very nice. There is hardly any furniture and beatiful carpets on all flours. You eat on the flour, drink on the flour and sleep on the flour. Brilliant! We stayed two nights there. Amazing family, we really felt welcome. The first night we had dinner and then went for a night picnic at 2000 m height.

The kids playing in the fingarden, Kashan. (Pentax k10d)

After totally seven nights in Kashan we decided to move on. We stayed one night in Abyanesh, a village with houses that looks a little like ginger bread houses and is UNESCO World Heritage. Pia got very tired of wearing a peace of textile on the head in thirty degrees. This she could not change so she consulted Costa and his trimmer. We are now three happy, not so hot, skinheads =) From Abyaneh we went to Esfahan – the most beautiful and historical city of Iran according to many Iranians. This we can confirm, not that we have been everywhere, but it is one of the nicest cities we’ve been. We stayed at a parking place by a park for a week. Here we met some other overlanders and again we heard that Pakistan was their nicest experience along their route and in particular the Karakoum highway. Talking to the Pakistan official on the phone, he explained that there is no need for all the family members to come to the embassy in Tehran to apply for the Visa. So the last three days Lina and Pia was left alone with the kids since Milan and Richard had to go to Teheran to arrange with the Indian and now Pakistan Visa. Pia and Lina spent the time having lunch at nice Iranian families home.

Luka walking around in Abyanneh

Tuvalie in the Imam mosque, Esfahan (Pentax k10d)

The first mission in Tehran was to get the Indian paperwork fixed. After some time of inpatient waiting at the embassy we got to meet the man who has no power, as he quickly stated himself. We were then send to his senior, who we did meet a week ago. He explained that he also don’t have any power to deal wit this question and therefore he set up a meeting wit the person who is powerful enough to help us. This very friendly man was sitting behind a huge desk on which his title was written. This was the consulate general. After answering a few of his questions he smiled and picked up the phone and explained to the man we just met that we were basic tourists that have ended upin a diplomatic spin. Soon after we had the stamps in our passports. Pakistan next. When Richard and Milan turned up at the Pakistan embassy, after travelling all night by train, the same person who they talked to on the phone asked where the wives and kids where. When he was told that they are still in Esfahan and referred to the phone agreement he became very arrogant and explained that it not possible to interview people who are not here J. Richard and Milan had to go back to get the rest of the families as the first had to service the cars. Back in Tehran, all eight of us stayed in a sheep hotel. The whole procedure took longer than expected (as usual) and we ended up spending four nights there.

From Tehran we drove to Yazd staying one night on the way in Esfahan. Yazd is the oldest living city in the world! We now live at the parking place of the Silk Road Hotel and will stay In Yazd two more nights after which we head towards the border of Pakistan via Bam and Zahedan.

Lunch in the desert on the way to Yazd (Pentax k10d)

And then some refreshements (Pentax k10d)

We will hopefully get back to this country one day. The people are amazing, so friendly! We have so many new friends that hopefully will visit us in Sweden.

Turkey, Dogubayazit/Diyadin

2008-04-08T23:19:00.015+02:00

Tuvalie and Luka inspecting stones outside the Ishak Pasa palace, Dogubayazit. /Pentax

After staying a few days in Erzerum to pick up our visas for Iran, we continued to Dogubayazit - a town about 35 km from the Iranian border. This is said to be a popular place for overlanders to meet, passing to or from Iran but we did not manage to meet anyone...

The nearby Ishak Pasa Palace is one of the most famous landmarks of eastern Turkey. The day we decided to go and visit it it was closed. Instead, as we arrive we are welcomed by a film team busy making a couple of kurdish music videos. They immediately wanted to film the children and, later on, Pia and Lina were dressed up in kurdish folk dresses and filmed. Who knows, in a couple of months we might all appear on TV in a kurdish music video..? We ended this perfect daytrip with some kurdish folk dance in the sunset.

Admiring the view. /Pentax

The film crew made use of our Land Rovers! /Pentax

The recording of a music video with the Ishak Pasa as a backdrop. /Pentax

Pia and Lina in Kurdish folkdress, and sandals... /Pentax

Milan and friends dancing in the sunset. /Pentax

After a couple of nights camping in Dogubayazit we went in search for somewhere nice to spend a couple of days waiting for a package from Sweden. We ended up in Diyadin, the highest situated town in Turkey about 70 km west of Dogubayazit. Diyadin, which is mainly a kurdish town, is known for its thermal springs (rich in sulphate which gives an interesting smell to the whole town). It also used to have quite strong connections with the PKK, but this is apparently changing.

We never managed to solve the problem with the package but after one week in a former hotel (now a pension for teachers and nurses) we have made some real good friends and been given a unique opportunity to really get to know Turkey. We´ve experienced late evening barbeque with newly made friends, dancing to live turkish music at the Diaydin/Agri annual police party, a personal sightseeing tour of Agri, endless hot baths and an unforgettable amount of hospitality and friendliness.

Sad to leave Turkey, but convinced we will return, tomorrow we pack ourselves back into the Land Rovers and head for Iran...

Tanja contemplating the 65 degrees hot water in our hotel pool. /Pentax

Turkey, Cappadocia

2008-03-24T23:36:00.004+01:00

Cave houses in Cappadocia. /Pentax

Cappadocia is an area in central Turkey famous for it´s unusual rock formations and underground cities. Being surrounded by four volcanoes, previous eruptions have left a landscape full of high cone shaped cliffs (called fairy chimneys) that have been left unaffected by erosion. This area became a refuge by Christian people from the 4th to the 11th century and being persecuted they used these caves and underground cities to hide away in. Most of the time they lived above ground, but if necessary they could retreat back under ground for up to six months… Cappadocia is full traces from these Christian peoples cave like life style with valley upon valley with underground cities, fairy chimneys, rock houses and decorated rock churches. It makes an incredible fascinating, beautiful and popular place for hiking. Parts of Star Wars were filmed in this out of this world landscape.

We decided to head for Göreme in Cappadocia, and were quite blown away by the view that met us turning that last corner. It´s unlike any other place we´ve seen. Strange rock formations full of windows and doorways everywhere. Some people still live like this in parts of Turkey. We had to stay one night in one of these hostels built into the rocks!

Arriving in Göreme. /Pentax

The next day we moved to a campsite nearby and we all felt the need to just stay for a couple of nights in one place. This gave us a chance to finally catch up on some well needed car maintenance. We went to a recommended mechanic to change oils and some worn out parts. For a tenth of the price in Sweden these guys were a lot more willing to help us than the guys in Montenegro. Everything was fixed in a couple of hours but due to a power cut Lina´s and Richard´s Defender was stuck high up on the lift…

Facing the option of either remaining in the waiting room for no one knows how long with hungry, tired and fed up children (and parents) or to squeeze all eight of us into one car to go to one of the underground cities, our choice was pretty easy. Carefully we drove one very packed land rover to nearby Derinkuyu, one of the biggest underground cities.

Not for the claustrophobic maybe (Milan turned around with Tanja on the third level) but incredible interesting. Almost crawling on our knees through the narrow aisles and steep steps the rest of us finally reached the bottom. (The ventilation shaft gives you an idea of as how deep down you are). Here somewhere deep underground we decided to leave a geocach, for those interested!

Tanja deep underground in Derinkuyu. /Pentax

With the power back on we finally retrieved our car and headed back to the camping. Only to be met by a familiar Toyota Land Cruiser! Our norweigan friends had found the same village and camp site as us. We also met Nina and Gertz, a friendly german couple who had traveled from Germany to Jordan in their Defender and now were on their way back. We spent the evening talking over a couple of beers. (Nina and Gertz promised to be the first ones to visit our underground Geocach…)

Camping next to a fairy chimney! /Pentax

Time to wash some of the road dust off... /Pentax

In the end we stayed four days in wonderful Göreme and fully rested and anxious to move on, on the 24th we decided it was time to pack up and head further east…

Turkey, Pamukkale

2008-03-24T23:26:00.005+01:00

In Pamukkale we camped on the drive way of one of the many hotels in town. At this friendly family run place we met our first co-overlanders. A couple from Norway pulled in just ten minutes after us on this tiny drive way and we all managed to squeeze in to put our roof tents up. We had a nice evening with some home cooked Turkish food and exchanged travel experiences. It turned out that the norweigan couple left around the same time and gone pretty much the same route as us. We had followed each others footsteps with just a couple of days in between! Their final goal is south Africa however, so our paths will soon split…

The next day we went to the hot springs of Pamukkale and the ancient Roman spa town, Hierapolis. The hot springs are very rich in calcium and have been believed to have healing properties already in the Roman times. Unfortunately this attractive tourist spot has been exploited a bit too much in the 80´s and 90´s and today the natural springs are closed off for bathing in order to restore them. (They have even demolished a row of hotels on the edge of the cliffs of Pamukkale for the same reason.)

The fascinating landscape of Pamukkale´s hot springs. /Pentax

Richard and Oliver and a great view. /Pentax

You can however dip your feet and, in the children´s case, your head in man made pools containing the same healthy water. And explore the remains of Hierapolis. Which is exactly what we did for half the day but we could easily have spent another couple of hours there. We were very lucky with the weather and these pools were probably one of the highlights of the trip so far, especially for Tuvalie, Luka, Oliver and Tanja! But it was time to move on…

Trying to catch frogspawn. /Pentax

Luka and Tanja happy in 26 degree warm water. /Pentax

Turkey, Ayvalik - Selcuk

2008-03-24T23:24:00.009+01:00

From Iznik we continued on towards the west coast and Ayvalik, famous for it´s diving and unusual red coral. We got to a beautiful campsite on an island just outside Ayvalik and had time to go off on our first little off road drive to look for an ancient monastery up on the hills. Unsuccessful in our search we returned to the beach and spent the rest of the afternoon just relaxing in the warmest sun we´ve had so far…

In search for an ancient monastery... /Pentax

Tuvalie on a sunny beach. /Pentax

The next day we woke to a chilly wind and so decided to move on. Our next destination was Selcuk. On the way there we stopped off for a picnic at the Acropolis at Bergama, a very windy but pretty ancient Roman city. In Selcuk we had planned to visit the famous and most extensive remains of a Roman city, Ephesus. But being short of both money and time we left without going in the end. We were looking forward to Pamukkale instead, the natural hot springs…

Acropolis at Bergama. /Pentax

An empty pool makes a convenient playground... /Pentax

Turkey, Iznik

2008-03-24T22:29:00.014+01:00

One and a half hour south with boat from Istanbul and then about 60 km car drive there is a town called Iznik. Iznik is a small picturesque town with a long history. In Iznik Christian’s, Roman’s and Muslim’s has ruled in turns.

The tourist information told us to get hold of the tourist police and gave us a description. On the way there we did a wrong turn and ended up at a bus parking. As we have experienced, people in Turkey are very friendly, and this town was no exception. They immediately made space for us to park and gathered around the cars. Milan told some of the locals about the trip and that we are filming (in something between English and Turkish (which he cannot speak)). A guy who spoke german arrived after some time. His name is Timur HATۤۤۤ۠іPOĞLU and he works with selling tractors (a very lucrative business it seems since every second vehicle in Iznik is a tractor). Timur knows the Governor and called him as well as the tourist police. They wanted to show us where we could camp and Milan was shown along the beach of the relatively large lake of a circumference of ninety kilometres. They wanted to show the nicest places, we could camp wherever. It ended with them giving us the opportunity to stay at a house that during summer is used for youngsters learning to sail – the only house on the beach. We got escorted there by a police car with the blue lights on. Talk about a nice welcome! From the veranda of more than thirty square meters we had a view of the lake that lies as quicksilver in the sunset.

The fantastic view from our terrace. /Pentax

The afternoon we spent strolling around the bazaar which we where lucky to time, it is every Wednesday. Clothes, stuff, vegetables, cheese, olives, tobacco and loads of people. Cosy! Milan and Richard bought some tobacco. The kids got kisses, ….., cheese… Tuvalie and Luka sat next to each other in our Urban Jungle saying “dumma dig” to all nice strangers who gave them some extra attention.

Tuvalie and Luka inspecting the famous Iznik ceramics. /Pentax

Lina and Oliver in front of the green mosque

The day after we went to see Aia Sofya. Amazing feeling being in such a historical place. When being there a tourist bus arrived. They, however, were more interested in our kids. Lina, Pia, Luka and of course Tuvalie (who’s always the centre of attention with her super blond hair) ended up in the middle of a ring of about fifty Turkish tourists. We where, at the moment, giving our attention to a small bug. That bug has never seen so much attention =)

Turkish tourists fascinated by our kids :) /Pentax

Iznik was really nice and we definitely recommend it as a place to visit. We stayed three nights.

The day we left we passed by Timur’s office and got an unexpected round tour around the town during which he showed us an old aqueduct, an old gate to the town and a really nice view of Iznik.

Turkey, Istanbul

2008-03-16T07:18:00.019+01:00

Entering Turkey is a step that we consider a milestone of the journey. This is because we enter a country with a different culture than what we are used to. Our first impression is formed by driving to a camping 60 km from Istanbul and placed at a very beautiful spot at the coast. We immediately notice that the people are extremely friendly and the owner of the camping spend quite a bit of time suggesting places worth seeing.During this entire time we could see the head of a humanoid doing something in the cold water. When he suddenly decided to come out of the water, I think even Richard must have been impressed by all the gadgets he was carrying. If anyone knows what he might have been doing, please let us know…

Left:Helpful camping owner showing Lina nice places in Turkey. Right: Mysterious man flushed out of the sea. /Pentax

Next morning we drove into Istanbul. We where all struck by the beauty of this enormous city (20 million). Following recommendations from the Lonely Planet we checked in at Bahaus Hostel at a place called SultanAhmet. This hostel turned out to be one of the best we ever stayed at, even before our trip. The entire place is very, very cosy and the view from the terrace overviews the Bosporus in one direction and the beautiful blue Mosque in the other.

Sultanahmet area with view from Bahaus hostel. /Pentax

Outside the hostel a local kebabman presented the first generous trade offer to Lina and Richard. He would happily swap his “wheels” with their Landy. I guess that there will be occasions when they will regret not accepting the deal :)

Man who wanted to swap wheels. /Pentax

The last day in Istanbul we decided to cross the water and visit the Asian side. Here Richard and Lina met a man who proudly stated that two kids is just a starter as compared to him self who have 16. In fact, having the kids around us attracts an enormous attention wherever we go and funny enough everybody think we have two pairs of twins. Having twins in Turkey is something very special and honourable, apparently. A bit less pleasant for the kids is that everybody pulls their cheeks, in particular Tuvalie and Luka find it annoying.

Father of many kids talking to Richard and Lina. /Pentax

The last nights at the hostel we became friends with “Nedzo”, the owner. He is a fantastic character who has travelled a lot. He kindly advised us on “must see” sites in the west part of Turkey. In fact it is not only seeing new places that is going to be an new experience according to him, but also meeting people even more friendly than what we have experienced this far. We don’t know if that is possible and with this in mind we set of to Iznik, the first town on Nedzo’s list.

Greece

2008-03-15T20:10:00.002+01:00

Arriving by lake Arissa. /Pentax

Pia and Tanja practicing Capoeira. /Pentax

Lucas and Milan up early cooking breakfast. /Pentax

Our first night in Greece we camped right by the lake Arissa. It was quite warm when we arrived (time for some cold beer and capoeira on the beach) but much to our disappointment the wind turned and out came the dow jackets once again... (We are all looking forward to the day when we can stuff them away for good!) We spent two nights here and then continued along the coast towards turkey.

Agios, off-season. /Pentax

Our next stop (Agois in Chalkidiki) turned out to be a real ghost town this time of the year. Every house was boarded and hardly anyone in sight. We all felt that this part of Greece this time of the year (very much off-season!) was not that alive and we just wanted to move on to get to Turkey as soon as possible. We headed on in the morning for one last cold camp night by the sea (just outside Alexandroupolis) and then we crossed the border...

Montenegro-Albania-Macedonia

2008-03-01T23:55:00.011+01:00

We where supposed to leave Kolasin early in the morning and drive through Albania to reach Macedonia in one day. Milan doesn't like the idea of spending more time than absolutely neccessary in Albania. However, Richard and Lina had to many electronical gadgets in use and managed to drain 3 Optima batteries in 2 days, so we had to recharge the batteries using our Honda generator since we by mistake left our jump start leads in Gothenburg !!! That took 2 hours and we decided to drive back to the coast and camp at a beach called Buljarica, since we couldn't reach Macedonia the same day. On the second attempt we reached the Albanian border early enough to possibly cover the distance in time.

Town in Albania./Pentax

Albania, the poorest country in Europe is extremly dirty. Piles of garbage can be found just everywhere and the looks we atracted were as if we landed from another planet, on the other hand that is exactly as we felt ourselves. Parts of the roads where extremely bad and they drive far to fast for our liking. Bunkers could be seen everywhere in the landscape between the patches of chaotic villages and cities. It seems that there are no plans on how to build residential areas. For example in the middle of nowhere, surrounded with nothing but garbage a beautiful house is placed. Houses could be turned to face any random direction.

Children playing on bunkers./Pentax

We managed to get through this country within a day and with only a couple of toilet visits. Milan was really releaved when entering Macedonia, which however faces the same threat concerning clashes between Macedonian (serbs) and Albanians as Montenegro.

We spent three nights in Macedonia in a hotel in the UNESCO city Ohrid. The first day we spent walking around the town, in the market and along the waterside. Richard had a haircut/face and back massage and two hair washes all for about 3 Euros. In the evening we were recommended a well known fish restaurant so we thought we give it a go. It was very nice but possibly the most expensive place to eat we could have found.

Monastery. /Pentax

The second morning we decided that we should stay another day to have a chance to see a monastery 30km away. Overlooking the lake and snow capped mountains in the backdrop, at the monastery the children enjoyed teasing the peacocks. No Monks discovered, we left in search of lunch.

Pia and Luka admiring the view. /Pentax

Tuvalie jumping. /Pentax

Milan asked a seller who told us about a place in his village not far and on the way back to town. When we arrived we were welcomed by locals interested in our "expedition". One such person worked as a local tourist operator and said we should go down to the water where there was a restaurant. In the corner Milan spotted a local brewing his own spirit and the next thing we were invited to try some along with some golden pickled peppers.

Pickled peppers and Macedonian brandy. /Pentax

Stone throwing contest./Pentax

Arriving at the restaurant we were told that the only table left was reserved. The kids went to the beach 10m away and started to throw pebbles into the water. Along came the owner to inform us that the table left was in fact reserved for US and that he was to take good care of us.... it turned out that the tourist man we met had called to book for us! The charcoal grilled fish and greek salad was fantastic.

Kolasin-Montenegro

2008-03-01T22:52:00.005+01:00

After a few days in Sutomore we drove up to the beautiful mountains on a road which is extremely beautiful but known as the road on which every corner has taken 5 lives. There are many corners...

The road to Kolasin./Pentax

Finally we reached a town called Kolasin which has a population reaching only 7000 and in which the family name of a person reveals which tribe one belongs to (as in the rest of Montenegro). Milans mother's maiden name is Vlahovic and this is the place where the name originates from. We set of to grounds on which Milan's ancestors lived, to meet family which even Milan has never met before. In a place called Drpe, on the hills above the town is where we found them. We set up a camp, whith a absolutely magnificant view over the town, still on family grounds and only 100 m from where the house of Milans grandfather's grandfather lived.

Our camp in Drpe. /Pentax

Filming and slack lining in the mountains of Montenegro. / Pentax

The unfortunate blessing of its natural beauty, these lands are being bought by foreigners (in particular Russians and Albanians) and the tension building up within the locals is as evident here as in the rest of the country. Montenegro suffers from an enormous contrast between the very few rich, mostly gangsters and Russians, and the many poor.

Milan's Grandfather's brother, Miso, cutting his plumtrees. From the plums he makes Slivovitz (very strong spirit). /Pentax

Montenegro - some photos

2008-03-01T22:48:00.009+01:00

All gadgets in place(!) and set to go to Kolasin in the mountains. /Pentax

Sunshine, 17 degrees and picnic on the beach. /Pentax

Sunset in Sutomore. Oliver and Tanja enyoing the beautiful view... /Pentax

Lina enyoing a cold beer at Milan's grandmothers place in Sutomore, Montenegro. /Pentax

Quick map update... / Pentax

Oliver in Dubrovnik. / Pentax

Playing with the doves in Dubrovnik whilst waiting for the pljeskavica to be cooked... / Pentax

Lunch break in pretty Dubrovnik on our way to Montenegro. / Pentax

Montenegro

2008-02-25T22:14:00.002+01:00

After lunch in Dubrovnik and a 15 minute drive through the Bosnian coast we reached Sutomore on thursday. After a couple of days relaxing at Milan´s grandmothers house we are now heading for the mountains tomorrow. Our route has changed and we are now driving through Albania and Macedonia instead of Serbia. We are all doing great, the kids are enyoing the warmer weather and we´ve had a chance to dip our toes in the Adriatic sea and to furhter organise our cars... We are now being thrown out of the internet café and hope to get a chance to update with some photos soon.