India EUSKARAZ

English version here

Maitasun eta gorroto  sentimenduak neurri berean pizten dituen herrialde eder eta zoroa da India.

Omandik nekarkien pake eta lasaitasuna bat batean amaitu ziren Indiara iristean;  bazirudien gidatzeko beharrezko abilezia nagusia bozinari etengabe eragitea zela, janariak ahoan erre egiten zuen, bero eta hezetasunarekin egun guztia izerditan patsetan igaro ondoren egunaren amaieran leher inda nengoenean moskitoak lanean hasten ziren.

Horrela kontatuta India toki bildurgarria dela pentsa dezakezue baino 6 hilabete bertan pasa ondoren irrifarre egiten dut lehenego egun horietaz gogoratzean. Egia da ez dela toki erraza bidaiatzeko, beraien kultura eta ohiturak guretik oso ezberdinak direnez denbora pixkat behar da ulertu eta gozatzen hasteko.  

Hasieran izan nuen “krisi” hortan bestetan alditan bezela jenderen laguntzaz baliatu nintzen aurrera egiteko, kasu honetan Kotxin-eko Ajith, Joseph eta lagunek, etxeko kide bat bezela hartu ninduten  egun batzuk beraiekin igarota beste begi batzuekin ikusten hasi nitzen herrialdea. Bizikleta hartu eta Iranen ezagutu nuen Aaron australiarrarekin elkartuta Goa eta Kerala arteko zatia egin genuen bizikletan, hasieran kostaldetik eta ondoren western gaths mendatetan barrena. Hilabete  edo elkarrekin ibili Aaron etxera itzuli zen eta nik bizikleta aparkatuta motxilero moduan bidaiatzeari ekin nion.

Bizikletarik gabe biadaitzea interesgarria izan zen, trenak eta autobusak erabiliz toki turistikoagoak bixitatuz, bertako jendearekiko hartuemana pixkat galdu eta biadaiari atzerritar asko ezagutu nituen. Indian atzerritar gehienei gertatzen zaien bezela janariarekin intoxikazio bat izan nuen eta hospitalean egun pare bat igarotzera behartu ninduen, bertako hospitala xumea izan arren esan beharra daukat profesionaltasun haundiz tratatu nindutela eta oso eroso sentitu nintzela, bertako bizi mailaren ideia bat edukitzeko jakin bertako herizainek hilean 60eurotako soldata jasotzen dituztela.

Delhin Iran ezkeroz email bidez kontatktuan egondako Jose Eladio Santakarakin  elkartu nintzen, Ibiletxe beren furgonetarekin munduari hirugarren itzulia ematen ari da. Delhin elkarren konaniaz gozatu genuen, hainbeste bidaiatuta gustoa ematen du Josela bezelako tipo bateri entzutea. Ibiletxen rishikeshera joan eta elkar agurtuta  berriz bizikleta gainean himalaia bidean jarri nintzen. Zelaietan hilabete batzuk igarota mendiko aire fresko eta ixiltasunaz inguratuta paradisua aurkitu nuen sentsazioa neukan. Bailarak bata bestearen atzetik igaroz Ladakh eta Katxemiraraino joan nintzen,  bidai honetan bidailagun izan ditudan Fernando eta Veronikarekin Leh-n egun batzuk pasa eta Nepalera bideari jarraitu nion aspalditik zain nengoen familiko bixita espero bait nuen Kathmandun.

Hona hemen 6 hilabete hoietan ikusitakoaren zati txiki bat:

India EUSKARAZ from lander on Vimeo.

India ENGLISH

Here is a video of my 6 month stay in India, write up coming soon:


India ENGLISH from lander on Vimeo.

AEB. eta Oman EUSKARAZ

Click here for English version

Iranen ezagututako Thomas txirrindulari alemaniarra lagun nuela Bandar abbas-en Iran agurtu eta ferri bidez iritsi ginen Arabiar Emirerrri batuetara. Nahiz eta hasiera batean bertatik pasatzeko asmorik ez izan, neguko eguraldi hotzak bultzatuta hegoalderuntz joatea zen aukerarik onena, horrelaxe, eguzki goxopean eman ziguten ongietorria emirerriek,  bideko 19 garren herrialdea izanik neretzat.

Itsasuntzian portura gerturatu ahala Dubaiko "skyline-a" begibistan agertu zen, Thomasek eta nik hau etzela gure herrialderik gogokoena izango komentatu genuen. Zorionez, Scott Australiarrak (Warm showers-ko kide denak) bere etxean onartu gintuen, geroago esango zigun bezala ez du inoiz txirrindulari batengatik datorren eskaerarik ukatu. Bere eskuzabaltasunaren ondorioz zazpi txirrindulari elkartu ginen bere etxean bidaiko asterik onenetakoa igaroz bertan. Irandik etorrita asko eskertu genuen astebete lasai alperkerin igarotzea. Dubai erdialdera ere bixita pare bat egin genituen, bertako bizimodu azeleratuak Inglaterran bizi izan nintzeneko garaiak ekarri zizkidan gogora. Nere ikuspuntitik, Dubai jendea lan egin eta dirua aurreztera etortzen den toki bat da, behin lana utzi edo bukatutakoan ezinezkoa da bertan geratzea, beraz, bertakoak diren arabiarren %10 kenduta, gainerako langile guztiak lehenago edo geroago, herrialdea utzi beharra daukate. Bertan bizi direnen artean Mikel Tolosarra eta bere familia ezagutzeko aukera izan nuen, jadanik urtebete daramate bertan eta oso interesgarria izan zen beraien experientzia bertatik ezagutzea, gainera bidean indarrik ez faltatzeko  Mikelek afari eder batera gonbidatu ninduen, eskerrikasko!

Dubaiko egonaldia amaitutzat eman eta Omanera bidean martxan jarri orduko, biadaiko best ezuste polit horietako bat izan genuen, Piet Belgiar txirrindulariak autobidean geratu eta bere ondartza ondoko etxera juteko gonbidapena luzatu zigun... azkenean beste hiru egun igaro ziren bizikleta berriz hartu arte.

Emirerrietako basamortua ondartsuak gurutzatu ondoren, lehenogo aldiz Omango mendi harritsual begibistan agertu ziren eta ez mendiak bakarrik, Iranen bidailagun izan nituen Fernando eta Veronika ere bai! Laurok batera muga gurutzatu eta furgonetan bizi diren"Iran is great" proiektuko, Ivan, Audrey, Lukas eta Emilia-rekin familiarekin ondartzan akanpatu genuen. Beraieen Iranekiko maitasun istorioa lapurreta batekin hasi zen, furgonetatik dokumentu guztiak lapurtu ondoren  erantzuna horren positiboa izan zen, munduari bertan bizitakoa kontatzeko beharra sentitu zutela.

Familia agurtuta kosta alde batera utzi eta mendi aldera jo genuen, bertako jendeak esan zigun etzirela bizikletan ibiltzeko moduko aldapak, gutxiago alforjaz kargatuta, baino motobazio izugarria genuenez gu geurera... zaila da nolako aldapak igo behar izan genituen azaltzea, Omango ingenieriek errepideak eraikitzeko garaian "bi puntuen arteko distantziarik motxena marrazuzena dala" oso serio hartu zuten, ondorioz %30-eko aldapa itzelak nonnahi aurki daitezke. Alpadak pasata esan beharra daukat Oman asko gustatu zitzaidala, emirerriek ez bezela tradizioak mantentzen saiatu dira eta herrialde musulmandar guztietan bezela ongietorria sentitu nintzen. Iluntzero mezkitan dutxatu eta inguruan akanpatzen genuen, ondoren herritarrak gerturatu eta ongietorriarekin batera fruitu eta datilak eskeintzen zizkiguten.

Menditik hiriburura, Muscatera, joan behar izan nuen Indiako bisadoa tramitatzera, Richel eta bere lagun Filipindarrenkin egon ginen, lagun giroan mendiko nekeaz errekuperatuz.

Orain indian nabil, Goan zehazki, herrialde ero honetako aniztasunaz gozatzen eta Omango pakea faltan botaz. Besarkada haundi bat bidaltzen dizuet bertatik!

Eta noski beti bezela hemen doa bideo txiki bat:

AEB eta Oman EUSKARAZ from lander on Vimeo.

UAE & Oman ENGLISH

 Bandar Abbas was the ending point of Iran for Thomas and me, an overnight ferry took us across the disputed Persian gulf (for some it’s called the Arabian gulf) in to the Emirates. We landed in a modern and busy city, its pace reminded me very much of the UK.  Luckily for us though, we managed to find a quiet place to stay, once more the wonderful warmshowers community helped us, this time it was Scott, an Aussie teacher that "never says no to a cyclist" and as a consequence the house was full of cyclists (as many as seven at a time), together we enjoyed one of the best weeks of the trip so far.

Despite the emirates not being the kind of country I look for touring, I have to admit that it was much better than I thought. With a local population of just over 10% we didn't meet any locals, however we did meet many interesting people: Mikel and his family for example, we didn't know each other before but coming from the same town was a good excuse to meet, I enjoyed a nice evening with him and he invited for a nice dinner so I could keep my strength for cycling. We also met Mary, a Keralan journalist that curious about our trips decided to host us, cooked a delicious meal and even took a day off to show us around Dubai or Piet and Ann from Belgium that stopped us on the motorway on our way to Oman extending our stay in Dubai for two more days. Unexpectedly (as most things are when you travel) the emirates turned to be a great experience thanks to all the interesting people we'd met!

After saying goodbye to all our new friends we finally set off towards Oman, just before the border another surprise awaited us, we bumped into Fernando and Veronica, Thomas could not hide his excitement and run into them shouting and jumping. Together we crossed the border and spend the first evening around a nice campfire. On the following day we had an opportunity to meet a very special family, Ivan, Audrey, Lucas and Emily have been living in a camper van for some time, the van has a big banner on the side stating "Iran is great", as we would learn later, their love story with Iran began when someone broke into the van and stole all documents. The Iranians helped them so much that they decided to promote the country to show their gratitude.

 After enjoying their company for couple of days we were ready to hit the mountains...or not? In Oman when building roads they apply the technique of "shortest distance between two point is a straight line" this saves lots of tarmac but is not good news for cyclists,  30%+ gradients which were nearly impossible to cycle up with a loaded bike.

 Hills aside, Oman is actually a great country for cycling, unlike the emirates they've preserved their unique culture and day after day they allowed us to shower in the mosques and camp nearby. All this was followed by a delivery of food, usually dates and fruit.

The last week we went to Muscat to process the Indian visa, Richel and her filipino friends hosted us in their apartment. They were most helpful and friendly, along with Ivan and his dog Diesel, we visited Wadi Shab and had proper chicken adobo to celebrate Richel's birthday.

Now in Goa, India, enjoying the variety of this beautiful country but missing the quietness of Oman.

As usual I edited a short video, cheers!

UAE & Oman ENGLISH from lander on Vimeo.

Khoda Hafez Iran! EUSKARAZ

Iparraldeko muga hura gurutzatu ezkeroz bi hilabete ta erdi, 3000km eta beste hainbeste topaketa eta esperientzia bizitzeko aukera luzatu dit herrialde liluragarri honek. Bertako kultura anitza, ospakizun eta paisaia menditsu ederrak  arrazoi ederra dira hona etortzeko, baino neretzat zalantzarik gabe herrialde hau bidaiatzeko besteez gain jartzen duena bertako jendea da.

Gaurkoan bideo txiki bat prestatu det, ezagutu eta egin ditudan lagun guztiak agertzea zaila denez bideoaz gain argazki albun txiki bat sortuko det aurrerago.

Sharjah-ko Scott-en etxean astebete igaro ta gero bihar berriz ere martxan jarriko naiz Omanera bidean.

Laisterarte

Iran Euskaraz from lander on Vimeo.

Khoda Hafez Iran! ENGLISH

Extremely happy and full of energy, thats how I feel after travelling for two and a half months in this fascinating country. Almost every km of the 3000km I have cycled there have provided a new encounter. It not it's beautifully rugged and mountainous landscape or it's ancient culture what has got me "hooked" to the country, the wonderful and hospitable Iranian people  are the ones to "blame" for this.

This video doesn't make justice to all the great people that helped me along the way, because of that I will create a photo album  very soon, hope you enjoy the video.

After a week at Scott's house in Sharjah tomorrow I'll set off again towards Oman.

Iran English from lander on Vimeo.

Azkenik Iranen!

Armenian mugako herria den Meghri atzean utzita ibaia jarraituz Irango mugara iritsi ginen, azkenik horren polemikoa den herrialdea bertatik ezagutzeko garaia iritsi zen. Mugan paasaportea pare bat aldiz erakutsi ondoren gainean generaman dirua Rial-etara aldatu genuen (Iranen dauzkan santzioak direla eta ezinezkoa da atzerriko txartelekin dirua ateratzea beraz egonaldi guztirako dirua ekarri beharra dago hasieratik). Iranek errepideetako heriotz taasarik altuenetakoa izan arren bertako gidariak gu bizikletan ikusita mantxotu eta distantzia  on bat mantenduz aurreratzen gintuzten, beste batzuk berriz aurrerago geratu eta Iranen atzerritarrek gehien entzuten dituzten bi esaldiak errepikatzen zizkiguten; Nongoak zarete eta ongi etorri Iranera. Bertako biztaleak etzitren izan baakrrak gure joan etorrien berri izan nahi zuurenak, lehenego hiru egunetan poliziak hiru aldiz geratu gintuen pasaporteak ikuskatu eta Iran zer egin behar genuen galdetzeko.

Arreneko bi asteak Irango Azerbaiango probintzian menditsuan igaro genituen, bertako hiriburu eta zetazko bideko gune garrantzitsu izan den Tabrizraino. Probintzia hontako biztaleak ez dira persiarrak “turkoak” baizik eta Farsia hitzegin ordez  Turko Azeria hitzegiten dute.

Tabrizen egin genituen lagun berriei esker egun bateko egonaldia izan behar zuena hiruko egunkoa bilakatu zen, Erfan, Reza, Hadi eta beste hainbesterekin hiriko txokoak ezagutu eta Iraniar kultura bertatik ezgutzen hasteko aukera izan genuen.

Iraniarren  eskuzabaltasunak mugagabea dirudi, agian honen azalpena Iraniarrek oso barneratuta duten “taarof” abergikortasun kodea izan daiteke, adibidez gonbidatuak dituztenean hoinek esaktutako guztia eskaintzera behartuta daude, alddi berean gobidatuan eskainitako guztiari ezetz esan behar dio, tira bira honetan pixkanaka jarraitzen dute baikotzaren benetako intentzioak argitu arte. Halere askotan eskeintza egiten dizutenean “no taarof” esaten dizute eskeintza benetazkoa dela adieraziz.

Iraneran iritsi aurretik hainbat aldiz emakumeen eskubideak urratuta daudela entzuna nuen, esan beharra daukat bidean bixitatu ditudan herrialde batzuetan baino askatasun daukatela hemen; 1963tik bozkatzeko eskubidea dute (europako herrialde batzuetan baino lehenago), errepidean kotxeak gidatzen nonhai ikus daitezke eta lan munduan ondo integratuta daudela dirudi, unibertsitateetako ikasleen %60a emakumeak dira. Egia da kalean ilea estali beharra daukatela baino ezagutu degun jendeareen etxe askotan atea gurutzatu orduko zapia kendu eta ilea agerian utzi dute.

Gobernu sitemarekin ere desadostasunean bizi direla dirudi, uste baino bildur gutxiago erakutsi du jendeak beraien eritzia emateko garaian. Askok reboluzioarekin  Sha garaiko bizimodua hobetuko zen esperantza zuten baino etzen horrela izan.

Dena ondo izanik Irango bisadoa beste hilabetez berritzeko aukera izango dugu, hurrengo sarreran idatziko dut gehiago. Gaurkoan argazki batzuk eta Fernando eta Veronikak egindako bideo bat zintzilikatu dizkizuet.

Meghri - Tabriz from Fernan_ci on Vimeo.

Finally in Iran!

Leaving Meghri in Armenia we cycled along Aras river for some kilometres until we reached the bridge that connects both countries, after almost 10000km on the road I was eager to get in and find out more about this controversial country.

Our Passport was checked twice at the border control, customs police also ordered me to open a pannier, once the official was satisfied he said “welcome to Iran” and we were in! First thing we did  was to Exchange currency, due to international sanctions no foreign card works in Iranian ATM´s so travellers have no choice but to bring all the cash for the entire stay in their pockets.

We slowly started Cycling up into the mountains, despite Iran ranking as one of the most dangerous countries when it comes to road safety, we found drivers to be very respectful towards cyclists slowing down and giving ample space when overtaking. Some drivers would even stop ahead of us to greet us with probably the two most common phrases to foreigners in Iran; where are you from and welcome to Iran. Not only villagers showed their interest in us, the police also wanted to know about our whereabouts and we were stopped and questioned three time on our first three days!

On the first two weeks we travelled through the northwest of Iran in Azerbaijan province until we reached the capital Tabriz, people from the region are not Persian and instead of Farsi they speak Azeri Turkish.

Iranian people have reputation to be one of the friendliest bunch in earth so when we reached Tabriz it didn’t take long before we made many new Friends. Erfan, Reza, Hadi and many others showed us around the city and gave us a good insight into Iranian culture.

Iranian hospitality is really incredible, I learned that they have a hospitality etiquette called “taroof” that is deeply rooted in Iranian culture, for example a host has to offer anything a guest might want and equally the guest has to refuse anything the host might offer, and this goes on until both parts find out the real intentions. But this is not always the case, sometimes they would say “no taroof” meaning that the offer is genuine.

Before visiting Iran I often Heard about women’s right being violated (and population in general too) while this might be true I have to say that I expected this to be much worse than actually is. Women have the right to vote since 1963 (before tan some European countries), 60% of the university students are female they seem to be well integrated in the workforce, also it’s common to see them driving cars. They head scarf is still mandatory but I found that that quickly goes off a soon as you enter their homes.

People also have openly showed their disagreement with the government policies. After the revolution many have hoped for a better and fairer system but based on the accounts we have heard this is not the case…

All going to plan we should be able to extend the visa for at least for another month so I will publish another entry when get to know more about this fascinating country, in the meantime I uploaded some pictures and also a video that Fernando and Veronika made about our first few days in Iran. 

Meghri - Tabriz from Fernan_ci on Vimeo.

Armenia EUSKARAZ

Tbilisin atseden hartu ondoren armenia bidean jarri ginen, bi herrialdeak ortodoxoak diraeta kulturalki nahiko antzekotasun dituzte, zorionez gidatze kontuetan antza gutxi dute eta Armeniarrak askoz lasaiagoak dira Georgiarrekin alderatuta, bertan egindako kilometroak bidegorri batean eginak dirudite.

Mendate txiki bat pasa eta bi herrialdeak banatzen dituen Debed ibaiaren arroilari jarraituz Armenian sartu ginen. Ibai honen kutsadura maila harrigarria da, bidean jarraitu ahala laister jakin genuen zergaitia,  Debed-en bi aldeak kobre meatzez josita daude eta Alaverdi hirian izugarrizko galdategia dago Sobiet garaietatik ia ladaketarik izan ez duena. Hirian geratzeko asmoa genuen baino bertako aire grisa ikusi ondoren aurrera jarraitu genuen (galdategiko tximiak inguruko mendi bateraino luzatu dituzte kutsadura murrizteko baino ondorioz mendiko basoa desagertzen hasi omen da).


Fernandok egunean zehar maiz begiratzen du mugikorra eguraldia kontsultatzeko, 25 graduko tenperaturarekin lasai gebiltzala hurrengo egunean elurra iragarrita zegoela esan zigun! Zoritxarrez iragarpena ez zegoen oker eta egunean zehar termometroa etzen 3 gradutatik pasa, hurrengo egunetan eguraldia askoz hobea etzelea izango ikusirik atseden egunik hartu gabe hegoaldeko Meghri izeneko herriraino iritsi ginen. "Presa" puntu honek bertako jendearekin normalean izaten ditugun hartuemanak murriztu egin zituen nolabait, halere Armenia dan bezelako herrialde menditsua izanik bertako piasaia aldakorretaz gozatu genuen; mendi harritsuak, belar motz horidun goi-lautadak edo herrialdearen %5-a okupatzen duen Sevan laku ikusgarriaren inguruan ibli ginen.

Bidean gauetako hotza saiestu nahian aterpeak bilatzen saiatu ginen, automobil-garbitegi baten barruan lo egin genuen eta baita baztertutako tren bagoi batean ere.

Orain Irango mugara  iristeko 10km besterik etzaizkigu geratzen, bertatik datozen bidaiari ugari ezagutzekko aukera izan degu, denek oso ondo hitzegin digute bertako jendeataz eta irrikitan nago bertara iristeko! Internet sarea oso kontrolatuta omen daukate eta ez dakit handik bloga eguneratzeko nola moldatuko naizen, izango dezue nere berri!

Hurrenarte!

Armenia EUSKARAZ from lander on Vimeo.

Armenia ENGLISH

After resting in Tbilisi we set off towards Armenia, both countries share the same religion and have many things in common, though  luckily for us,compared to their Georgian neighbours, Armenian drivers are much more friendlier towards cyclist and we felt like riding along a bike path.

We crossed the river Debed which forms a natural boundary between both countries and entered a canyon full of copper mines, the water coming down the river was really polluted and when we reached the industrial city of Alaverdi we understood why, there is a huge copper smelter in the town centre, releasing a vast amount of toxic fumes into the atmosphere. This factory has seen little changes since the Soviet times, they have extended the chimney into a nearby hill however the town still has smog all over it.

Fernando who is very organized always keeps good check of the weather forecast, after few days of sunshine he announced that we would have snow on the following day. As hard as it was to believe the forecast was correct and next day we woke up to a freezing morning! Armenia is very mountainous and we had to cross several high passes on our way south so we had to rush a bit before we got into trouble. This has translated in less interaction with the locals who they all are very friendly, however we've been able to enjoy the ever changing scenery very much; going over rocky mountains, grassy plateaus  or  around the immense lake Sevan which takes up 5% of Armenia's land.

We now in the southern town of Meghri, just 10km away from the Iranian border. We've come across few travelers who just visited Iran saying nothing but great things about its people, we feel very excited about going in and I think it will be one of the highlights of this trip. On the downside they do have some internet censorship so I'll have to try to find a way around it, don't worry if you don't hear from me on the next two months:)

Cheers

Armenia-ENGLISH from lander on Vimeo.

Georgia EUSKARAZ

Turkiako Trabzon hirian astebete itxaron da gero Irango bisadoa lortu eta martxan jarri nintzen Fernando eta Veronikarekin batera ( elkarrekin oso ondo moldatzen gara eta batera jarraitzeko asmoa daukagu) Itsaso beltzeko kostari jarraituz egun pare batean Georgiara iritsi ginen.

Iritsi ta aldaketarik nabarmenenak erlijioa (Georgia ortodoxoak izanik Mezkitak eta errezoatarako eguneko 5 deiak desagertu ziren) eta Turkiako Te eskaintzak Vodka eta ardoa eskaintza bihurtu ziren. Georgia izan zen munduko lehengo herrialdea ardoa egiten beraz ez da harritzekoa edateko afizio hau  izatea. Beste bitxikeria bat Georgiarraren eta Euskararen arteko lotura da, nahiz eta hizkuntzak entzunda erabat ezberdinak iruditu bertakoiei euskalduna naizela esan dietenean asko poztu dira eta anaiak garela esaten didate.

Halaere georgian gehien gustatu zaidana, kaukasoko mendietan kokatuta dagoen Svaneti lurraldea izan da, Pamir mendikatea alde batean utzi behar izanak sortutako tristurak erabat kendu dizkit. Iparraldean Errusia, ekialdean Osetia eta mendebaldean Abkhaziaz inguratuta, mendi artean galdutako herrixka txikiak eta ia kotxerik gabeko errepideak aurkitu daitezke 5000m-tik gorako tontorrez inguratuta. Eguraldia lagun izanik udazkeneko kolore ederrak miresteko aukera paregabea izan genuen. Bertako familia baten egoteko aukera ere izan genuen eta Veronikaren errusiarrari esker (hemen ingelesa ez da oso erabilgarria) bertako istoria eta kulturari hobeto ezagutzeko aukera izan genuen.

Mendiak atzean utzita beheko bailareta jeitsi ginen, Gori izeneko herritik pasaz, bertan bidaikako 9000km tara iritsi nintzen,  herri hau ezaguna da sobiet batasuneko buru izan zen Joseph Stalin-en jaioterria delako. Bertako biztanlek berarerenganako mirespena erakusten dute oraindik eta bere omenezko museoa eta bidaiatzen zuen tren bagoia bixitatu daitezke. Eta hemendik ia zuzenean Tbilisi-raino,  etorri gara, bertan bloga eguneratu eta deskansu txiki bat hartzeko tartea hartuz, hurrena Armenia!

Bideoa:


Georgia EUSKARAZ from lander on Vimeo.

Georgia ENGLISH

It a week of waiting in trabzon before we could get hold of our Iranian visas, once all was sorted we continued along the black sea until we crossed the border into Georgia.

The mosques were replaced by orthodox churches and vodka and wine were offered instead of "chai". Georgia was the first country in producing wine and the Georgians are proud of it, whenever you are invited into a house you pretty much are expected to get drunk, I sometimes had to decline the drinking offers using cycling as an excuse... they all got dissapointed!

It was also interesting to see their reaction when I told them that I was from the basque country, (there is a theory that relates Basque laguage to Georgian which all of them seem to know about) they would smile and call me brother in most cases. Despite basque being my mother tongue I have to say that Georgian sounds completely different.

However my favourite part of the country has been a region called Svaneti, located on the caucasus mountains bordering Abkhazia, Russia and  South Ossetia. The stunning mountains have made up exceedingly for the loss of the Pamir route, also the weather has been really warm for this time of the year and we've been able to enjoy  the beautiful autumn colours surrounded by +5000m  snow clad peaks. We also have been invited to some georgian homes where Veronikas russian has been very useful, without her communication would have been very limited as English is not widely spoken.

Once we left the mountains we returned to the valleys where busy roads filled with dangerous drivers awaited for us, my speedo clocked 9000km in Gori, a town famous for being Joseph Stalin's birthplace. The locals still admire him despite the atrocities that were carried out under his mandate.

Now we are in Tbilisi taking rest and updating our blogs, I'm getting on really well with fernando and veronica and for now we'll continue together towards Armenia, they have a blog in spanish which they update more frequently than I do and with more detailed info about the trip: http://viajarenmtb.es/

Video:

Georgia ENGLISH from lander on Vimeo.

Itsaso Beltzan barrrena

Iadanik hiru aste igaro dira Ane agurtu eta Istanbul atzean utzi nuenetik, bitartean turkia iparraldean dagoen Itsaso beltzeko kostari jarraituz ekialdeko Trabzon hiriraino iritsi naiz.

 Orain arte bidaiari gutxi topatu baditut denak itsaso beltzea zai neuzkalako izango zen, konpainia ezin hobean ibili naiz Joe eta Carmen britaniarrekin eta Basaurikoa den Alberto eta bere emazte Veronika lituaniarrarekin . Itsaso beltzeko kosta  oso menditsua da eta gainera Euskal Herriaren antzera euria oso maiz egiten du, halare hemendik gogoan emango dudana, zalantzarik gabe, bertako jendearen abegikortasuna izango da; egunean tea edateko hamaika gonbidapen izan ditugu eta beraien etxetara ongietorri gaituzte. 

Orain Iraneko bisadoa lortu nahian nabil, Trabzonen, normalean egun berean ematen dute baino  momentuan ez dute bisadorik egiten eta astelehenean itzuli beharra daukat. Bestalde Pamir mendikatea gurutzatzeko ametsa beste baterako uztea erabaki det, negua gainean dela oso zaila eta gogorra izango litzateke da eta hemendik aurrera ibilbide hau jarraitzea erabaki det: Georgia, Armenia, Iran, Arabiar Emirerri batuak, Oman, India... Fernando eta Veronika ere antzeko bidean doaz eta zihurrenik tarteka elkartuz joango gara.

Hemendik turkian egindako lagun berriei eskerrak eman nahi dizkiet, bereziki Ali, Ergun, Yasin, Murat, Yetkin eta azkenik Yalcin eta Ayvaz familiei. 

Hurrenarte!

PD. Ibilbideko sekzioan mapa berri bat sortu det, hemendik aurrera akanpaatzen deten toki bakoitzean argaazki bat atera eta bertan eguneratzen joango naiz, http://trackmytour.com/wHQft#611495

Hona hemen bideoa:

Itsaso beltza EUSKARAZ from lander on Vimeo.

Along the black sea

It's been three weeks since Ane returned home and I left Istanbul, following the black sea I cycled all the way to Trabzon.

The first few days where hard, my body had become lazy and after been in good company for month and a half it was time to continue on my own. Luckily I met Carmen and Joe whom I shared the road with for few days, together we had a chance to taste some of the best Turkish hospitality. We've been invited for tea on countless occasions and there have many times when people have welcomed to their homes too, no words can describe the kindness of Turkish people!

Carmen and Joe were on a tight schedule due to visa entry deadlines so it was fun to push ourselves over the steep roads of the black sea, unfortunately we have planned different routes and had to say goodbye in Trabzon. Now I'm cycling with Fernando and Veronika, a spanish-lithuanian couple, we plan to follow similar routes for some time so will probably share the road for a while (as winter is approaching decided that is not a good idea to go to the Pamir mountains and will head south instead). That will be if we manage to pick an Iranian visa, Trabzon has reputation to be one of the easiest place to get one but so far we've been told to return to the embassy a week later...

I'll let you know how we get on.

I'd like to thank you all the people who have helped us along the black sea, special mention to Ali, Ergun, Yasin, Murat, Yetkin and finally to Yalcin eta Ayvaz families.

PS. I've started using a new app to update the route, I'll be uploading waypoints with pictures along the road, just click on the waypoints and it will open up a page.

 Video:

Black Sea ENGLISH from lander on Vimeo.

Azkenik Turkian!

Ederki kostata baina halako batean famili eta lagunak agurtuta Grezia kontinentala atzea utzi eta Tukiako kostatik oso gertu dagoen Chios irlara bidaitu genuen. Irla ez da oso turistikoa eta bitxikeri bezela bertako  Mastija  zuhaitzak dira, munduan beste inon hazten ez direnak (gozogintzan, txiklea eta likorea egiteko erabiltzen da batez ere). Irlara juteko arrazoi nagusia Grezi eta Turkia arteko ferri konexio falta izan zen, halere behin bertara iritsita egun pare batean buelta heman genion ezagunenak diren Pyrgo eta Mesta herriak bixitatuz. 

Ia itzulia bukatzear geudela aldapa gora gindoazela ia lurrera erori nintzen; pedaleko biela bitan puskatu zitzaidan zutik nijoala!! Nolabait hiribururarte geratzen ziren 12km-ak hanka batekin eraginez egin eta biela berri baten bila hasi ginen.  

Chiosen aurkitu ez genuenez, beste itsasontzi txiki bat hartu eta 30minutuko ibilbidea eginez Turkiako Cesme herrira iritsi ginen, 6.800km egin ondoren azkenik asian!! Hemen ere ez genuen zorterik izan pieza aurkitzen eta gaueko autobusa hartu eta zuzenean Istanbulera jutea erabaki genuen. Turkiako autobusekin harrituta geratu ginen, eserleku bakoitzak bere tableta zuen interneteko konexio ta guzti eta gainera bidean izozkiak atera zizkiguten, a ze zerbitzua!!

Behin Estanbulera iritsita ez genuen arazorik izan bizikleta konpontzeko,  bertako warmshowers-eko kideetaz baliatuz, Bugra-ren etxea egun bat eta Alirenean beste egun batzuk pasaz hiria ezagutzeko aukera ederra izan degu. Bertako jendea ere oso atsegina da baino "gaizki ulertu" bat izan genuen ilea moztera joanda, Estanbul hiri haundi eta turistiko izanik normala dela suposatzen det, WS-ko gure lagunak bikain portatu dira eta zihur nago bidean aurrera joan ahala bera bezelako jende asko topatuko degula. Hemendik eskerrak heman nahi dizkiegu Ali eta Bugra-ri berain laguntza guztiagatik. 

Eta eskerrak batez ere Aneri, azken hilabete ta erdi ontan bidailagun ezin hobea izan delako, zoritxarren itzultzeko garaia iritsi zaio eta atzo aireportura lagundu eta agurtu ginen. Berari eskerrak berriz indarberriturik nago bideari ekiteko.

Bihar goizean Estabuletik atera eta Itsaso beltzeko kostari jarraituz ekialderuntz abiatuko naiz.

Hona hemen azken bideoa:

Atenas-Estanbul EUSKARAZ from lander on Vimeo.

Finally in Turkey!

After spending over a month in mainland Greece we took a ferry to Chios Island, we had no special interest in visiting this island but since there are direct sea connection between Greece and Turkey we choose Chios for its "northerly" location. The island itself is not very touristy and it's better known for the Mastic trees that   grow only in there (its resin is used to make sweets, chewing gums, liqueurs, etc.). We decided to explore the island a bit touring around for two days, we really liked the towns of Pyrgi and Mesta with its unique architectural style. 

As we were nearing the end of our island tour my pedals started developing a strange noise, after a quick visual inspection, seeing nothing wrong we continued our way. Shortly after a while as I was standing I heard a "crack" sound and  mi right foot missed the pedal; the crank snapped across the pedal thread!! From that point "skateboard style pushing" and one leg pedalling took us to Chios capital with was just 12km away.  

Having no luck in finding a replacement we booked a ferry to the Turkish town of Cesme. Unfortunately no luck there either so after hesitating we decided to take a bus all the way to Istanbul. Despite not being a fan of bus travelling have to admit that we were really impressed with Turkish buses, each seat had a tablet with internet connection and they even gave us ice cream!!

Arriving to a city like Istanbul is always stressful, all the stories about the horrendous traffic were true but thanks to our mobile maps we managed to take a less conventional route to the bike shop. We were really well looked after at Gesgini bikes, they had the right part and Rahman gave thorough check to the bike.

An once again people from WS community helped us, Bugra and Ali were really helpful via email and they helped me locating the right bike shop as well as offering accommodation in their homes. We spent a night with Bugra who took us to drink beer with his friends whom we had interesting conversation about Basque and Turkish culture and politics. The we moved to Alis place where we spent several days, he has been a great host making us feel comfortable and as he is a very good with electronics he even fixed my phone!!

We spend these days sightseeing Istanbul, we really liked the city and apart from one incident at hairdressers we had a great time (despite my comment on the video about Turkish people 99% of them have been really helpful and kind).

Unfortunately time was up for Ane and yesterday she flew home, I want to thank her from here for the fantastic month and a have I spent with her, now I'm ready to hit the road again!

Thanks also to Bugra and Ali for all their help.

Now the plan is to follow the Black sea all the way to Iran.

Video:

Athens- Istanbul ENGLISH from lander on Vimeo.

Grezia EUSKARAZ

Kaixo,

Albaniatik greziako iparraldera iristean jendea bide ertzetatik desagertu eta bero bortitzak agerraldia egin zuen. Ala ere, iritsi eta lehenego egunean Kaloneri izeneko herri batean trago bat hartu eta wifi-ra konektatzeko geldialdia egin nunean, Valantisek bere tabernan lotan geratzea eskeini zidan. Lo askorik ez nuen egin  gau hartan, herriko festak ziren eta bere lagunekin Safiris Melas (grezian oso ezaguna den abeslari bat) entzutera joan eta garagardo eta retsina artean goizeko 5ak eman zizkiguten erretiratzerako.

Hurrengo 3 egunak, zalantzarik gabe bidaieko gogorrenak izan ziren. Lo falta alde batetik eta 40ºC-ko tenperaturak bestetik bizikletaz asko ez gozatzea eragin zidan. Hala ere, disfrutatzen jarratzeko modua aurkitu nuen goizean goiz hasi eta eguerdiko ordu beroenetan deskantsatuz. Horrela, Atenasera iritsi eta Anekin elkartu nintzen eta biok batera osaba-izebakin egun polit batzuk pasa ondoren, beraiek oparitutako 2 eguneko tour-a egin genuen Delfos eta Meteora barrena. 

Bidai hau bukatzerako irrikitan geuden biok bizikletekin martxan jarri eta aurreko egunetan jandako feta gazta guztia erretzeko.  Pixkanaka, Atenas atzean utzita, Korintoko kanala gurutzatuz Peloponesoko itzuliari ekin genion. Nafplio eta Esparta bisitatu ondoren, 30 biztanleko Melissa izeneko herrira iritsi ginen, bertan Sotiris eta Evirekin astebete zoragarria pasatzeko aukera izan genuen.

Toki turistikoak ikusteaz gain, beraiekin bertako bizimodua nolakoa den ikasteko aukera izan genuen (eztia, oliba olioa eta beste hainbat produktu modu ekologikoan ekoizten baitituzte). Melissatik, inguruko beste herri batera joan ginen, Arna. Bertan, beste lagun bat zegoen gure zain, Panos. Mutil oso mendizalea denez, hondatzak ikusteaz gain, beste proposamen bat egin zigun : Peloponesoko gailurrik altuenera igo (Taygetos 2407m) eta bertan gaua pasatzea, eta nola ez, guk ein izan genuen ezetz esan.  

Grezian material asko pilatu dugunez, gaurkoan zati bat eta hurrengoan beste guztia argitaratuko dugu.

Grezia EUSKARAZ from lander on Vimeo.

Greece ENGLISH

When I crossed the Albanian-Greek border the first main difference I noticed was that the people working on the roadside suddenly disappeared. As I rode south the temperatures got increasingly hot making it for a reeally unpleasant ride. 

The quietness of the day changed when I met Valentis in my first night in Greece, he owns a cafe in a village called Kaloneri, when I asked for a suitable camping spot he immediately offered me  a place to crash in his bar. As it happens Kaloneri was celebrating it's saint and the whole town was having a big party in the town square, people from all ages dancing the songs of Zafiris Melas while having some glasses of the popular retsina wine. With very little sleep and slightly hangover, I thanked Valentis for his generosity and continued towards Athens.

In Athens I meet my girlfriend Ane and together spent few days with my family, my uncle and Auntie treated us to a bus tour to Delphi and Meteora which we really enjoyed. Once the tour was over we were eager to start cycling together, slowly leaving the busy city of Athens behind, crossing the Corinthian channel we went into Peloponnese peninsula. We visited Nafplio, Sparta and then stopped at Sotiris and Evi’s house in Melissa, We spent nearly a week with them, they took us to Mani and cape Tenaro as well as some amazing beaches. They both work hard in the farm producing bio olive oil and honey, it was very interesting to see how all is done, now we'll need to volunteer for a whole season picking olives to pay back all they have given to us!!

From Melissa we went to a nearby village called Arna which is famous for having one of the biggest platanus tree in Greece. There we meet Panos (a hiking enthusiast) and went up to mount Taygetos, the highest peak in Peloponnese (2.407m), we slept in the peak and had a chance to witness one of the best sunsets I've ever seen. 

As we have spent over a month in Greece we plan to make another video, here you have the first part:

Grezia ENGLISH from lander on Vimeo.

Kosovo- Albania EUSKARAZ

Jendearen aholkatutakoari kaso gehieegi egin gabe, hegoaldera bidean Kosovo eta Albania gurutzatu nituen. 

Bi herrialdeak eta batez ere Albania, bidaia honetako tokirik interesgarrienak izan direla esango nuke. Toki behartsuak izanik errekurtso exkaxak dauzkate eta lurra euskal herrian duela 50-60 urte lantzen zen modu berean (asto eta mandoen laguntzarekin baliatuz) egiten dute. Lotako toki lasai eta izkutua bilatzea etzen erreza,  jendea goizean eguzkia ateratzen zen unetik iluntzerarte lanean aritrzen baitzen. Halere baimena eskatuta ez nuen arazorik izan eta batek baino gehiagok gonbidatu ninduen beraien etxean lo egitera.

Atenasera iristeko presak bultzata nahi baino azkarrago igaro nituen bi herrialde hauek baino zihur nago etorkizunean itzuliko naizela toki zoragarriak baitira.

Ona hemen bertako bideoa:

kosovo albania EUSKARAZ from lander on Vimeo.

Kosovo- Albania ENGLISH

Despite many people advising me against, I went through Kosovo and Albania on my way south, glad I didn't listen to them as they have been the most interesting countries of the trip so far.

The reason why I found them so interesting is because the way they live, which I thinks is very close to the way that my parents’ generation lived during their childhoods in the Basque farms. The lack of agricultural machinery means that most of the work is done manually or with the aid of horses and donkeys. It was common to see young children looking after cattle while adults cut and pilled grass on the fields.

 Putting the tent without being noticed was virtually impossible as there would always be someone working nearby, luckily people were very hospitable and whenever I asked permission to pitch the tent  I had always been welcomed.

I was in a bit of rush to get to Athens so I didn’t spend as much time as I wanted but hopefully there will be a next.

I want to thank Jetmir and Alban for allowing me a space for the tent and treating me for a lovely dinner.

Video of Kosovo and Albania:

kosovo albania ENGLISH from lander on Vimeo.