India overland - Iran the road to Kerman

The Road to Kerman
To my surprise most of the women in the crowd were naked from the waist up. If this had been Africa no surprise but this was in the heart of Iran, a muslim country. The men slowly came closer and as we held out our hands they seemed to relax. Once they realised we were foreigners and not officials smiles appeared on their faces. I am sure they had never seen foreigners before but some how they understood we were harmless. It took sometime to get directions as they were arguing amongst themselves as to which way we should go. The girls went to see the village women but they were very unsure and kept backing away, they were laughing but it took several minutes before they let the girls get within touching range. To them it must have been like having Martians turn up, they ran away when a camera was pointed in there direction. It was very hot and we needed to be moving on so we bid farewell and set off back in the direction we had come.	Lost in the hills
Hassanabad	This time we found the road and it was winding down into the valley. Fred was lost but it was hardly surprising as he had only been that way once and then in the opposite direction. It all looked the same just sandy colored hills rolling on endlessly. There it was in the distance the mud lake and you could just make out the village of Hassanabad. It seemed to take ages to reach the village and as it got closer it looked more run down. Mud houses have a very drab look, they blend into the back ground and unless they are looked after soon fall apart and return to the earth. This village was very different, no welcoming party, they just ignored us. We slide through the village and in minutes were back into the desert.
Getting on to this lake is not straight forward. It is dry but it can get wet around the edges and you need to take care as getting struck here would be a disaster. We tried near the village but recent rain had softened the edge so we drove around the edge looking for a dry spot. Fred was up on the roof with the P.A. microphone giving directions. Left a bit, right a bit, stop, backup. This went on for about an hour until we were on the lake proper. We drove in for about 5 kms (3 miles) then stopped and let everyone off. The lake is some 30 miles wide and about 70 miles long, it is as flat as a snooker table and nothing grows there. We let the passengers take turns at driving the buses while the other rode on the roof. They had a great time and as long as they didn't run into another bus there was not much that could go wrong. There were two old ladies travelling on one bus, Dorothy and Connie, Dorothy had driven during the war and being in her seventies was not going to stop her from having her turn.	The Mud Lake at last
A fun day on the mud lake, no roads no traffic and a million miles from anywhere. The feeling of space was unbelievable. We played around so long it was decided we would camp on the lake that night. A neat idea but it turned out to have a few surprises. While tea was cooking we sat around chatted, some people made up their beds for the night, then two girls set out to find somewhere to go to the loo. They walked for about 500 meters but on looking back to the buses they realised they were still in full view. So of they went for another 300 meters, meanwhile the others were shouting at the top of their lungs "we can still see you". They finally got lost in the heat haze but it convinced everyone else to wait until it got dark.	Dorothy at the wheel
The next morning we set off across the lake heading due east. We were looking for a low pass in the hills at the far end of the lake, but it was proving hard to find. As we neared the end of the lake we could see up a gully to the pass that would take us to Kerman. It was the same process for getting off the lake but this time there were signs that other vehicles had been this way and although I wouldn't call it a track there were some signs to guide us. After climbing over the hills we found ourselves looking out over a small salt lake that lay between us and the highway some 50kms away. The road leading to the lake was in very poor condition, the holes were so deep the buses couldn't drive through them. We organized crews of passengers like chain gangs bringing rocks to repair the road. We would fill a few holes then move off only to stop again for more repairs. It took us about 3 hours to travel less than 5 kilometers but the passengers loved it they felt like the were on a real expedition. I had one nagging worry "what if were like this for the next 50 kms"?
It proved to be OK, once we made the lake proper it was smooth going and in no time we were closing the distance to the main Bandar Abbas to Kerman highway. Everything was going smooth driving across this lake was sureal we had America playing on the sound system and everytime I hear "Horse with No Name" it brings that part of the trip flooding back. Suddenly there were trucks speeding pass in the far distance like little mice racing across the horizon. We bumped our way across the last few kilometers in deep sand until the track rose steeply up to the road. As we turned towards Kerman a big cheer went up we had made it, only 15 kms on the bitumen to civilisation. Kerman is a real desert town, known the world over for its carpets it is a busy city with a great bazaar and if you like dates then this is the place for you. Our passengers headed off into town to do what tourist do while Fred and I gave all the buses the once over. We are still worried about Ian bus, the oil pressure is very low and the engine has a distinct grumble when its hot. It is a long run from Kerman across the desert to Zahedan the last town before the Pakistan border and it would be a disaster if the bus let us down out there.
The troops loved Kerman and wanted more time the next day to look around. We agreed to camp out of town and return in the morning so they could spent another 4 hours before we set out across the desert. Geoff myself and the two girls spent our time around the bazaar drinking coffee and looking for treasures. I always had my eye open for an agate to add to my collection.
The trip continued	Map of trip so far