J89 – 3/16/2006

The sunshine is back and Serge seemed to make good headway this morning.  At 3 kilometers from the start he went through a 1.2 kilometer tunnel which was not ventilated, therefore very polluted.  A gas mask would have been  helpful.  Coming out of the tunnel the scenery was splendid: we were on a vast plateau surrounded by mountains.  Superimposed colors gave the impression of stratification and at the base of the mountains there was a succession of dunes.  There were very high altitude clouds which occasionally hid the sun but there seemed to be no risk of rain.

At the second feeding, the Duponts saw from afar that Serge had been stopped by a few policemen.  What was happening?  Nothing serious, since Serge arrived to say they were all invited to go for “Cay” (tea).  At the third feeding a trucker with a break down was happy to see people and offered a basket of things to nibble (pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts and pistachio nuts).  He didn’t give the impression of possessing much but what he had he wanted to share and it made him very happy.

Serge went on, head bobbing back and forth to admire the scenery, during the first part of the stage.  He ran more mechanically during the second part of the course and acted almost resigned.  It was obvious that he was not in top form but he continued anyway.  When it’s like that it’s better not to ask questions and above all better not to suggest stopping earlier than normal or resting  for a few minutes.

We had more encounters: motorcyclists, people in cars, people traveling in a bus.  Laure was even approached by a student in a pink scarf (for a change), who spoke to her in English.  It was a rare phenomenon because many women cover themselves more when we approach, or turn their head away, especially in the country.  In any case, we keep handing out, as we did in Turkey, our famous postcards, translated in all the languages, telling what we are doing.  They are a good passport for Serge to explain what has set out to accomplish.

Just a word about Medhi Heidari, our guide, who will travel with us in our vehicles until we reach Teheran.  He is 35, comes from and lives in Isfahan, which is 400 kilometers to the south of Tehran and is one of Iran’s most important artistic and cultural cities.  Medhi speaks perfect French and is teaching us a great deal about this country and its inhabitants.