I’ve not been well and spent the last 4 / 5 days mainly in bed. I’m pretty sure I had a virus. I’m through the worst and not permanently freezing cold and aching. I’ve been fantasising about bacon sandwiches, roast dinner and homemade chilli.
3.20pm TODAY – I received the mail that I’ve waited 58 days for;
My IRAN VISA AUTHORISATION CODE has come through.
To say I’m happy is an understatement, I was outside having just had lunch when I read the mail, I instantly jumped up and screamed! Ok, I still have to get across the boarder but that should be straight forward. I feel fully vindicated in my robust approach to the original NO. I worked so hard researching every angle and contacting everyone I could who may have been able to help. All of the life skills I have learnt proved invaluable and without understanding them and implementing them who knows what blog I would be now writing. Don’t accept NO lightly, ask why a thousand times, ensure you fully understand a situation before trying to find a solution, talk to everybody who might be able to add information, advise or help, keep researching and talking even when you think you’ve tried everything, follow up on every message or mail you send, don’t accept no answer, ask further questions if you don’t understand, dig deep and answers are generally down there somewhere.
So many people from all around the world offered advice, opinion, comment and support from friends and overlanders I know to those who posted on websites / Facebook and shared amongst biker communities. I’ve entered a great community that came good. Thank you everyone.
The visa came via a tour agency based in Tehran who found a guide willing to travel with us from the Turkish boarder to the Pakistan boarder. Many agencies profess to being able to find a guide for overland bikers but no other agency could. The agency was recommended by Hossein Sheykhlou who owns ‘Hossein’s Guest House’, Urmia, Iran. We have been talking for months, he had many ideas and recommended the perfect company. I’ll see you at your place soon Hossein to personally thank you.
So, tomorrow I ride out of Georgia for the 2nd time and into Turkey for the 4th and hopefully last time as I’m collecting the visa from the Iran consulate in Erzurum. I’ll collect the bike spares which should now have been delivered from Istanbul and head east.
One Response
Brilliant Dan. Your very hard work and perseverance paid off. I know from various happenings when you were staying with me that you do not give up easily. It has certainly paid off this time. Take care and do not set off on bike until you are really well. We are all proud of you, as would your Dad have been. xxxx