sedita

Hard to believe what a conversation starter a torn up map can be. Despite of where I am, the minute I open my map, people flock and ideas, suggestions about what to do and where to go start pouring in; guesses as to where I've been, what I've enjoyed and eaten; all these thoughts will season the conversation and to complete it come questions about the future route...

Lately, the response to the latter has been pretty much the same everywhere: "you are going East! it'll be cold, there will be snow soon!!" ....Je peur... i still remember the time I almost lost a finger and an ear to the cold....

These thoughts of winter approaching, of cold winds coming at me, of snow covering the roads kept on haunting me for days at a time, but it was the (wise) comment of an (even wiser) friend that brought me back to beauty: "autumn has arrived! my favourite season is here..."

Then, at that point, the veil dissapears and I, once again, become able to see: where I saw white before I see green, red and orange now; where there was fear before, there is nothing but awe now. Awe at seeing nature and her wisdom: before the long sleep that is winter, she shows us her most beautiful colours... If I could do the same: show my most intense colours before going to the long sleep we all have to go to.....

so the road continues East...

leaving Batman (what a glorious name for a city) seems like leaving any other city: apartment buildings dissapear, houses become more and more isolated, farm animal traffic replaces car traffic.. but 20 km into the ride, down the same road, a change of scenery awaits for us: on an ever uphill winding road, stone bridges pave the road as castles and caravan palaces tower over it: we've entered the silk road,

The old road that connected East and West and that brought many a king, a prince, an army, a thief, a killer, an adventurer, a lover across continents, that same road this time brings me (a king, a lover?) East,

East up another mountain range, across a lake, into yet another steppe closely guarded by more watch towers, monateries and castles.

Van and the East welcome us with some (kacak) tea, neverending breakfast and funny looking cats ;)