Preparations for Selling the Wave 8 Nov

Usual late start at about 12:30pm. We'd better do something about the new town & country tyre. The Pirelli agent was closed. Heinz came in for some lunch, and discussed the tyres further. Heinz then vanished for a while, coming back later to say that he would be taking the car away tomorrow. While Brian started to prepare our evening meal I went off to the Pirelli agent again and found that if the tyre is truly unused I might get 1000R for it.

We then had a visitation from two Iranian junk merchants who gave us 350R for the tent, 150R for the box (less a few valuable items), 50R for water containers. Then we ate - very good - but the corned beef does dominate everything else. No Christmas pud tonight, we're saving it. I feel hungry - never mind it's good for you. After coffee we went in search of John Fenwick, but he was out, so we took the tyre off the rim. This caused Brian considerable distress, because of all the well-meaning idiots standing around. They were trying to help take the tyre off, but they hadn't a clue. They were really stupid and indeed rather annoying. When they started bashing the tyre with a lever even I got annoyed and one of them got his knuckles rapped by Brian. We also took everything out of the 'Wave', and brought it up here, sorting it into a pile to be sold, and other items to be packed.

The Wave's Last Trip, to the Mountains North of Tehran 9 Nov

The Wave's last day! Woken by Heinz at 10:30am. He wanted us to do something about the tyres. Having said he had no idea how much he could get for the snow tyres he then said sell the Pirelli if you can get 1000R for it, but not for 800R. Anyway, I went and sold it and the one inner tube with no patch for 930R altogether. Not bad I thought! Then came back and told Heinz. He then disappeared in the 'Wave' with the proprietor, came back and suggested that we go to the "German Hotel" for a four course 100R lunch. We said yes. Then he went off with Yvonne - who knows where?

When Heinz returned we went off to his restaurant, which was excellent. The meal was good, though the portions were rather meagre, and a beer cost 40R! After lunch Heinz decided to take us to the mountains, to use up some of the petrol. Returned to Amir Kabir for camera and then drove north till we couldn't go any further and walked on up the torrential mountain stream. We then climbed up to get a view of Tehran, though as we did so we saw some mules and Heinz negotiated a ride. We just didn't quite attain the view of Tehran that we wanted but the mules, amid great mirth, took us up higher, not all that far from the snow line. Here we took photographs.

The scenery was rugged and beautiful. The path led up through and past several dwellings and crossed the stream three times (the mules were not enthusiastic about the bridges). Here the women were all dressed in black chadors, and life was primitive. On the way down we came upon the view of Tehran, at the top of the chair lift. It was already beginning to get dark and I had to photo at 1/8 sec. The poor mules slipped and slid their way down to the road, and we were constrained to pay 100R each, but it was worth it. Highly amusing to see Brian on a mule with blazer and Royal Ocean Racing Club tie. The Tochal Resort wasn't built until 1978.

We returned to the hotel and said farewell to the Wave which had served us faithfully. It now had about 87,000km on the "clock" so we had done a little over 11,000km together in two and a half months. We invited Heinz to eat with us. We built a curry. Eventually Heinz returned but found it too hot for him and took it away saying he would warm it up and eat it later? We were also waiting for John Fenwick of Safaris to return. Finally, he did and was waylaid and invited in. After a lot of chat, we settled on $US60 each Tehran to Delhi, and he will give us £1 for jerry cans. Then conversation moved to amazing stories.

John was in the army as a trooper and had got a commission after being mentioned in despatches for an anti-Arab action in Kuwait when he was drunk! His story telling was excellent. He trained at Mons then went on to learn how to be a ski instructor, after intercepting the message calling for volunteers who could ski well. He had never skied before. But a German called Hans taught him to instruct in 6 months! Then he had to be elevated to the 11th Hussars - where he wasn't really acceptable in the officers' mess as a beer drinker, especially arriving in ski attire. While in Germany he bought a 1957 Gull Wing 300SL Mercedes for £230! And is now negotiating for a Rolls Royce in Pakistan, in which an Indian Maharaja was shot! A pity he's not coming on with us to Delhi. Next his Kiwi roommate Kevin arrived - then the dregs of a bottle of whisky and finally we went to bed about 3:30am. Too late.