Our luck in getting a room at the mosque last night was even better than we first realised. A hail storm appeared just after dark and all night we listened to the sound of howling winds and icy rain falling. It would have been a very cold night indeed in our tent we hate to think what our bikes might have looked like the next morning. How fortunate we were to meet Arash and what a big thank you we owe him for making sure we were in a safe place before he continued on his journey.
When we emerged from the mosque in the morning everything was covered in ice and a light dusting of snow. At first we were quite worried about the roads but they turned out to be surprisingly clear for the whole trip into Shiraz. The wind was biting but it was mostly on our backs and we went downhill quite a lot so we made very good time coming into the city, zipping along at 40-50km an hour surprisingly often.
We only stopped once for a break at the halfway point, where an Iranian family gathered round us for the usual conversation and bought us ice cream of all things. We couldn’t believe it. Here it was, one of the coldest days of the year, with snow all around and freezing air and these Iranians were gobbling down ice cream cones! Well, we have to admit the ice cream was quite tasty, although maybe someone could make a mint by introducing take away hot chocolate to these roadside stands.
In Shiraz, we decided a little splurge was in order so we moved up a notch in hotel standards. Last time we had a room that was definitely not clean but for a little more cash we found one that is a million times better with a big bed, television, fridge and access to a kitchen. Just the spot to rest up before we hit the road again towards Yazd in a few days.