Let's continue with our memories of our wonderful trip to Iran. Tip: We are now back in Turkey.
After a restless night - the New Year celebrations go on day and night, families and friends laugh, sing, dance and smoke for all they're worth - today we take a look at the mangroves of Qeshm.
But first we have to put our licence plate back on. A couple of teenagers who have been smoking the stuff behind our Felix, which has recently become legal in Germany, are hammering away at our Felix. It's strange, they probably think there's nobody in the car. Why should they, you're out on the road at 2 a.m. and no normal person is asleep.
After the second rumble, Gerd opens the rear window and looks into astonished faces. He shouts loudly and asks what they have in their hands. They quickly throw our number plate, which they have successfully removed, on the ground and disappear. Luckily, because while the youngsters would probably have liked to keep it as a souvenir, it would have been an odyssey for us. Police, new number plates and, above all, we would have had to put up with the question of why we were driving without Iranian licence plates.
Anyway, all went well again, in the morning we expertly repaired our number plate, which was badly bent, with cable ties and armoured tape.
But now to the mangroves. We had already tried it yesterday, but it was too crowded between the many people. Our strategy remains: early in the morning is our time.
So we board a boat, just the two of us and the captain. We look like two English tourists on safari: camera, binoculars, rucksack. Slowly and very quietly, the chauffeur sails through the mangroves, shows us beautiful birds and we enjoy the peace and quiet in the saltwater forest.
Mangroves are salt-tolerant, evergreen tree and shrub species that occur on tropical and subtropical coasts and estuaries. They are therefore often referred to as forests between sea and land. Adapted to extreme conditions such as tropical heat, salt water or tidal changes, mangroves are true survival artists and can be found where other plants could not survive.
Mangroves are characterised by their conspicuous roots, which protrude from the water like stilts and enable them to find their footing even on soft, muddy ground. As there is hardly any oxygen in the muddy substrate, the protruding roots also contribute to the plants' oxygen supply. The widely branched root system of the mangroves offers many animal species - especially young animals - protection and shelter from the open sea.
And because it is so beautiful, we decide to follow the tranquillity: to leave the island. We find a quiet spot right in front of the ferry, laze around all day and cook ourselves something delicious in the evening. The local children greet us briefly, practise the English they have learnt on us, which always makes us happy, and at some point, shortly after sunset, we are drawn to bed. Because tomorrow morning we want to stick to our early bird theory: We'll take the first ferry. Because we are sure that most Iranians are still asleep.
Source: https://www.wwf.de/themen-projekte/artenlexikon/mangroven
Merci for "travelling with us
We are thinking about taking another break from travelling in the summer and visiting our families in Germany and Switzerland. One of the ideas is to organise a Lecture about our long journey to the Persian Gulf to prepare. If you would like to, what would interest you the most? We will also tell stories here that don't find a place here on the blog. We're thinking of the Bern and Berlin area - simply because we have family there. But other places are also conceivable. Feel free to write to us.
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