Iran - Visa extension and flying visit to Bandar Abbas

We have changed our plans: We are not travelling to Dubai, Oman and Saudi Arabia. We're too late, spring is too hot for us and we'd rather take our time travelling through Iran. And, to be honest, the north attracts us with cooler temperatures. Besides, there's still the option of spending the summer at home when we head north again.

So we drive early, and I mean really early, to the harbour in Qeshm City, park our Felix safely in the harbour car park and board the ferry to "Mainland", as it is affectionately known here.

Too bad I didn't make myself a coffee, because the ferry has nothing to do with ferries in other countries. No service, no tea, no coffee. Maybe it's the Ramazan. However, we suspect that this is because it is not seen as a journey, but as a "quick trip over".

After 45 minutes, we arrive in Bandar Abbas shortly before 7, book a Snapp (which is something like Uber) and it drives us to the consulate (or something like that). Side note: all taxi seats here are covered with plastic foil - something very special, uncomfortable and incomprehensible to us. We arrive on time and have our visa extended. Otherwise it would be quite a chase through this huge country.

We have to hand over our rucksack and put it on a bench. We are assured that nothing will happen. And we can confidently believe that, because everything here in Iran is very trusting. We also hand in our mobile phones and I have to put on a chador. Here, too, the lady smiles a lot because the chador doesn't even cover my knees properly - I'm just too long. (But I'm wearing long trousers, so it's all good).

The visa process takes just under an hour, everyone is friendly and there are lots of smiles. Shortly before 9am, we are still standing in front of the consulate, thirsty for coffee and hungry for breakfast and don't know where to go.

We decide to go to the authorities again: we want to extend our Felix. For some reason, they stamped the wrong end stamp on our Carnet de Passage. Unfortunately, we only realise when we get there that this is only possible if you have the camper with you. But it is parked in the harbour car park on the island of Qeshm. At least we have a great Snapp driver again this time, who is also a poet and recites some of his poems to us (we think).

Back in the city centre, we change money and top up our Iranian credit card. I also buy some coffee (real Italian coffee) and a Nutella mix.

We try to get something nice out of the city, but fail without complaint. Cities, especially Iranian ones, are somehow not our thing. So we take one of the next ferries, which always leave when one is full, and are back with our Felix in the early afternoon and at a beautiful pitch right by the sea - all to ourselves.

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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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