Day 50. Gonbad - e Qabus - Bojnurd
Today we set of towards Bojnurd a provincial centre. We have heard that our bike will arrive at the Bajgiran border late tonight. We continued to drive through a broad and fertile valley with rice paddies the dominant crop. The valley slowly but surely narrowed and drew us into a steep sided ravine with dense woodland coming close to the road on both sides. Think Haast Pass but warmer. This is the Golestan national park, Home to Brown Bears, Goats, Deer and Jaguars. The road follows a river which bisects the park. It is very picturesque except for the trail of plastic waste lining the road on both sides. It is also a demarcation line for weather with the humid air from the Caspian sea hanging up on these hills and providing the rainfall to support this dense forest. When we emerge from the park the landscape is very different. Dry and barren but dramatically beautiful. We have arrived in Bojnurd and have made contact with a man called Mohsen Qomi who runs a page...