Given that we cut down the number of km on our daily riding menu, and given that the roads we chose appear to be of decent quality and with minor traffic, the riding only takes a small part of our day. Consequently, Mark’s motivation (which I did at some point manage to induce into him) to leave ‘early morning’ is gone for good and our day therefore starts a ‘little’ later and the rythm substantially slowed down… So we leave now between 9 and 10am, ride for 2-3 hours and arrive early afternoon at our daily destination. While in the past, especially in China, we would arrive exhausted late afternoon in places with million things to see, we now have plenty of time to spend in places with few things to see… So, after picking a hotel, grabing a lunch, we take a walk around the city/village checking out the few architectural/historical sites of interest. However, after all we’ve seen so far, it seems that neither Mark nor I seem to really get as enthusiastic as before. Could it be that we are already “blasés”, after the diversity of China, the pristine sceneries of Khirgizstan, the cultural relics of Uzbekistan, the administrative challenges of Turkmenistan and Azerbaidjan, the churches and canyons of Georgia and Armenia, the hospitality of Turkey, etc. ? How can it be that before the trip has even ended, our eyes and minds seem to have somewhat shut to the beauties that used to give us so much excitement and enthusiasm at the beginning of our trip ?
We built this trip from its very bottom starting with getting a valid motorbike driving license… It is not yet time to recount the numerous steps and hurdles we had to go through, but there were many! And when it all started, we were so nervous about how we would manage that for the first few days we couldn’t really appreciate the places we were driving through. Then came the time of confidence, when we acknowledged that everything was going by plan and started to really live the trip out to its full extent. And after surmounting the administrative hurdles linked to our passage through Azerbaidjan, we really felt unstoppable and untouchable. However, this latter phase seems to have lately converted into a phase of ‘overconfidence’, in which everything seemed to give us a feeling of “been there, done that”. The little incident in Kars should be a reminder to us that the trip has not yet ended, nor have the traps and challenges… and although we may be unstoppable, we are not untouchable.
What is it in the human nature that makes perfect moments ending feeling dull (as Baudelaire used to say: “le bonheur est un désert d’ennui avec des oasis de désespoir”) ? Why is it, that we just can’t appreciate beauty and peace without getting used to it and thereby diminish its value ?
I have no answer to these questions. But I have a remedy that works for me: GRATEFULNESS. By consciously being grateful for everything you have and manage to do, these things keep their value, and more importantly, they make you strive for more of them…
So, in an elan of gratefulness for having gotten so far and through so many wonderful places and experiences, let’s see what other surprises Turkey has left for us before our arrival in 4 days (!) in İstanbul.
Ciao!
Those blog-readers who traveled far and long can surely answer to your questions: how long is it before you get tired, before you get saturated with the new and the unknown. I do not think you became “dull” (in a sense of addiction) of preception of the beauties, maybe just those you see now are more familiar to what you are used to. Also You have been on the road non-stop for a long time , and there is probably a limit of the assimilation of the impressions : you will need time to digest the moments and experiences this arduous journey provided .Stay vigilant!
Glad the healing process is going well – OPM must be very relieved !! NJM from London certainly is!
Can’t wait to see you.
Take care the last couple of days!
Puszi