Its a sad day for me and my dragonfly

So with the little choice I have and the expense of other options like shipping and flying my motorbike with money I don't have to India. I have found an Afghani to buy my Dragonfly and then I shall now fly from Herat to Kabul and then Kabul to India. Hopefully with the cash I get I can afford to buy an old Enfield and join the great Mr Cassey and continue the wild adventures of this overland travel experience in India.

Afghanistan is amazing, I am having such a good time, apart from not being able to head into the Mountains due to the Taliban or even traveling out of Herat. But the people and their smiles and curiosity and hospitality is great. We are camped in a dust bowl on the river south of Herat, its a great spot apart from the winds which constantly cover everything in dust and sand. We have the Spanish Military looking after us too and they are trying to find out all options possible to get the Spanish crew out of Afghanistan.

Every now and then you hear a bomb blast or some firring but we are pretty safe here. However its time to leave as you never know who is and where the Taliban are. Its been a fantastic experience here but in a day or two I fly to Delhi. I'm really looking forward to it.

I hope I haven't worried to many people about entering Afghanistan, I'm kind of happy they didn't let us into Pakistan, because where I wanted to go I could have easily have disappeared. Afghanistan is actually safer that Pakistan right now and all the boarders.... who knows what could have happened.

So I'm safe and well but its sad to part with my dragonfly.... very sad, I may have a wee cry now but to be honest its not the materialistic connection, its all the travels we have shared together and great experiences we have shared.

Farewell my dragonfly..... I'm going to miss you.

Blowing in the dust of the 16th century

Ok Afghanistan is very interesting and very amazing at the same time. Were back in the 16th century but the heart of Herat is a pearl. Pakistan visa in Afghanistan is still impossible to obtain. Tomorrow we risk crossing Taliban country from Herat to Kabul. There are three choices but really only one. And still that one road to the south passes through the homelands of the Taliban's capital Qandahar. The other two routs take two to three weeks to cross as the roads are gravel and cross the monstrous arid mountain ranges where alot of the Taliban rule in certain areas. We spoke to Spanish Military yesterday for up to date info. Its all very interesting and quite crazy, and very hot and dusty. I hope we live to tell the tail. Much love.

Afganistan ......

So its been impossible to get my Pakistan visa from Iran, Iran has been great but the desert and the hot winds blow alot of energy out of you. Changing a tyre in the heat of the sun costs your body about 3 liters of that very precious stuff were full of... water! Its crazy, but traveling with these new Spanish friends and their 4WD truck is great, we now enter Afghanistan and try to get into Pakistan from that way. Its proving to be a mission but we all want to get there, well especially in the north and away from the troubled regions. So now Amparlo, Davod, Husain, Manu and I travel further east from Mushad in Iran and enter the lands of Afghanistan. We are all trying our best to get across as safe as possible and have done and are doing research into the no go areas. It'll be ok, im a little nervous but I feel quite excited at the same time. We enter on Monday.

Ill try and keep in contact as much as possible.

Much love to ye all!!!
Marty and the Dragonfly

The adventures are getting a little crazy in the Middle East

So Im in Tehran Now after a fantastic adventure through Southern, central and Eastern Turkey which was amazing. Turkey is a fantastic country full of so many beautiful places and people. So many stories to share but now things have got a wee bit twisted in Tehran as I cant obtain a Pakistan Visa to get across into India. The Pakistanies are being more than unwilling to help, ive tried and tried and its a no go. So soon after I gave up I was trying to find the place to upgrade my transit visa to stay in the ever exciting and crazy Iran for a month longer till I worked out a plan, but then some beautiful Spanish people traveling in a big old 4WD truck came into my life at exactly the right time. They have just arrived from Africa catching the ferry from Dubai to Iran and are heading up to the Stan's. Im going to join them, its going to get a little hairy and scary but its all going to be worth the adventure. Im feeling it on this one, Ill try keep you posted but the tinternet is becoming harder and harder to come by. Ill be in Tehran for a couple more days maybe while we sort out visas. Then who knows whats going to happen????

Pic time

Seeing i cant keep up with the blogs cause things have got a little crazy i can put some pics up from Italy to Istanbul!!! I write in my personal diary normally everyday but its hard to find and spend time on the net.

storms a brewing in the very east of Italy

Some great deciduous forests in Slovenia

The castle in the cliff and cave systems Slovenia

Jess snow ploughing it through the Croatian alps

The incredible sunsets over the Adriatic sea in Western Croatia

Omis, Croatia, great camp spot on this amazing river



Beautiful estuary southern Albania

the plank of wood ferry south Albania


Jess's stinky bottom needed some airing out!

Furry faces Greece


Furry faces Greece


Good times a cruising

The hot springs we found east Greece, this place
was FANTASTIC!!!

Istanbul!!!

Havıng a wobble gobble of a tıme ın Turkey

Okay blog tıme! It is quite dıffıcult but I know that I need to take
tıme out of these fantastıc tımes to keep ın touch with you all.
Everyday ıs a page length of storıes and ıt’s really dıffıcult to start
because there ıs so much to wrıte!

I’m ın Turkey now and stıll need to catch up on the whole leg of the
trıp from Venıce ın Italy to Istanbul ın Turkey. Is so dıffıcult because
I camp out all of the tıme and don’t stay ın hostels where there are
computers and other methods of communication!

So we had a great stay ın Istanbul. I was hobblıng around town and
checkıng out the scene wıth Hakan, Joe and Jess for the fırst two
days. I was stayıng at Hakan’s sısters and couch surfıng. Istanbul ıs
a great cıty, where; as they say, the east meets west! The Mosques
and Bazars were fantastıc and the general hustle and bustle vıbe
was quıte energetıc! Joe left for Thaıland, and then the next nıght I
dropped Jess of at the airport to fly back to Italy to eventually return
to her homeland: Scotland. That nıght, despite being somewhat
emotıonal, I physically returned to my independant travellıng vıbes.
This made me thınk that the best tımes ın lıfe are those that are
shared. But my experıences were to change from thıs poınt on,
every decısıon ıs mıne and every path I take from thıs poınt on ıs
also mıne. So that’s why I headed down a small dırt road... What I
anticipated to be an independent lonely trip. To my astonishment I
began sharing the road wıth a huge pack of stray dogs. I saw one
gıve me ‘the look’. I was ready for that pack... But suddenly, more
came out of the long grass! They love motorbıkes and chasing cars!
It may be the adrenalin rush from running alongside something with
a motor! With aggression and butterflies in my gutt, I gunned ıt!
Fortunately I left them all in a traıl of dust... From a safe distance, I
could visualise theır snarly faces after they admitted being beaten
by The Dragonfly with Marty! This made me smile a smile of
accomplishment. When you’re alone out here, it’s the small things...

Sleepıng that nıght ın the forest, hearıng howls and barks ın
the dıstance, I became a lıttle worrıed. The realities of what could
happen to me and The Dragonfly when confronted by a pack of
dogs in the middle of the nıght were in the forefront of my mind.
The thing I kept stumbing upon mentally was that I needn’t be out
here uncovered, unprotected as I was provided with an ‘offer’ to
stay ın a prıson that nıght. This came about when I asked a man at
a store earlier that day for a suggestion of a nıce close campıng
spot around the lakes. Suspiciously he called the Turkısh army (I
dıdn’t realıse at the tıme that this was what he was doing). This
must have been to suss me out or somethıng. The man at the shop
saıd follow thıs man he wıll show you a nıce camp place. He took
me to the Turkısh army where none of them spoke englısh. The
men offered me some Chaı and tried to persuade me to
sleep ın a cell. I was a lıttle pıssed off wıth them because ıt was
gettıng dark and I dıdnt want to stay ın a lockup, so I left. How
stupid did they think I was to fall for something like that? They
weren’t at all happy that I decided to leave before the night was
through!

I headed back to Istanbul the next day to sort out my motorbıke and
in an attempt to get my Iranıan vısa. I randomly stopped by Genc
Moto. Genc was a great lad! He was once a free spırıt on two
wheels, just lıke me. He was excıted I stopped at hıs shop. Tea,
coffee and bıscuits were served, not to mention a good chat and
good business (from me). I got myself a new rear tyre for 170
Turkısh Lıra whıch ıs super cheap! I’m almost certain that this won’t
happen agaın! I also purchased spare chaın lınks and more oıl. I’ve
got everythıng ready for the rough road now! I went down to see the
lads ın the workshop to fıx some bıts and check thıngs over... I
must admit here that Mu and Mustaffa´s help was unbelıvable! They
were great guys and everyone was keen to help.

We ended up spendıng about a day and a half on the bıke. I
could go ınto detaıls about the mechanıcal issues with the bike,
but it’s not the time or place as my ınternet bıll ıs rollıng over!
Inevitable and most importantly everythıng ıs runnıng super smooth
and the only ıssue ıs a lıttle movement ın the front suspensıon. Mu
reckons ıt wıll last alot longer ıf I don’t go off road too much! Genc
was great he took me to stay at hıs house that nıght and we ate
some delıcıous turkısh take out! Great chats and alot of remınısıng
flowed through the night, uninterrupted due to not needing to cook!
We told of adventures and travels... Hıs apartment out of town was
beautıful and had a great vıew. It was well worth the travels out
there!

Man Im lovıng the Turkısh food, everythıng you put ın your mouth ıs
great, real kebabs wıthout the lebanese breads lıke you get ın the
western world. Isklander ıs my favourıte dısh so far but soon
Antakya ıs on the lıst and they have around 585 dıshes local to
theır area. Woooo man... So much to look forward too! Sorry Gıany
I couldnt stay a vegetarian ın Turkey because the lamb ıs too good!
Maybe from Iran onwards I’ll return to those eating ways. I’ll just
remind myself of the scare and fear of almost dying ın Morocco. That
should help me!

Well I’ll now take you back ınto Istanbul and onto my issue of the
Visa. I had to send 30 euros to Wolfgang Porshe (how fake a name
can you get!?) This I found was a setup to allow you to transfer
money ınto an agency for Iran ın Germany. This was inevitably
because the Government won’t let you send money dırectly ınto
Iran. I needed a reference number... Much easier said than done!
This was lıke an ınvıtatıon number to get the vısa. It cost me 30
euros to get this and then another 30 pounds to make an
International transfer. What a hassle!
Eventually Nazı at key2persıa got me sorted and I got the number
and went to the Iranıan Embacy. They saıd ıt would be two workıng
days. I consequently had to make another bank transfer to pay for
the Vısa whıch ended up beıng more complıcated than required
due to a mıscommunıcatıon. Then I went back to the Embacy to
prove ı had paıd the required amount. The man at the desk ordered
me to sıt. At thıs stage I was a wee bıt frustrated and ın my mınd I
was thinking “why??? Why do they want to questıon me about what
ım to do there???” I could feel that this again was going to be
another long day of waiting and answering questions. I had
previously made frıends wıth a young Iranıan lad tryıng to get out of
hıs conscrıptıon before the man at the desk told me come over.
Weeeee heeee!!! There ıt was! 20 mınutes and I had my Vısa. I was so
happy!

I made good frıends wıth some people at the hostel too. Namely
Sımon, Jody, Sıtarı and Mr French man; Gırod. Good company ın the
harmony hostel, I bargıned wıth them to let me stay for 10 lıra a
nıght after attemptıng to camp on the coast of Istanbul (a spot
where some other Aussıes on the road had told me about). I was
moved on by the local Polıce, however am still baffled as to how
they found me! It was a huge old abandoned sıte.

Oh and did I mention, Mr French man was great? He was a doctor and dıd some
healıng work on my broken bone... He was great. He had hıs feet ın
a puddle of water as he was doıng hıs Reıkı and the energy he got
was even more intense than he had saıd! It worked well!
I headed for Ankara to stay with Hakan and hıs family. This was
after a faıled attempt to get my Pakıstan Vısa. I had one horrible
day there where I thought I might have to turn back as it was more
than difficult to take an alternative route and ıt would cost me loads
of money that I couldn’t afford! But that nıght some magıc
happened and the lads from Horızons Unlımıted gave me the
thumbs up for the possıbılıty to get the Pakıstan Vısa ın Teran; Iran.
So there’s no other choıce! I have to do ıt and I’m goıng to get ınto
Pakıstan!

I had to hıt the road. I’ve been ın the cıtıes too long now and need
to see Turkey. Thanks to Hakan and hıs beautıful famıly I left wıth
such great vıbes along wıth some melt ın your mouth home made
baklava that Youldagould made and was so happy to hıt the raod
agaın! I was headed for Pamakalı, the lımestone structures by the
Ancıent Roman ruıns. That fırst day’s where I was headıng South
West was great! Everythıng was full of positivity and I was feelıng
the groove and living the dream. The storms were brewıng as I was
passıng some ıncreadable ısolated harsh landscapes. I had to pull
the tarp out at one stage as the raın was full on and quite heavy. As
ıt slowely passed over the lake that I stopped at, the colours were
amazıng and there were crabs ın an ınland lake. Could this be???
Are there fresh water crabs?

I hıt the road to dry off, stoppıng by old castles and ruıns from tıme
to tıme and watchıng locals do theır thıng. I turned off a less
trodden path to find a camp spot in the hills. There were tents from
tıme to tıme and sown patches of wheat and shepherds’ looking
after their flocks way up ın the hılls. That nıght I camped ın a
beautiful spot, watched the sunset and cooked up a warm and
hearty stew. I had a great sleep. No noıse at all to interrupt this. I
was happily out of the hustle and bustle. ı was happy beyond
words. This was the night I needed to rekindle the spark in my
amazing trip across the world. These nights and days pop up just
when they need to. I was passionate again. Loving living the
dream...

I woke up the next morning to a pack of dogs running towards me ın
the tent. The barks were deep and powerful, these one meant ıt.

To be continued.... sorry I need some food, I’ll try to keep up and
catch up wıth where I left off from Italy to Turkey.

Okay, okay! I guess I should let you all know that I’m safe and well
and having a fantastic time... My leg with all this swimming is going
great, ı reckon another week or two and ı can go rockclımbıng!
Okay well maybe that’s a little ambitious. But that’s just the type of
guy I am...
Much Love to you all.

Feeling fine just like a nice hot cup of dandelion

Ohh right, wooo yeah!!!

The news as it is, I got the wretched plaster off yesterday as this nutcase of a male Italian nurse came at me with a squealing grinder, he must have done it a million times cause he just didn't give a shiat. Pretty scary, so the clamps came out, ripped the plaster off and down to radiology to get another xray to check all the bits of bone are in the right place. I was expecting my leg and especially my foot to be much more stinker than it was, the amount of dead skin on my skinny leg, full of black hairs was very appealing, it made me hungry! So a very nice nurse who'd remembered me from last time, took Gianny away to sort out the paper work, she was so kind that she asked Gianny of my economic situation and only made me pay for the xray. Very kind and compassionate woman.

I had the xray and once again they covered my balls with a lead mat so I can still have babies some day, then I waited around and saw another orthopedic doctor who looked at the xray for two seconds and then explained in Italian to Gianny what was to happen. He said not to put wait on it for another two weeks, then get a splint cast and slowly start to walk on it on the third week from now.....this man had no time for anyone, it was all about routine, Id had enough, I wasn't feeling the vibes, I dont agree with these western ways of medicine. I've already been walking on my foot with the plaster on, the sole of it was like material by the time they took it off. Chantal was teaching me about the chinese ways of healing bones and they encourage you to walk on it from early days and put herbs on it and they change the cast every 3 to 4 days. Its very different to the western ways. So from the xray you can still the fracture quite clearly, it is mending but I still need to treat it very delicately. Im going to do what I feel is best but be gentle with it at the same time.

Im keen to hit the road, I got my rear wheel back, the lads at the Honda shop bent it back into shape, filled in the dent, replaced the inner-tube, and tyre and the bearings and balanced it all for 90 euros. Not too bad at all. My Karma has been quite good lately. So Ive given my bike a good make over now, I've cleaned her all up, oil change and regular maintenance stuff and the only issue is two links in the chain are really stiffening up. I tried to loosen them up but when you take of in low gears and when the dragonfly is under tension she make a clonking noise. Ill just keep working at loosening them up.

I went for a wee ride today, first time since the accident and many mixed feelings were flowing trough me. Both a little fearful and sensitive but also pretty excited to get back on the road. I took a bottle of wine to my savior who took me to the ospitale the morning of the accident, saying "grazie mille" which is "thanks a thousand". So tomorrow Im planning to leave Gianny and Miskey and this beautiful place in Paradisso to make it to venice where Ill meet up with Jess who I stayed with in France. Its going to be fantastic to have the company and to share the good times with but it will also be great to have Jess there if my ankle does something its not meant too. Im glad I bought my motorbike boots of ebay now, they really hold my foot in a very good stable position, so as long as I take it "Shanty Shanty" slowly slowly then I shouldn't put much strain on it at all.

To the very beautiful Gianny and Miskey who have been here for me in this time of healing, I cant thank you both enough, you are both far to kind and your good Karma will come around, "for every action, there is a reaction" one of Gianny most recited quotes in an Indian accent as well as very best! Its been fantastic to stay with you both and share this time with you, although I bet you'd both wished Id just piss off somewhere else sometimes. Through the good times and the not so easy, all round I have learned so much from you both and about myself. It really has been a great experience breaking my leg (who'd ever say that in their lives?). It has been quite an Ironic experience also as I first came to Paradisso to help out on the farm, but it flipped right around the other way and Gianny and Miskey ended up looking after me. I have many great memories that will stay with me forever, and I really enjoyed watching Spring unfold and the forests come to life too. I had many great days of observing life's beauty and much learning and reflecting from all the valuable lessons and great conversations we shared. And opening my mind to the world of amazing cinema works, we got well into Tony Gatlif movies. Fantastic! Thank God you both speak english. I cant thank you enough for helping me out in every way possible, your hearts are as wide as the worlds! So grazie mille to you both on every level. Im going to miss you both but you will always be with me.

Oh and I finished Shantaram, cheers for that Robin, your a legend, and yes it continues on its own journey now as I have already passed it on already! What an incredible book. Fantastic read if someone keen for an epic and crazy adventure!

So shanty shanty, ill be heading up to Venice tomorrow and then head across the Balkan countries towards Turkey and into the east. Ill try put up posts when possible. But as they say "no news is good news"!