We only ended staying at Qazvin one night and headed for Kashan the next day. The road was good all the way. We stopped at a trucker's diner and had the best lamb kebab we have had on this journey. Riding onto Qom and navigating through this city was a little difficult with riders boxing us in again and the signage disappearing or not in English. We stopped to ask Police directions and on our way.

Got to Kashan in good time and tried to book into a good hotel but they had no parking so off to the main area of town, getting lost again with very average maps in Lonely Planet. A friendly push bike rider directed us to the Sayyah Hotel and we booked in. The room was very disappointing to say the least - bed sheets not changed, towels dirty, cigarettes in ashtray, empty water bottles and a little present in the toilet!!! We had to ask twice for the room to be cleaned and ended up only with clean sheets and towels. At check out, the hotel owner would not give any discount on the rate and we left quite annoyed.

The road to Esfahan was good but scenery very monotonous. We had gone from the lush north of Iran to the dry centre, although we did see snow on high mountains. We stopped in Natanz for breakfast where a policeman came over and asked many questions and passport check - all ok. Into Esfahan and Steve did a great job navigating through the city. We tried to find one hotel but gave up and ended up at Abbasi Hotel, a wonderful hotel which was once an old caravanseri where traders and camels would stay along the Silk Route (search google to see this lovely place). We stayed in Esfahan for four nights to catch up on sleep/rest and see this beautiful area. We visited the Imam Square where we met Ali in a carpet shop. A lovely man who offered tea everytime we passed. We walked the bridges, had meals without kebabs (chicken Fesenjun which is just delightful), talked with the Foreign Police (very friendly, helpful and funny), caught up on sleep and generally chilled out. We really enjoyed our time here but time to move on.

Next stop was Shiraz but our longest ride to date so up early. The ride was hot, long and dry with no food stops for sometime. Luckily, we had got the water bags out and could sip water at our break times - it was hot!!!! We were thinking we might have to wait for Shiraz before eating but found a restaurant about 150km out. It was ok but rather over-priced. Met up with some other travellers here and had a good chat. Getting into Shiraz was easy but finding a vacancy in a hotel took four attempts. It is the tourist season here but this is the only time we have had trouble getting a room. We stayed in a good hotel which gave us a suite for a double room rate so we were happy. First thing was to have a cold shower and get the air conditioning working! As it was late in the day, just had a quick walk along the main street then had a delicious meal at the hotel which did 'western' meals. Next day was hot again so we got up at leisure, checked emails and strolled to the bazaar. It was a maze of shops but very cool. We walked around for sometime before heading back to hotel to cool off where we stayed for a little while. Late in the afternoon we took a cab to a coffee shop and to walk around the lovely gardens (roses come from Shiraz) but by the time we got there, the gardens were closing. Back to hotel in our first shared taxi. We had arranged a private car for the next day to see Persepolis, ancient ruins about Roman time but much better preserved. We also stopped at tombs with intricate stonework. Early night as off to Yazd tomorrow!

This is where our journey got really interesting.......

We got up early for another long ride and headed out of Shiraz. Coming around a round-a-bout, Steve mentioned the water and to be careful. Liz was ok but Steve went over, the back wheel losing grip as there was also oil on the road. Awful sight seeing your partner come off the bike. Luckily Steve was ok and bike not damaged but took a little while for Steve to feel confident. We headed back up the road to Esfahan to the turn off to Yazd. It was another hot day! About 100m past the turn off, Liz's bike broke down and was not repairable without a good mechanic and parts. Although this was disastrous for our journey and happened in the middle of nowhere, we were lucky that all the truckers in Iran toot and wave when you take rest breaks to make sure all ok. A lovely man called Mohamed stopped and although none of us could speak each others language, we managed to communicate that Liz's bike was going nowhere. He backed his truck into a ditch and opened the tail gate so the bike could be rolled onto the truck. We headed back to his place where we were fed and a mechanic with many helpers looked at the bike. Steve could see straight away the problem with the final drive but not sure how to fix. The mechanic could not fix it and as our bikes are not available in this country, we had no way of getting the parts.

Through Mohamed's family in Brisbane, we were able to work out our options and Steve would ride back to Esfahan while Liz was in the truck. Mohamed took us to Esfahan without a blink of an eyelid. We have no idea how we interrupted his plans for the day but nothing was too much for him and the family. We did not arrive at Abbasi Hotel in Esfahan until midnight - it had been a long and stressful day and we still had no idea how we were going to get the parts. It could have been a whole lot worse but it was bad enough.

By this time our biker friend, Stuart, had also arrived in Esfahan so we met on Sunday and caught up on all the news. We spoke with Dave back in the UK and gave him the part numbers we would need. As it was a bank holiday in the UK, nothing could be done until Tuesday. Unfortunately, Honda UK did not have the parts and were advising upto 2 weeks to get the parts in, then there would be more time to ship over to Iran. There is no way we could stay that long and our visa was running out! Steve got on the internet and found a company in the Netherlands who had the parts so at this stage of writing, the parts have been ordered and are on a plane via DHL courier. We have to wait for them to arrive and clear customs - let's hope this is quick. We plan to leave Esfahan mid week if possible.

So we have spent the last week arranging the parts, fixing both Liz and Steve's exhausts (as they have had problems too), catching up with Stuart, extending our visa and seeing more of the sights of Esfahan. Luckily the weather has cooled down slightly and it has been ok for Liz. We know we will encounter all sorts of problems along the way and the test is how we cope. We have coped but it has been hard and we are grateful to Dave for his help and Stuart for being positive and staying with us in Esfahan.

So, next post will hopefully have no dramas! From Esfahan, we travel to Yazd and then a route onto the border. We will update you where we can.