We'll come back, iron horses!

We have had breakdowns, injuries, and a war broke out. We made our way through Central Asia, the former Persian empire, the Arab world, where the journey found a sudden halt.
We decided to leave the bikes in Riyadh since we ran out of coin, our sublet apartment was free again, and apart from some lucky one who managed to slip through the Syrian/Turkish border, it didn't seem like a terrestrial exit plan was viable any time soon.
Apparently that was it, for now.
So we rode our iron babies back to Riyadh where they could rest at our friends place. On the way there, we made it count: Consciously we inhaled the hot air, the smell of the camels, the coffee steam at our road side specials. We embraced the last night in a dodgy hotel and under the stars after pitching the tent, smoking the last cigarettes in the wind. Deeply happy, though, and we arrived in the capital city.
Full tank, empty carbs and battery off the grid, with a blanket on, they are alright for now.
To save quality time (and also money, weirdly enough) instead of the bus we took an airplane to Jeddah, where we had a bit more time now to discover the Red Sea museum and stroll around with the camera. We stayed a few nights in a nice hotel (with buffet breakfast - very important!) before we took an airplane to Europe. In Athens, we had a couple hours to walk up to the Acropolis, and also to adapt back to the occidental way, with a nice cafe, some anchovies and olives, amongst an in all senses Mediterranean society...
Back in the plane, RidingKismet fell asleep to the high pitch whining of the starting turbines, with a little smile on her face and IronChris holding her hands.

Well, you know what it means. The term "adventure" implies that the ending is more than unknown. We didn't know we would take this way back, but it was all cool.
It was time now to get our feet back on firm ground, to leave behind the for a while the dust, the throttle and the vibrations of the long road. Get back to what one part of society calls "the normal life". No more of these holidays where everything is always easy, back to the harsh reality of having an own home, running potable water, and a language everyone understands. It's going to be hard, not having to constantly take decisions as a couple any more, not dealing with the military, not hurting ourselves and trying to deal with a tight budget....
Well, we're looking forward to it as well.
Every day is a fucking adventure baby, so let's kick it.
And who knows... Murghob and Kismet are roaring in their dreams. Soon, very soon we're going to ride again ❤️

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