This is a cheats way of saying Merry Xmas and Happy New Year to all our fans and airconditioners!
We are now back in Cairns, Australia and back at work :)
Our son, Johnathan, nearly 21, has just bought a 2007 KLE500 (its like a small Super Tenere, which is our bike of choice for those that dont know about motorbikes!) He is now driving 3,500km solo trip from the top of Australia to the bottom. He spent 6 weeks with us in Cairns choosing this bike and then getting the bike and his riding skills up to the challenge.
Our daughter Kate, 22, has just returned from a stint in New York modelling and has many contacts now and had a blast! You just go girl!
Belindas brother, Paul and his family Jacqueline, Daniel 8 and Hannah 3.5 are preparing to depart Cairns soon for a surf trip down towards the Gold Coast in Australia.
As for our news, its bum up and head down for the next 10 months. Our Canadian nephew Gregory Peck is coming to Cairns to learn about real estate in January and bringing his Dad, Pats brother Bernie with him for awhile.
Our Mothers and Bins Father continue to enjoy great health.
We hope you all have a great Xmas and are surrounded by those that you love. Remember, Youve only got one life, so go out there and love it!

Introducing you to "The Peck Flag", that we hoist everyday in our hotel rooms to let everyone know we have arrived!

Meeting up with the locals in Iran.

HU member David Mildwater in Abu Dhabi kindly storing our bike for a year.

Immam Mosque in Esfahan, Iran, one of the most beautiful Mosques in the world.

A 1,500 year old deserted mud brick village in Iran.

Salam from the Middle East!
Last time we wrote we were in Greece. We spent a wonderful week riding around the Greek Island of Lesvos Island, a lesbian pilgrimage island, with wonderful scenic rides.
Next appointment was with our Turkish friend Baha in his summer holiday apartment! Its amazing the people we have met this trip! We travelled with Baha along the west coast of Turkey for a week and then we drove back along the Black sea coast of Turkey to Trabzon to pick up our Iranian visas from the Iran embassy there. Very easy, US$50 each but it took them 3 weeks to approve us!
Iran....wonderful Iran....how do we tell you about our fantastic time there?
Firstly, its law that women are covered up in public from head to toe. In 40deg heat, its a chore, but its a jailable offence, just like dancing in public or showing affection in public!
Ramadan, a Muslim tradition of not eating or drinking during daylight hours in public for a month was half way through when we entered Iran, so food was very scarce.
The people of Iran have to be the friendliest in the world and we felt very safe, in fact we felt like movie stars and everyone made such a fuss over us to make sure we were happy and everything was OK. One day we had a homeless kid offering us some of his meager rice as a friendship gesture. When we would arrive in a town the "flies"- young guys on motorbikes would drive really close to us to talk to us and touch us and show off doing wheelies in front of us. They would then escort us to the Hotel we were looking for...not bad service and they didn't do it for money...which was refreshing.
Following a group of older Iranian women is like being behind a flock of penguins, all in black.
The food was very boring on the whole... kebabs and rice or kebabs and rice...for 30 days, twice a day....uurrgghhh so dry!
Highlights were Esfahan..the jewel of ancient Persia and one of the finest cities in the Islamic world. Imam square and Imam Mosque are to be seen to be believed, one of the most beautiful mosques in the world.
Yazd in the desert is the best old and still inhabited city in the country and one of the oldest towns on Earth according to UNESCO. Buildings there are made from mud brick plastered with more mud and mixed with straw- no problem as it hardly ever rains in the desert. We stayed at the famous travellers meeting place: Silk Road Hotel for 5 nights and had to drag ourselves away. There were lots of other cyclists and a Turkish biker there and lots of other travellers to share tales with!
Fuel for locals was .10c/litre for locals, but tourists have to pay .40c/litre for leaded and .55c/litre for unleaded if you can find it. We were told that the average income in Iran is US$4000/YEAR, which is half of the average wage in Turkey.
Crossing from Iran to UAE was a long and expensive process. When the boat arrived at 4pm customs was closed, so the bike had to stay and we had to go- we hate leaving her alone! Next morning Pat returned to pick up the bike, 4 hours and US$230 later, we were on our way again, one of the worst and most frustrating border crossings ever!
We then went to Abu Dhabi where HU member David and Rita Mildwater kindly offered to store our bike and gear for a year. We also caught up with Dave, Lynne and Harri Mollenhauer, friends from Cairns now living in Dubai. Oman for a few days was our next destination, then Hong Kong to see Murray and Lieve Frame for a few days and go sailing on their new yacht, then home to Cairns tomorrow, Nov 2, 2008.
What a year it has been! Full of fantastic memories, we met amazing people and survived the dreaded Middle East. Not for one moment did we feel unsafe, except a few close calls driving in Iran and Turkey,where there are not many road rules except avoidance driving and "fill that gap"! As usual people are what made the trip. Travelling to us is not about ticking off places seen, but magic moments shared with new and old friends. Saying that we have now been to 76 countries over the last 5 year long trips!
See ya tomorrow morning Cairns! Cant wait.

When we left Oradea Romania, Oli contacted his friend Vali in Timisoara Romania to look after us! Romanian hospitality at its best, thanks heaps Oli! Vali was great, he met us, took us to a great, central hotel and showed us around beautiful Timisoara. We loved it there and stayed 4 days as there were bands playing in the central square most nights, great walks in the area, stunning mountain rides and Vali was there to keep us entertained!
Next destination was following the Danube River which is the border between Serbia and Romania. It was a glorious ride with spectacular scenery and we stayed in a riverside Hotel with really friendly people.
Serbia showed us some glorious rides, but a real shortage of accomodation. Most people were camping and if not, the hotels were about E60 per night. The roads were great, people friendly, tasty traditional food and unique scenery, what more could we ask for!
On our way south we passed through Kosovo, but only really saw the main highway. This is a very small country, we passed through in a few hours, but still had to pay 28euros compulsory 3rd party insurance. The rest of the countries there was no charge for us or the bike.
Macedonia was a real delight. We stayed a few nights in the charming capital Skopje and then drove along a very scenic road parallel to the border of Albania to stunning Lake Ohrid. We went for many long walks around the old town and along the lake...pure heaven...we just love exploring new places.
The next border crossing was back to Greece for the 6th time...our most visited and loved of all the countries in the world. We visited a gorgeous lake village called Kastoria in the North of Greece and did a wonderful picturesque ride around the lake...see the video one day!
Our next appointment was with Orestis in a quaint Greek village called Ambelakia. With our Greek guide we went for some great dirt mountain rides, roads that we wouldnt tackle alone, even if they were shortcuts! We spent a few days driving around Pilio mountain near Volos and swam in some of the most beautiful beaches in the Meditteranean. It was very hot, over 35degC everyday and very crowded being August school holidays, but we all had a great time. Poor Orestis had to get used to our schedule of lunch at 2pm, after lunch snooze, no dinner and to bed by 10pm! We then caught a ferry over to Evia and did some great rides, some the locals havent ever been on, stayed at some great beaches and dont forget the great Greek food!
Before we knew it, we were back in hot 40C, busy Athens getting the parts needed for our bike service. For the weekend we drove to the Peloponnisos and stayed in our favourite mountain villages of Stemnitsa and Dimitsana. That area is the best mountain area for great rides and spectacular monasteries built into the side of the mountain. Check out the photos of the magnificent hotel we stayed in: www.arxontikodeligianni.gr
We are now back in Athens giving the bike a final big service with a mechanic we trust before our final push east through Turkey and Iran to Dubai where we will store the bike for a year. We then hop on a plane to Hong Kong and then home to Cairns November 2.

Orestis (HU Athens member) and Pat with their machines!

Us and Orestis sharing a snapps marinated watermelon, try it you will love it!

Serpentine road in Greece.

Having fun with a Greek God statue!