The plan was to get up early on Friday and drive to Akre. By car it is about 2 hours, at most. We were going to take our scooter and figured it would take about 2 1/2 to 3 hours to drive to Akre. Friday was warm and sunny, no need for a jacket but definitely needed to wear your sunglasses. By the time we got up and got around we decided to postpone our roadtrip to Akre, where we needed to book a hotel for Norwuz, until the next day. When we woke up on Saturday it was rather cloudy, colder than yesterday, and the weather forecast called for wind and rain.
We decided to take our chances and head off to Akre despite the dark storm clouds rolling in. For the first hour, we made great time and were one step ahead of the rain. From off in the distance you could see the rain coming down, it looked daunting from afar but with the snow capped mountains in the background and we were still dry we were able to enjoy the view. We were a little less than halfway there when we heard thunder, and decided to make our way back to a little restaurant we spotted a few miles back. We were welcomed with open arms in broken English and told to sit down. They brought over a kerosene heater and two glasses of tea. We decided to sit out this little rain shower and eat some of the snacks we packed for our picnic we planned on having along the road. Needless to say, that picnic never happened.
Once the rain stopped we decided to continue on to Akre. The last time we took this road it was paved. We found out the hard way that they are making another road along side the one we were on. This meant that the next 50km or so would be driven on wet, slippery, muddy roads that had many curves and hills along the way. At one point the road was a bit steep and i opted to walk to the top of the road rather then ride on the back. It made me feel safer but my boots were caked in mud and I was out of breath by the time I got to the top.
We stopped for gas at one point and had to beep for a few minutes until someone came out of nowhere to pour gas out of a plastic container for us into our scooter an charge us 2x more than what we pay in Erbil. Kinda funny considering we were in the middle of nowhere and haven’t seen anyone for miles, but we were on a long deserted road and didnt want to wait for a cheaper gas stand. I choose the word stand instead of station, since it was simply bottles of gas sitting on a stand alongside the road. I hopped back on and off we went for another 10km or so down the road until finally we met pavement again.
So much for our 1 hour or so until Akre, with the muddy road and only being able to drive around 5-10km an hour, our ETA was not what we expected. The rain held off for a bit but the wind began to blow and every time I looked at Alex’s hands on the handle bars they were turning deeper shades of blue. The only thing that made the drive worth it was the crazy green and brown shades of new grass growing and dirt that has been recently tilled on the rolling hills that made the land look like it was painted in camouflage.
We finally arrived in Akre, about an hour later than expected. The last couple miles I felt rain on my legs and back and could hear it dripping onto my helmet but it was more of a warning than actual rain. The thunder and lightening that lit up the sky and the rain that poured down in buckets arrived only minutes after we arrived and was safely in the hotel. As soon as we arrived, the workers recognized us from before. They brought over two kerosene heaters, one for each of us, and some tea. So there we sat, listening to the rain pour down while we sat warming up our hands and feet and waiting for the rain to stop.
After an hour or so, with the reservation booked and our appendages feeling much warmer we got put all of our jackets, hoodies, and vests back on and started to gather our things. We were about to set out for home, unsure if it would be a cold and wet or a cold and dry ride back. The owners however, wouldn’t hear of us driving in what could be another rainstorm so they picked up our scooter, put her in the back of the truck and tied her down and off we went. We took a less scenic but quicker way home and decided that since the sun came back up and the roads were dry we would hop out right at the Tigris River and ride the rest of the way back home on our scooter. We thanked the driver and his friend for the lift and told them we would see them in a fe weeks for Norwuz. The ride with them saved us about an hour so we were able to make it back before the sun went down that day.
Our road trip, that we thought would get us into Akre at noon had actually put us at the hotel sipping tea around 2pm. We planned on being there and back before 3pm, or 4pm at the latest. It was’t the case. We arrived home a little before 6pm. The road trip was cold and a bit rainy but it was an adventure. We had a great time and are making plans to go out next weekend and find a place to camp along Lake Dukan. I will keep you posted!