A big part of my day over the last few months (when I have not been sidetracked by Al’s newest post or the latest from Explorer’s Web) has been taken up with planning for my next expedition. Of late, this has mainly centred upon route planning.

Most recently I plotted 3 different routes on Google Maps. You may view each by clicking the link in the paragraph title.

Expedition Iran Route 1
This is my preferred route as it takes me from the Northern most border to the Persian Gulf and allows me to travel through the most varied terrain of Iran. It is also the longest and most ambitious of my options.

Expedition Iran Route 2
This route is shorter but allows me to travel from the Caspian Sea to the Persian Gulf. I don’t mind this route as I means I can travel first on the lower land near the sea, crossing the mountains towards Tehran and then continue south straight down to Gavbandi. Most likely the quickest route which still allows me good variation in terrain and being able to pass through villages, towns and cities.

Expedition Iran Route 3
This route is quite long and also the most isolated which is fine but might mean I go quite slow. It also means I will miss a lot of the towns and cities that I wish to pass through to meet people. After all, I go to Iran to not just for the mountains, forests and desert!

Among the obvious things that excite me about this expedition is that I am not bound necessarily by a strict A to B journey. On the Amazon that was quite obviously a large part of our undertaking. In Iran, I am not chasing speed records, distance records or the like. Yes, my aim is to cross the country, but no one gets to decide for me the path I must tread.

I wonder which it will be?