I thought well; I planned well; ... but, through no fault of my own, I end up doing nothing at all.
I speak, of course, of my two-week trip to Iran, a trip long-planned for May. I've published two blog articles in which I spoke glowingly of my earlier Iranian trip in 2011, and in which I looked forward eagerly to a repeat visit in May 2022. The trip was originally planned for last October. As I noted last summer, because of both my trip to Lake Como with relatives and the disruptions caused by the Covid virus, I decided to postpone my departure until October 2022.
But I was impatient. I checked with the organizers in November, and decided to move the date up to May, even though at that time there was only one other person signed up for that date. The trip required a minimum of six participants.
That was the still the status of the trip this week. Just me and some unknown kindred soul, looking forward wistfully to travel in May.
And then today -- I receive the Notice of Cancellation. My deposit will be refunded. Fortunately, I had taken the company's advice and refrained from making air bookings until they were confident that the trip would run. Now, barely three months before departure, they gave up hope.
I hope that Covid-19 was responsible for the lack of interest. Not fear of the Iranian government, or a feeling that Iran is a backward and uninteresting nation. Based on my visit in 2011, I can attest that the country is beautiful and crammed with historical interest. The people -- at least the many people my group encountered -- are friendly, relaxed, and possessed of great senses of humor.
The people seemed more "American" in personality than those in most of Europe.
The government? Immigration control was careful and meticulous, but if you've gone through British immigration you won't be critical. Once inside the country, we were no more troubled by officialdom than we would have been inside most other countries. The government did require that we be accompanied during group activities by an Iranian guide. Our guide was well educated, relaxed, and funny. We learned far more from him than we did from our American guide. While he wasn't anti-governmental in his stated opinions , he rolled his eyes as instinctively as we do in America when confronted by seemingly irrational governmental policies or regulations.
My 2011 trip was an amazing experience. I've been looking forward to repeating it, repeating it in many respects but as part of a much smaller group than the 35 college alumni I traveled with at that time. Unfortunately, a group of two was much too much smaller.
I look forward to giving the trip another try in the not too distant future. Persia/Iran has been around for millennia. It isn't going away anytime soon.
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Photo: Kidding around with local Iranians in Isfahan.
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