Laliche Lattakia

... bushes, trees and even lush green forest at some places. We also enjoyed some exciting winding roads along this way.<br><br>A bit south of Lattakia I approached the first time the Mediteranean Sea since 3 years in the same journey. It was a experience just like meeting a good old friend, just even if it was a same body of salty water as anywhere else ashore the sea! But it is where Europe is to be find soon!<br><br>

... right! Not only was the chicken good but the gent, who made it, made it with such pride. The garlic mayo, with gherkins on then lightly fried pita bread and all rolled up, was tasty and filling. After filling my stomach ( food is only essential for survival, if it tastes good that's a bonus ), I went to rendezvous with Hakim in the place we met. He wasn't there. My mind began running : " does he have a key to the flat, is he stealing my stuff?" I decided to run back and gather the ...

... down my back. It had been a long day. Unfortunately we found out that the minibus stops about ½ an hour from the city, so we get on minibus number 5. It's about 5pm now and we are pretty desperate to stop moving. At last we see the sea and the arrive at the city of Latakia. We jump into taxi number 3 with a thick necked taxi driver, sporting a towel around his neck, as if he was trying to pull off the Mohammad Ali look. His neck was not the only thing that was thick, this ...

... to the minimum expression, despite of its stunning location. After 20 minutes, me and Derrick are already in the taxi back to Lattakia. We spent the rest of the day in a bar talking and smoking nargilehs. At night, we see Barca - Bayern football match, with the local audience clearly backing the Catalan team and enjoying each and every of the 4 goals. We finish the night at a bar drinking a couple of gin tonics (at 1 EURO each). It was a strange day, but very pleasant.

... all day I should be able to make the entire trip without having to stop along the way and squat over a disgusting roadside toilet.  When I told the reception guy that I was going to Lebanon, he insisted on making the arrangements for me.  He said my best bet was to take a cab, so I caught a cab to the place where the cabs left for Beirut.  A man at the cab station put my suitcase in the back of one of the cars, grabbed a plastic chair for me and ...

... out of water. I decided to call the front desk to see if I could get an English speaking person to help me. A man came on the line who spoke a bit of English and I was able to communicate to him that I was sick and needed help. I told him I had diarrhoea but he did not understand. I looked the word up in my Arabic phrase book but he still did not understand. Next I used every word I could think ...

... without them. Today I took a trip out to another castle - Saladin - which has the coolest location of all thus far: perched atop a hill with cliffs on all sides! Perhaps the nicest thing was the countryside, though. Pine covered slopes gave off a scent that sent me back to the Rockies and home. Wow, I can't wait to get back and do some backpacking/camping... I really must do more overnights in the mountains this summer.

... Guillou og Arn i tankerne er fascineret:-) Igen oplevede vi Syriernes store gaestfrihed - fik lift med Lada (vaekker gamle minder), derpaa budt paa the af gammel dame, der smuttede til boen i Moskeen og efterlod os hos ikke voldsomt engelskkyndig datter, og afslutningsvis blev vi koert paa motorcykel helt op til borgens port...

... of it we were served by a kind old man who really wanted us to see the "old" thing but unfortunately hadn't checked on this one in a while. Maggots still moved quite happily on the outside while the instead reflect the color of dark ash and muddy worms. The smell turned my stomach and actually upset me, emotionally you could say. "Rick, this is not right...Rick, this is wrong, man, look...wait are those the maggot's eggs?" Rick: "No ...

... and pick up some other kids to spend time at one of the many swimming holes. She'd watch out for snakes while we played endlessly in the freezing mountain waters. When we were bad or mischievous she was always patient with us. I can only remember her being truly mad one time. When I was 16 I went on a month-long road trip in an RV with my grandparents and my cousin, Brandon, who is just younger than me. My grandfather did all the driving. Sometimes he smoked a pipe ...