We knew there were ski fields in Lebanon but as a country we know to be part of the Middle East, we never really expected that there would be THAT much snow! That just shows my ignorance and I am less ignorant for this experience now!

Anni and I finished up in Syria by driving from Hamma to Homs to return the hire car. Anni has been very sick these last few days. At 1st it seemed to be just a soar throat, but by last night it is clear that with a fever that comes and goes Anni has the flu. Still, the only option is to push on and after deciding we would stay in Syria, in Hamma another day for Anni to rest up, we changed our minds and pushed on to Lebanon. Anni is still unwell, but seems to be geting over the worse of it all now, although she remains very tired.

From Homs we found ourselves a taxi to take us across the border with Lebanon and on to Tripoli. It was a two hour drive, plus another 30 minutes or so at the border having our papers checked and getting a visa etc.

Immediately as you arrive in Lebanon you notice the difference from Syria. The last few days in Syria saw us move from desert to city to green fields of agriculture and areasmarked as "research for agriculture in dry areas". The produce in this part of Syria was fantastic and abundant. I had an orange the size of a water melon and just as wet! A messy affair indeed!

Lebanon is mountainous and relatively green. Of course it is winter, so temperatures remain very cool. The military are every where as you would expect, but look far more alert and professional than in Syria. Here they carry Stirling rifles and are at least 18 years old. In Syria we saw teenagers in some of the desert regions standing sentry looking bored out of their brains with klashnikovs in their arms!

Anyway, we arrived in Tripoli without incident. We did not stay, as we wanted to get into ther mountains to a hotel (not yet booked or bookable!) in the day light. On the face of it though, Tripoli looked pretty interesting and gavea good impression, alll thiongs considered for a bombed out city in continual conflict. We drove past what we assume were the Palistinian refugee camps to the north of the city, a sea of tents and small scale agriculture, befoire geting into the city proper. After getting some Lebanese curency from an ATM we headed back out to the main service taxi area and negotiated a price for a local taxi to take us to Bcharre, another two hour drive.

The drive up the mountains was spectacular, with views into the Qadisha Valley, or rather around the rim of the top of this deep valley. Winding our way through tiny villages hanging on terraced hillsides and peaked with snow, the drive up was an experience in itself. We arrived in Bcharre, a village high up in the valley and just below the skiing fields and checked in at a local hotel (Hotem Chbaht), which was great. Anni was feeling pretty rotten by this time, but the hotel put on a fantastric Lebanese meal, accompanied with a bottle of local Lebanese wine...absolutely superb, but unfortunately Anni was too ill to enjoy anything more than some lentil soup :-(

With Anni feeling a bit better the next day, we cadged a ride up to the Cedars, high into the snow line and where the ski fields run. Bloody beautiful! We walked the last couple of kilometers in a sea of white with the ocassional snow ball fight on the way. The ski season has only just started here but already the snow was several meters deep. A small Cedar forest coverd in snow was begging to be explored, but after ten minutes of sinking thigh deep in snow I settled for a few shots of perfect snow covered cedars, some of which are several hundred years old.

This is the place the Beirutis head for for New Year. Like Surrey, they all sem to drive massive 4 by 4's with one hand on the wheel and one on the mobile. The Lebanese like to dress to impress and "ski fashion" as well as looking cool are top priorities here...but for the snow and being in the Lebanon, the people have the same focus on looking good, as we experienced in Rio last year! Ski tows were busy although the chair lifts to the higher fields and steeper runs were closed due to the weather.

Of course we are not into skiing and that day was not the day for us toi give it a go. Instead we settled for a hot chocolate, watching some of the Beirut beauties strutt there stuf, or descend into impromptu snow ball fights instead! With no taxi or bus service up here we were faced with a 12 Km walk back to Bcharre, not good for someone still suffering flu. Lucky enough for us, a couple of the Beirut beautiful who we had spoken to earlier gave us a ride back down the mountain to Bcharre....whew!

We had hoped to do a walk into the valley the next day (today) to investigate some of the old monasteries in the valley, but the weather closed in first with thick mist and then with heavy snow. So we caught a bus to Beirut to get to the city in time for New Years.

Three hours later and we arrived in Beirut. A very western looking city with a liberal feel. Signs of the civil war remain with some of the buildings still pock marked with bullets and cannon fire, and of course if you scratch the surface the tensions remain between Muslim and Christian sides. Still, it is safe enough and is a fantastic city to visit. As it was in 2002 when I was last here, it has a vibrabt feel to it but with events of 2005/2006 and 2007 so recent, some of the optimism has now gone..well, that is my feeling of it anyway. The people are of course friendly and welcoming as you would expect.

Happy New Year from Anni and David.