We are travelling there against the advice of the UK government who are rightly fearful of the potentially volatile situation in the country resulting from the current political impasse. We have been monitoring the situation locally with the help of Active Earth Club embers living in Lebanon and ExplorAider guide Raja Saade. Raja is organising our trip for us and has links with top army officials and will personally accompany us for the whole of our trip. Our safety could not be in better hands.



You might reasonably be wondering, why we should take the risk at all? Well the answer is simply that Lebanon is such an amazing country with incredible people and my family are about to have an experience that they will remember for the rest of their lives. They will hopefully return having formed some strong relationships with these warm, resourceful and open people of many different religions.

I first went to Lebanon in October 2004 on business for my financial company Metage Capital and met there Active Earth member Nabil Chaya. I extended my trip there by two days to spend some time with Nabil and discover a little about this amazing country and people.

I discovered a community of people of all religions, fascinating characters, open and really interested in meeting you and helping you. This sense of community is so often lacking in the west where our lives have become more individually focused and we are pushed to follow a life of consumption trying to fulfil empty dreams invented by the media and marketing engines which run relentlessly lest we forget our purpose in life!

For instance one night in a restaurant I met and thanked the DJ for the excellent music he had played. The next day during a board meeting a parcel arrived from the DJ with two CD�s full of music.

Once you go to Lebanon it is impossible not to return, you are drawn back by the humanity of the people and the exceptional and contrasting wonders of this small yet diverse country.

I went back in November 2005 for the Beirut Marathon, where I met Maxime Chaya, Lebanons leading explorer who at the time was in the middle of his goal to climb the seven summits and to reach the North and South Poles. After the marathon and one day of financial business we spent time cycling and climbing together in the Lebanese Mountains.

In March 2006 I commenced my sabbatical from Metage with a trip to Lebanon along with Active Earth member Doctor Alexei Pokalov. This trip with eccentric Russian scientist Alexei was unforgettable. I participated in the Red Bull �Snow to Ski� adventure race. This is a team event linking mountains to the sea via cross country skiing, running, mountain biking and finally kayaking. Needless to say Maxime�s team won and we came in around fifth.



The rest of the trip with Alexei was a whirlwind of culture and sport, a contrast of multi million dollar ski-chalets and sleeping on the floor with the Druzes village people before ski-touring Mount Herman which borders with Syria and gives a view of Cyprus from the summit.

We swam in the sea, ventured out on Nabil�s boat, partied in Beirut, made some great new contacts and soaked up some of the country�s amazing history.

Alexei too was blown away by Lebanon and has kept in contact with many of the friends he made on that short trip ever since.

This time it is a family holiday and as we arrive at Beirut airport the family are nervous. We are met at the plane doors by a tall uniformed soldier, the family look even more worried, �I have come from Raja� he announces and explains that he is chief of airport security. We receive VIP treatment and Raja is awaiting us with a beaming smile in the arrivals hall.
On arrival we find out that Lebanon is expecting one of its biggest storms for decades with snow forecast from just 300 metres above sea level. Raja plans our trip around the weather.



It is Friday night and we head to the ski-resort of Faraya where we have a welcoming committee of Active Earth members and their families. While there I have time for a ski-tour with Maxime and Nabil who are preparing for the �Patrouille des Cedres� ski-touring race, the first of its kind in Lebanon, which Maxime is busy organising.

On Sunday Afternoon we flee the storm. As it is planned to engulf all of tiny Lebanon we decide to head into Syria to visit this poorly understood country.

Within three hours we arrive at the Syrian border, Raja prepares us for what to expect on route with a collection of hilarious jokes of which the poor Syrians who are allegedly not the brightest are the butt.

Even with Raja�s preparations we are still surprised by the comic display put on by the Syrian Army manning the border. It takes us an hour to get six visas as the army run around like a bad episode of Dad�s army. Each passport receives ten postage like stamps of different denominations, evidence of the $52 dollar visa cost that we have paid. They are all stuck in a completely confusing and comical way into the passports by hand. Eventually we receive back our somewhat heavier passports and proceed to clear the border.

After witnessing the Syrian Army it is very difficult to believe that George Bush could believe that they possess nuclear weapons and the intelligence to use them. The failure to embrace the invasion of American culture has contributed to Bush branding Syria as an axis of evil. The Syrians individually are arguably the most hospitable nation in the world.

We arrive Sunday evening in Homs, a lively Syrian city and head into town to eat in a magnificent old Syrian house now converted into a restaurant. There we met Tarec our local guide who has a hot air balloon on standby for us but due to the storm the wind will be too strong to take off.



We visit Palmyres, an exceptional collection of historical remains from the time of the Romans and the Crusades. If these ruins were in Europe there would be thousands of tourists but as it is there is only one other couple apart from us.



We stay in the Zanoibie Desert Camp where we take a skin cleansing bath in the sulphur rich natural hot springs. The kids enjoy some night quad-biking in a sandstorm around the camp and we sleep in Bedouin tents.



We head back to Leabanon via Damascus two days later. As we cross through open desert we see tiny clusters of Bedouin settlers surviving on practically nothing. A shepherd herds a flock of sheep that are grazing in the desert! Incredibly these animals feed on the microscopic shoots that are hardly visible to the human eye.

As we approach Damascus we learn that it is snowing there, the first time in living memory for many of the inhabitants. The cars, taxis and people are compacted into this wonderful town full of ancient Mosques and labyrinth Souks selling animal skins, dried lizards, tortoise shells, spices, nuts, sweets, freshly baked bread, carvings and household wares. The taxis drive around like bumper cars in a fairground weaving into the smallest spaces and not giving a millimetre.

The road back to Lebanon is full of snow and barely passable at 600 metres elevation. The Syrians who are not accustomed to snow are piling it on top of their cars, presumably to take home to show their friends. A dangerous exercise as when they break the snow slips down blocking their wind screens.



We finally make it back into Lebanon. Despite having chains on our car we are stopped by the police from crossing the mountains to get back to Faraga. Even Raja�s legendary powers of persuasion fail as police explain orders are from the top and that they will go to prison if they let anyone cross. We find out later that winds have blown up to two metres of snow into the roads and clearing them is pointless until the wind drops and visibility returns.

We stay in a hotel run by more of Raja�s friends and watch Maxime on TV doing a press conference for the Patrol de Cedres. With the snowstorms dominating the news reports Maxime�s timing is impeccable.

The next day we split into two groups one for paragliding from 600 metres and one for ski-touring.

The kids find the ski-touring tough in the fresh powder snow. I make it to the top of the resort which is closed and then ski down into the setting sun with the slopes to myself.



We spend the next two days enjoying the superb skiing conditions, blue skies and powder! From the top of the resort we can see the Mediterranean Sea and below Beirut. I am lucky enough to meet another Active Earth member Christian Francis who is a deep sea diver and an all round adventure sports enthusiast responsible fordiscovering the HMS Victoria which sank off the coast of Lebanon 110 years ago.

He is in the process of creating Lebanon�s first maritime museum. After the ski lifts close I head off with Christian and two friends for some off piste action. We hike up thirty minutes and descend a powder filled couloir. This is as good as any off piste I have encountered in Chamonix.



The trip is rounded off with two nights in a luxury hotel in Beirut. We enjoy the spa and massage before heading into the lively streets of Beirut.



The spectacular restored downtown is currently out of bounds due to security concerns, but lively Gemazie street is alive with young people enjoying the cosmopolitan area.



We leave Vanessa and Dan to soak this unique ambience. They are blown away by how open and helpful the people are. They get to meet a fantastic muscician in a jazz an blues bar and are bought drinks by the owner of the bar and given a free taxi ride back to their hotel

Saturday is our final full day. The family heads off with Raja to see Balbeck, the most amazing Roman temple ever built. A paraglide trip on route is also planned.



Everyone in the group is bowled over by the amazing and enriching experience they enjoyed. We leave visibly uplifted with tired bodies but recharged souls and an increased sense of humanity.

Lebanon is currently a troubled country rocked by the influence of the instability in the surrounding region. Who knows what will happen there we are just thankful that we have had this extra-ordinary opportunity to become part of the country for eight days.

Big Thanks to: Active Earth & ExplorAider (click for details)


tags: active earth, daron sheehan, exploraider, lebanon, nature, environment, sports, syria, adventure, tourism, lebanese, beirut, baalbek, anecdote, culture, cosmopolitan, family, article, ski, fresh powder, hospitable

-finkployd- Perspectives on Blogging Beirut