Lebanon

At fırst we feel a little bit uncomfortable for it is impossible not to look like a tourist with our bike-clothes (It's almost written on our foreheads). But soon Beirut seems a friendly city where tourists are very welcome. We see a lot of new luxurious buildings on one site, but on the other hand you can still see a lot of buildings with bullitholes. Unfortunately there is not really a view of the city because the huge amount of smog. A colleague of Maarten gave us a brilliant evening in Beirut by taking us out for dinner at a great place. We learnt to smoke the Hubbly-Bubbly (argileh), had plenty of terrific food, great laughs and some good advise for our trip. Our bikes have arrived well from the plane and are ready for take off. My stomach hurts when I take a look at the highway we have to ride.....It's going to be a terrible fırst etappe: 35C, 35 km of climbing between trucks and inhaling smog. We expected about 800 altitude meters, but it turns out to be over 1600 mtrs. Some men put there heads out of the window to scream 'Why?!' At this point we're unable to answer that question. But even more men scream 'Bravo!' and give us an applause. The long descent to Zahle (almost) makes us forget about the demandıng climb. From Zahle we bike up and down to Baalbek to see the famous temple. It's certainly worth the effort. We have to go through the Beekaa-valley and everywhere we meet friendly and helpfull people. If we stop for a drink, immediately people pull over to ask if we need any help or to give us a cheer. After Baalbek already our last etappe in Libanon; Zahle to Damascus (80 km).

Funniest questionst so far:

- How many wives do you normally have in Holland?

- Like to buy a Hezbollah shirt? No...? How about the flag?

- To maarten: is that your wife? yes, is she already pregnant?