Syria to Lebanon

---

Punched out of Tartous with the wind behind our backs and a desire to get to Lebanon to see what there is to be seen.

We rode along close to the Med Coast and were very much enjoying the sun and easy terrain. We stopped at a small Syrian town for some lunch and were promptly mobbed by about a dozen kids. So much for a quiete bite to eat.

After feeling like a spectical we saddled up and hit the Syrian/Lebanese border. The crossing was pretty easy. The Lebanese guys even gave us a 1 month visa for free (beter than the US$30 or so that they could have charged).

So feeling pretty good we delved into Lebanon. With the Lebanese mountain range stretching to the west and the Med Sea on our right it was a good day for riding. Even though the road immediately after the border was total crap.

Soon made it to the first town in Lebanon to be greeted by an insane traffic situation. There were buses, trucks, about 15,000 aging Mercedes sedans aşş vying to get through some dodgy intersection. And yours truly stuck in the middle on my bike with the trailer of death coming very very close to being flattened.

But the best form of defence is a good offence! After having a quick orange drink that was supplied by some champion Lebanese guys we hammered through the traffic and made the last stretch to Tripoli.

We crashed that night in Tripoli. Which incedently gave us a great introductiıon to Lebanon. People were super nice with street vendors dolling out free grub like it was going out of fashion. We met an Australian Lebanese who hooked us up with some coffee and grub. Top bloke.

The next day would see us rocketing towards Beruit!

---