One hike, two caves, and lots of food and cocktails

by Layla

Having left you in an internet cafe in Achrafieh, we didn't seem to find another internet source, thus the gap in communication. After our internetting we proceeded to the local ABC Mall to have lunch on the roof terrace in a restaurant called Waterlemon where Roz had a halloumi sandwich and iced coffee drink... and I had a big plate of chips, with a giant chocolate milkshake. The shame. I'm afraid I was having a Western food craving. Satisfied, we headed off with plans to visit Sioufi Garden, a really lovely sounding park that Google Maps claimed was a mere 11 minute walk. Half an hour later, with the heat of the sun blasting upon us as we walked along a motorway, we had to concede we'd missed it and took a service taxi to the Corniche.

We were fast bonding with the Corniche - such a lovely idea to have a seaside promenade in the middle of a city. It was full of people wandering along, running, cycling, swimming, and generally hanging out. Having strolled along for most of its length, we decided to go to another cool, artsy/intellectual Hamra cafe. This one was even more obscure than the last, inside a dodgy-looking shopping centre, and involved me getting us extremely lost in my doomed zeal to walk through the American University Beirut campus, as enjoyed by the author of a book about Lebanon's political and religious tensions, Paradise Divided by Alex Klaushofer, that Roz and I had both been reading. Alas we could not find the entrance and eventually found ourselves in the quirky t-marbouta. Furnished appropriately with beer, mint lemonade, and chocolate muffin, we settled down for some competitive domino playing to while away the rest of the afternoon. On our way back to the hotel, we strolled past the headquarters of the Lebanon gay association, but it looked completely anonymous and unmarked, and there were random men lurking at the entrance, so we didn't dare to proceed. It is a little uncomfortable holidaying in a place where being gay is illegal...

That evening, after a stop-off at our hotel, we dined at Margharita's, a pretentious but tasty Italian restaurant on Rue Gouraud, in our district of Gemmayzeh. The price clearly wasn't intimidating anyone else - it was crammed full of all sorts of people, from glamorous groups of party people to families. After dinner we returned to the lovely Bar Godot for some more exemplary cocktails.

It had to be home to bed fairly early, for a challenge was upon us: we had to be up and ready at an early hour for an all-day hike in the Adonis Valley run by a company we'd read about in Roz's guidebook (she was smug) called Esprite Nomade. This rather lovely valley, nestled in the mountains of north Lebanon, is where Aphrodite and Adonis first kissed, and where Adonis was killed, apparently. We bought a picnic lunch and joined up with a group of about 30 hikers, all locals, and headed off in two minibuses into the mountains. After some rather hair-raising bends, we eventually stopped in the middle of nowhere, and started our hike. I had been a little concerned about a 17km hike in the mountains, given my previous ankle injury, but it had improved, so I set off with my elasticated bandage firmly in place. I need not have worried. While the hike took us up hills, and deep down into the valley, the group moved at snail's pace. And it is not often that I find a hike too slow! Indeed it has never happened. More intriguing, there was zero macho competitive behaviour. Everyone just pottered along the vague track, enjoying the sun and the scenery and chatting peacefully to each other. It was all rather serene. Lunch was at the bottom of the valley, sitting in the sun next to a lovely waterfall and a gushing river. And after lunch, and a hike up into the mountains again, and past some tiered farms, apparently quite common in these parts, we jumped into the minibuses and headed back to Beirut via a fantastic ice cream shop. I love the style of these people!

Home and showered, we headed out again, this time to a bar called Time Out, that we didn't quite know whether was part of the famous Time Out brand or not. Having sampled it, we are none the wiser. In an old Lebanese house in a quiet Achrafieh street, furnished with comfy sofas, we arrived at 8pm to find ourselves the only people there, save the owner and a cat (a much more healthy looking beast than our own dear Nelson). Thirsty, we had some beers, and then as the place slowly filled up, stayed for dinner. Which alas was the worst we had had in Lebanon (particularly the microwaved mini-pizzas), and grossly overpriced. The atmosphere was odd - we couldn't quite figure out what type of people favoured the bar, and at the end, the owner approached us to find out how we had heard about the bar, as it was never advertised, and advised us not to tell our friends about it. Strange...

The next day started with breakfast at Paul, i.e. the French bakery chain. Apparently all the glamorous folk of Beirut breakfast at Paul on Sundays. And us... Very tasty. And then off on our next expedition: Jeita Grotto. These famous caves are nominated to be designated one of the new 7 wonders of the natural world. They were a tad tricky to get to though. Of course the glorious Lebanon public transport system started us off nicely. As we approached the main road, a minibus immediately drew up and agreed to take us to the highway turn off, from which point we could take a taxi (they also obligingly offered to take us the whole way, but for more money than we wanted to pay). One minibus and a taxi into the hills later, we found ourselves at an incongruously Disney-esque tourist attraction. It started by us taking a cable car up a small hill, which was quite pleasingly picturesque, if not especially necessary. Then the Upper Cave. This massive cave is absolutely full of beautiful stalactite and stalacmite formations in pinks and yellows. They have a nicely designed walkway, along which we wandered slowly, admiring the sight. And then it was down to the Lower Cave, which has an underground lake, so it is explored by a fairly brief boat trip. Apart from the rather long queue for the boat, and children screaming to enjoy the sounds of the echo, it was a magical experience, floating down into the amazing cave and imagining being the first person to discover it.

After the caves, we took a taxi and minibus back to Beirut and indecisively tried a few places for lunch, before choosing one that was not very good. Feeling disgruntled, we couldn't figure out what to do, until we realised we were mainly sad at the thought of leaving Lebanon. Roz came up with the good idea of taking a service taxi back to the Corniche. We settled ourselves in the pretty seaside restaurant that we'd found on our first day in Beirut and had mint lemonade and hummous and gazed out at the sun dancing on the sparkling blue sea and tried to preserve it in our minds for our return to the greyness of London. Wondering how to keep ourselves cheery, we called the glorious Mayass Restaurant, where we had had our most beautiful meal in Lebanon, and convinced them to squeeze us in for our last supper. After a last stroll down the Corniche in the sunshine, and popping home to change, we took yet another service taxi to the restaurant and enjoyed a glorious meal. Albeit an overly extravagant one. The lovely staff kept recommending dishes, and we felt powerless to decline. By the time we had finished, we could barely breathe from being so full. And lamented that this holiday has likely done nothing for our diets... Resting between mouthfuls, we were interested to overhear a conversation between a gay-looking man and a waiter, which sounded rather as though the latter were advising the former of the location of a gay venue. Or maybe not, but if so, this was the first sign of anything gay in Lebanon...

After finally having to admit defeat with the beautiful dinner, we walked down to Gemmayzeh, and, having rapidly rejected our plan of trying the reputedly exclusive cocktail lounge called Behind the Green Door, due to the clientele looking like ladies of the night, we found a really lovely little bar called Gem where we had some excellent cocktails. And a barman tried to pick me up, haha!

After drinks we reluctantly headed back to our hotel, along Rue Gouraud, feeling sentimental about the area and really hating to say goodbye. When we woke up this morning, the brilliant blue sky taunted us as we sadly packed our bags, caught a taxi, and headed back to London.