Camping Trip

Hammana Hikers: Friends, Fossils, and FUN!

Fabio arrived to pick us up and all I knew was I'd be sharing a ride with Lucy, Julianne, and Sato. As soon as I met Sato it was clear that Julianne, Sato, and I were NOT going to fit in the backseat. Julianne loaded into the rental car with Phil, Mike, Gretchen, and Josie. Sato turned out to be Fabio's very broad black lab. "Don't pet him, don't even look at him!" Fabio warned me as he hoisted Sato's back end into car.  He'd put the seat down flat for Sato's sitting spread.  However, it became clear after a good ear lickin', that Sato preferred my lap, or the "center" seat.  I began pointing his snout away from me after the first salvo of doggie slurp landed on my lap.  Just how long WAS this drive to the mountain top?  I have to say that with all the lab training I've received from Liz and Jake, I knew Sato and I would eventually hit it off.  It wasn't long before I could lay my arm across his back without setting off enthusiastic overtures of slurpy love.  Sato settled in, and so did I.

We were heading up the Damascus Highway. You realize quickly that the "country" isn't the wild open expanses we're accustomed to in the west. There are rocky mountain tops in the distance, but rocks and houses are everywhere in between.  Now and then you see stands of "umbrella trees", which are beautiful tall trunk pines with umbrella tops, so graceful.  You also see some patches of cedar and fir tucked into nooks and folds.  The land has been sculpted by human hands for centuries.Terraces of stone step their way up the mountain sides. The highway is a steep, winding climb. I could picture long ago caravans filing up a trail that has now become a highway lined on both sides by shops, houses, and motels. The snaking road and traffic were challenging Saturday morning, but Fabio remained Fearless!

We arrived at Andre and Nathalie's country home.  In front was an expansive green lawn; first I've seen in Lebanon! Their new home, shutters open to the breeze, is still growing. Below that is a pond with talking frogs. We walked through shady stands of cedar and fir trees, and visited a large acre of vegetables: tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, and peppers. An extensive drip system  provided just the right amount of water to the plants. Otherwise, the ground was parched dry.  It was obvious that they spend a lot of time at work on their property.

9 of us loaded into the back of a pick up truck, and up to the end of the bridge we went.  The truck dropped us off and we began our hike along the ridge top.  From above we had a fabulous view.  We spotted Andree's green grass, the red tiled roofs of Hammana, and way beyond, mountain slopes tumbling back toward Beirut. We noted the abundant goat droppings underfoot, then came upon a herd of 40 or so goats being herded by boy shepherds. Besides goal pellets, we saw a great number of plastic shotgun shells.  Andree told us people come up to shoot birds, any birds. As we hiked along, we came to trenches lined with rocks that had been left by the French army during WWI.  These were no more than 2 feet wide, 6+ feet deep, and strategically zigzagged along, never straight.  We entered the pitch black of a bunker; reminding me of Fort Casey.  It was about this time that Karim, ACS Middle School Principal, began pointing out the fossils!  He grew up on this land, and he picked up fossils all along the path. There were conch like shells as big as my fist, large spiraling snail shapes, and sea urchin fossils as big as walnuts.  We all kept our eyes peeled for the round smooth shapes.  At one time, this land was covered by the sea.  How long ago?  Tens of thousands of years?  And here I thought that terraces were the oldest things to see.  We also saw baby cedars planted on the hillsides, in all stages of growth.  Karim told us that the villagers had been replanting the cedars for many years, but they are very slow growing trees.  It was good to see the baby trees, freshly watered.

Veggie Prep

Bar B Que Brigade

We arrived back at the farm by 4pm, and began the meal prep.  Lebanese wine with hummus, salsa and bread aided the cooks as they cut up veggies which we made into foil packets for the BBQ.  Fabio prepared his chicken legs seasoned Lebanese style, and Nathalie presented us with a lovely lentil salad.  She told us the secret ingredient was "pomegranate molasses" mixed with olive oil and vinegar. Julianne kept the laughs going with her tale of Jad, the skier, whom she'd met a couple of weeks back, and who was taking her skiing this winter.  "His name is pronounced /jjjjod/, not Jad!" she defended.  The guys teased her about meeting Jad's wife and children up on the slopes...

After finishing several bottles of Marquis de Beys wine, tasting Julianne's passion flower Hawaiian liqueur, and Fabio's Spanish cherry anise digestif, it was off to the tents, time to rough it... We each suffered on our 4 inch deep foam mattresses with sleeping bags.  It was the first time in my life that I had a tent all to myself(!) and I slept like a rock.

Luckily, I was awake before the shooting began at 6 a.m. I'd been listening to a scattering of bird calls, and thinking how few bird sounds there were.  Was this due to the scarcity of trees?  Suddenly BOOM BOOM seemed to come out from under my pillow; YIKES!  What a way to wake up on a peaceful Sunday morning.  Shots continued, near and far. Fall hunting season had begun.
Nathalie explained that, in truth, "Hunting season goes all year 'round!  Men and their guns..."
I wondered, "What are they shooting at?"
"Birds. Small birds. Any bird that is perched or flying; any bird they can hit.  It's rather disgusting, because they don't bother to pick them up."
Yes, disturbing!  I was thinking of the shortage of birds EVERYWHERE, from Beirut to the country. We saw men with shotguns walking down the sidewalk.  I couldn't, and still can't, understand the sport in shooting little birds. It was so much fun to watch them at the feeders back home.  Come to think of it, I haven't seen a bird feeder here.

In spite of hunting frenzy, it was a wonderful weekend.  Got to spend time with some great people, in a new and fascinating place.  As I struggled with the bird dilemma, I also understood that this is what I am here for; to be bowled over.  It really makes me think about what's important, and grateful to be WIDE AWAKE to life.  All of us expressed delight in being at Andree and Nathalie's country home. The comfort of being outside in the cooler air, hearing a funny new frog language, and being together?  It was perfectly refreshing.  Clean air, friendship, fossils, and laughter.  It was so much more than I'd expected!