our group

in case you wondered where in bcharre, north lebanon, maronite country, i find an internet pc - i'm sitting in a dusty cafe with a 56k or slower connection. ahmad the cafe owner has made me some great mint tea. i won't be able to upload pics, so will tell you some stories instead. let me introduce some characters in our travel group. there's kevin, a somewhat shady figure who worked for the mod in syria for some years, now lives in california and is always ahead of the group to catch the perfect photo. then there's frances, who spent her childhood in tripoli, is now back for the first time in 45 or so years and does not recognise a thing for all the recent developments in the city. she is very disappointed. the oldest couple in the group are david and his wife, who have lived in afghansitan as archaeologists before they retired. david is helping out as tour guide, because he knows the history of the middle east inside out. he led us through the monastery st anthony along with a french-only speaking monk. we were lucky the monk spoke at all, as this is a popular silent retreat. the entire qadisha is full of past and present hermitages. as a tip for you? the token american on the tour is ginny, who happily tells every soldier in the streets that she is from massachusetts in the us, and *marhaba*. i view her as a security risk and have tried to stop her from being so open. and then there is our gay couple, derek and rodney from liverpool, both in their fifties but still with a swing in the hips. ymca!