Meet Claudia
I had a decent sleep and woke up before 8 AM. I was hungry, despite having a filling dinner last night. I was quick to reach the reception cum dining area. There was no one in the reception and I learnt that breakfast is served at 8:30. I decided to take a climb up the St. Nicholas stairs and go upstairs. The weather was clear and chilling, and the weather app was predicting clear skies for the next week. I was happy that I would be able to roam without worrying about rain. The St. Nicholas stairs are a highlight of the Gemmayze area. It looks alive and illuminated at night when restaurants arrange outdoor seating and artists perform. As it was early in the morning, I took some photos with my GoPro and headed back to the hostel.
The breakfast table had local food and it was a feast. I learnt that Lebanon has good vegetarian food. Karelle, my local contact in Batroun told me that Lebanese food is appreciated by vegans all over the world. And I can’t deny the fact that Lebanese food is delicious and healthy. I remember I had a heavy breakfast and 3 cups of coffee.
I headed to reception to take their help in planning my day. As per my plan, I only wanted to cover Jounieh and Harissa. I asked them what the public transport options were. They said it was better to take a private taxi and explore the area. I was talking to them and suddenly a woman behind me told me that if I was ready to explore Jeita Grotto, Jounieh, Harissa and Byblos, then she spoke to a taxi driver who could do this for $65.
Meet Claudia. A Colombia-American who travelled to 125 countries. She is on the mission to be the first Colombian woman to travel to every country on this planet.
Claudia said that for a single person, she didn’t want to pay $65. But we can split it and it will cost us roughly $35. This was an amazing deal, even the hostel staff said you wouldn’t find a better deal than this. Claudia texted the taxi driver and he agreed to meet us at 10 AM. I told her I would meet her at the reception and quickly went for a shower. I got ready on time and was ready to explore North Lebanon. We met at reception and she said the driver was arriving in a few minutes. We quickly climbed the stairs and waited for a few minutes. Claudia was quick to spot Hassan and got into the car. We introduced ourselves and started driving to our first stop, Jeita Grotto. After 20-25 minutes, Hassan asked us if we wanted to stop at the gorge and take some photos. We said yes with full excitement.
Hassan explained Jeita Grotto. There are two parts: the Upper Grotto and the Lower Grotto. You can explore the Upper Grotto on foot, but you get a few minutes of boat ride in the Lower Grotto. We arrived early, but I could see a long queue already. We bought tickets and joined the queue. A toy train takes you to the entrance of the upper and lower Grottos. The queue was waiting for the train to enjoy a short ride. We reached the entrance and showed our tickets. The staff asked us to leave all our cameras except for my GoPro, which I smuggled in.
We entered the cave and it was a spectacular sight. It was the first time I was witnessing the longest cave in the Middle East with stalactites and stalagmites. These formations enable your imagination to make figures and shapes in your head. The more you active your imagination, the more you form a shape in your head. Did I just imagine Jesus Christ in the stalactites?
We walked slowly to appreciate every inch of the cave and touched the limestone stones whenever it was allowed. The water was dripping from above and hitting the stones. I snuck my GoPro and took a few photos. After reaching the end of the cave (it’s a long cave but the tourist can walk along a defined path only), we took the exit and walked our way to the ticket house. While walking down, we saw a group with colorful and fancy outfits. Later, Claudia asked them and we learnt that they were from Iran.
We walked to Lower Grotto and deposited our electronics. We got into a boat and rode shallow water. The cave ceiling was low and you occasionally need to watch your head if you’re tall. It was a short but decent ride. We got out from the cave and took a stroll. We then took some photos. It was now time to drive to Jounieh and witness Our Lady of Lebanon statue in Harissa village.
It was a 15-minute drive and we reached Jounieh. We went to the ticket counter and bought tickets for a round trip in the funicular. There was a long queue, mostly school students. These kids were notorious for sure. Claudia told me that she is afraid of the funicular and I was laughing, imagining that it would be fun. It took us 10–15 minutes to reach the entrance, and the operator put us in two seats in the four-seat compartment. I guessed that it was because we were foreigners and didn’t want to feel odd with the others? It was a picturesque ride and you could see the entire Beirut next to the coastal necklace. We reached Harissa and the first thing we did was to light a candle and offer our prayers. We walked around and had a great photo session. I’m sure Claudia would have taken better photos than me. We were hungry at this time and nothing interesting was found at the food court so we decided to head back to our taxi.
We asked Hassan to take us to some place near because we also wanted to visit Byblos. We stopped at a Burger King and had lunch. I ordered a meal and it was filling. We bought lunch for Hassan too and left for Byblos.
Byblos is a port city and has citadel, cafes next to the port, church and Christmas. We first explored Citadel then enjoyed our timing roaming around the area and took some good photos. It was 16:00 and we reached Byblos at perfect time to witness the sunset. We decided to explore Christmas market when it is dark to see it more lit up. We found a perfect cafe overlooking port and sunset. I ordered a Turkish coffee and removed my portable speaker to play Sajda from My Name Is Khan. I absorbed the all the moments - the coffee taste, sunset, overlooking street and port. We spent a good an hour in cafe before we decided to explore market. We first saw a colorful light on a structure. It was a Church. Past few steps we reached Byblos Souk. The Souk will take you to traditional Arabic culture with a modern touch. The Souk has many shops that are selling souvenirs, clothes, paintings, and antiques, etc. Claudia got interested in one of the shops and bought a hat for herself. It’s a nice, red wine colored hat.
We decided to wrap up our day and go back to the hostel. Hassan had to park the car somewhere else because the police put up a barricade before the Souk entrance during festival seasons. We struggled to find Hassan, but eventually we reached his live location. We left Byblos but brought the life-long memories with us. It took us 45–50 minutes to reach the hostel and we decided to take some rest. It was a full day trip and we needed some time to charge our electronics and myself.
We decided to meet at 9 PM for dinner. Claudia already had an old communist bar in mind. She was impressed with the interior and Che Guevara posters on the wall. It was Abou Elie Pub in Hamra. I asked Chady to get the cost from the hostel to Hamra. We booked a cab and reached the pub. I have been to Hamra with Chady before, but this pub is located beyond those bustling areas. It was established in 1986 and is run by Terrez Saieda, a 60-year-old woman. The pub barely has seating for 10 people but I loved it. Currency decorates the walls from various countries, communist posters and leaders, even guns and bullets.
We ordered a local beer named Almaza. I saw that the football fever had hit Lebanon and the beers were branded with different FIFA World Cup participating teams. I got Argentina.
We finished drinking around 23:15 and booked a taxi to take us back to the hostel. Hassan was a nice person and the private taxi was cheap, so we decided to explore Baalbek city with him tomorrow.
Attractions of the day:
- Jeita Grotto
- Jounieh and Harissa
- Byblos
- Abou Elie Pub