WLE Day 8 (08-15-2011): Kfardibian – Wadi Karem – Baskinta (The Literary Trail- Part One)
Length: Aprox 17 km, 6.5 hrs
Difficulty Level: Easy with two minor difficult climbs
Josephine set us up nicely in her Youth hostel right off the main road in Kfardibian. She tried to set me up with Internet, but unfortunately late afternoon fog in the area seems to have jammed signals. So, I had to walk downhill about 1 kilometer to get to an Internet Cafe. I was wearing my birkies, so it wasn’t too hard on my feet. Even though the night was a full moon, fireworks made it even brighter. It was Virgin Mary day and people were celebrating late into the night. When I went back to the hostel later on, Samer was fast asleep with the window open. As I was trying to sleep, some kids from somewhere nearby were singing their heads off to the tune of the Beatles’ Strawberry Fields Forever …
Lodging has been anything but consistent on this trip adding to its intrigue I suppose. We never intended it to be luxurious nor did we start off with any specific expectations. All the better I suppose as we have spent nights in people’s homes, hotels, youth hostels, environmental reserves’ Bead and Breakfast, empty apartments, and even outdoors. As I write this, we are in a monastery in Baskinta, called Mar Assis (the nun just brought Samer and I some cherry juice). For the most part, all the lodgings have been safe and clean thus far, which is the number one priority. Well that is if we do not count the first night in Qbayyat. The fact that the owner had a Kalashnikov in his SUV did not make us feel the least bit safer- especially when cars kept coming in from nowhere in the wee hours of the morning to talk to our host. Chamoun jokes that every time a car showed up, he thought they had come for our host and that they would get rid of all of us while they’re at it … I was actually more concerned about snakes!
Now the process of reserving these places has been seamless. Chamoun usually calls a couple of days in advance (he knows them) and when we arrive they are usually ready to receive us. Most have offered us dinner around 5 or 6 pm, breakfast around 7 am, and a small lunch box upon departure … The lunch box typically includes either a Zaatar or cheese sandwich and a juice box or a bottle of water. These lodgings do not provide any other services as they are not really equipped to do so; nor do we need them really- although washing clothes would have been a big plus mind you!
So this morning started off at 6:30 with the usual wake up knock from Chamoun. Packing and prepping is typically taking us around 40 minutes. So by 7:10 I was ready to depart the room, when disaster struck. My camera, which had my lens installed- the lens I had borrowed from Karim had been giving me problems with the automatic zoom so I had stored it in the hiking bag- came crashing down splintering the lens beyond repair. I was counting on this lens to cover part of the remaining trip. Disappointed, I knew I had to throw it and re-install Karim’s lens taking extra care because this would be the last lens I have- otherwise no more photos!
Josephine at the hostel had prepared us a great breakfast, and then graciously offered to drop us off at our hike starting-point, which was the town of Bkatuta, some 10 minutes South of Kfardibian. The point where she dropped us off was a monastery and our destination later in the day would also be one some 15 km South-South East. Interestingly the beauty of the monastery would kick off one of the most picturesque trails we had taken thus far. Where Wadi Jouhanna was naturally stunning, and other Akkar trails “quite fruitful”, this trail was charming in all its aspects- gardens, homes, monasteries, …
The trail started downhill (Samer was happy). At the bottom of the first hill, we saw a beautiful little church surrounded with fruit and vegetable fields and water flowing … It was empty; but its bell rope beckoned Samer to try it out. It didn’t work at first, and then all of a sudden gave a grave ring followed by another, which echoed in the valley … “Your ring is that of someone’s death,” teased Chamoun … Samer immediately stopped with an “Oh Shit what did I do look.” We continued on. I could not stop taking pictures as everywhere my eyes turned, I could see a picture. One could hear church bells and praying from another convent on the other side of the valley- no doubt a mass held in the Virgin Mary’s honor.
We soon needed to scale the next mountain to cross to the other side of Wadi Jamajem (the Skull Valley). It was not difficult, but there was no foot trail, so it made the climb a bit more difficult than it needed to be. I lost the rubber footing of one of my hiking sticks in the process, no big deal. We soon reached a large convent and turned the corner to Wadi Karam, which was absolutely sublime. Chamoun met one of his friends, Michael, who offered us nectarine and cucumber. Onwards we went until we reached yet another monastery, housed in a beautiful old mountain house. Monks came out wearing a blue uniform. They were all young and smiling. They offered us water and nectarine and explained that this is their initiation and training, which lasts about 7 years. “Our training is not just from books, but also from life,” said Paolo one of the two monks. Samer made friends with him.
Up another hill again and we started getting a glimpse of Baskinta through a forest of Pine trees with the quintessential hissing sound. Interestingly, we came across a tree which had a rich red trunk and green leaves. Chamoun explained that it is wild and from the cherry family. “Not a lot of people eat from it when it’s in season, but I like it.” The pine trees themselves were also of the edible fruit kind- i.e. they carry pine nuts … Close by, we saw some boy scouts, the first we have seen throughout the trip. Actually, it has been puzzling in that we have not seen a single other hiker in the 200 or so kilometers we have walked so far. I find this curious, considering the investments that have gone into the marketing of the LMT (Lebanon Mountain Trail- especially its Literary portion, which we were on).
We reached the lower end of Baskinta about 5.5 hours after we had departed and proceeded to go up the mountain to the convent of our destination. It took us an extra hour to get there and the town itself proved to be as charming as its reputation. In the meantime, Chamoun appeared almost like the mayor of the town with so many people saluting him. He stopped at an Ice Cream shop; and the owner gave him some free cones. A bus passing by had a bunch of people disembark and come to say hi to Chamoun. He is definitely a star around these parts. Unfortunately, as we were about to reach the convent, he received a call that his mother had been hospitalized. So we are all now monitoring the situation.
I also received a call from Rany who wants to join tomorrow us with his sister on the second half of the Literary Trail. He will confirm tonight. I hope it works for him as we still have plenty to see in this beautiful part of Lebanon …
I am looking forward to tonight’s meal, which I just learnt includes Hommos, Tabbouli, and Kibbeh Labaniyeh (i.e. Kibbeh with Yogurt). Yummy Tummy …
No comments:
Post a Comment