I know, I have been very lax at updating the site lately.  After getting out of Lebanon, I spent 6 days in Syria, mostly around Damascus, and also made a very interesting trip to the remote Syrian village of Salkhad in the Jebel Druze volcanic region.  Then I flew to Larnaca, Cyprus, to visit my former college roommate Ron Schlicher, the U.S. ambassador in Nicosia.  My friend Linda Simpson came down from London and we explored the beautiful Karpas penninsula in Northern Cyprus, and while staying at the U.S. Embassy met many interesting people.  Also hiked in the Troodos mountains and visited some beautiful homes belonging to a Cypriot friend, George.

Nows its time for OL Doinyo Lengai! I am now back in London and will go to Heathrow airport in a couple of hours for my flight to Nairobi, and then catch a shuttle service to Arusha, Tanzania.  Latest news from Lengai indicates low activity, although several reports and photos in May indicated that small ash puffs were still coming from the new cone.  The most recent photos made from the air make it appear that the interior crater walls are more undercut than before, making me wonder if some of the ash puffs might actually be the result of some collapse events within the cone.  If this is the case then the cone is becoming unstable and could be at risk for a major collapse.  Climbing the cone is probably unsafe.

I am finally back to make a post following a rather unique 10 days in Lebanon.  After hiking for 2 days on the Lebanon Mountain Trail with local guides, I began to hear stories of trouble in the country and received text message warnings from home. Hezbollah had taken over west Beirut and fighting was spreading to other parts of the country including Tripoli and Halba, which I had passed through on May 6.  I continued the hike for 3 more days with other local guides and then with Chadi Ghajar, coordinator for the northern part of the trail, and Joseph Karem, founder of ECODIT.  While hiking through beautiful mountain country reports came in of fighting in Tripoli, Beirut, the hills above Beirut, and the Chouf mountains.  Upon arrival in the Maronite Christian town of Bcharre, Chadi and Joseph had to leave.  After considering the idea of continuing to hike with a guide who might not speak english, in a country on the verge of civil war, I decided that getting out of the country might be a better idea.  With the help of my friend Ron Schlicher, the US ambassador to Cyprus, I attempted to escape by private yacht, but unfortunately the plan fell through because I could not get the proper passport stamp in time.  The bus ride to Beirut from Bacharre was a bit tense due to knowing that there was fighting around the country. The bus deposited me on the edge of Beirut next to a tank and a group of Lebanese troops. I stayed in the Gabriel Hotel in east Beirut, a nice hotel quite a bit beyond my normal budget.  When I checked in the staff asked if I was press.  Next day the fighting stopped and in another day I received a call from the American embassy informing me that the main border crossing to Syria was going to open in the morning and that I could get a seat on an early bus by calling a certain phone number.  That night about 11:15, following an announcement by the government rescinding the statements that had angered Hezbollah, there was celebratory gunfire all over the city.  Some tracers were rising about 2 blocks from the hotel, plus lots of machine gun fire and distant booms which may have been rpg’s.  My hopes of getting out were dashed until the hotel reception told me that it was just Hezbollah having fun. Next morning made it out of Lebanon and was given a Syrian visa immediately at the border.

Damascus is great, extremely friendly people, good food, no shooting!

Arrived in Beirut at 1 AM today-trip was uneventful but involved a wait of many hours in Larnaca, Cyprus.  I know this part of West Beirut, called Aim Al Mreisse, from my stay 2 years ago. But late this afternoon I walked toward downtown in search of a particular pastry shop and found that it has greatly changed due to the political crisis here.  Many streets are blocked off with concrete barricades and razor wire. The street I was walking on had large coils of razor wire on both sides and armed soldiers on patrol.  It became difficult to navigate due to the fast traffic passing by the razor wire, then I came to sandbagged defensive positions, tanks, and large groups of soldiers.  I decided that as an obvious foreigner I might be judged to be a security risk and decided to turn around.  Beirut is no place to go looking for trouble.

Heading up north tomorrow to begin trekking!  Will be good to get out of Beirut, too much traffic and concrete for me, plus it is the most potentially dangerous place in the country.

After an uneventful flight I have arrived in London and have been resting and repacking in the house of my friends Linda and Mark, who live in Balham, a section of south London. They just left on a trip to Iran but left keys to their place with a neighbor.  Going to wander down the street and get a little Indian takeout and some fruit in the shop across the road. Heading back to Heathrow about 10 tonight on the tube in order to avoid an $80 taxi ride in the morning.  By the way I just passed a gas station and gas is about $9 per gallon, so we still have it easy in the US.

After running around for the last few days like a chicken with its head cut off trying get everything done, I am finally prepared to leave at 10 tomorrow morning-Air Canada to Toronto and a connecting flight onward to London.  Travel is much trickier than it used to be with the added responsibilities of taking care of my parents, which now includes handling all of their business. The headless chicken has been running a lot to deal with that.  But for now things are going about as well as can be expected, given their situation.  

Things in Lebanon are looking relatively calm and I am hoping it will remain so.  Too late to worry any more about it now!

Departure on the first part of the summer 2008 trip is less than 10 days away! On May 2 I depart Nashville for Beirut, Lebanon, with layovers in Toronto and London Heathrow. The goals of the trip are:

From May 5 – 29 hike approximately 180 miles on the newly built Lebanon Mountain Trail from northern to southern Lebanon while hoping to avoid fallout from the ongoing political problems there. (Keeping my fingers crossed!)

From May 30 – June 5 visit my former college roommate Ron in Cyprus. Will also meet a long-time travel friend form the UK, Linda, and hope to explore the NE peninsula of Turkish Cyprus for a couple of days.

From June 6- June 9 visit friends Mark and Linda in London and attend the Epsom Derby with them.

From June 10 – June 21 Travel to Kenya and Tanzania, climb Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano in northern Tanzania with 2 partners from South Africa and the Netherlands, and collect mineral samples from the new cone that has formed over the past 8 months.

On June 22 return to Nashville.

Updates will be posted when internet access allows.