Part 2 of my trip brings me to Beirut to visit friends and go out. As what has become my usual greeting in Lebanon, a bomb went off at a military outpost downtown and one person was killed. Without fail, everytime I come here there is something going on. Since I arrived after dark I couldn't get a sense of the damage from the war but what is noticible now are the military stops on the main roads in town. Once the bomb went off, the roadblocks increased from one police car to three. I would have to describe the mood as manic depressive here. People are fighting back by going out and defying the destruction of the war. At the same time, the bomb puts them right back on edge. It's 11:00 pm now and soon the streets will be empty. No one wants to risk being out late when there is a fresh reminder that internal trouble still exists. I'm safe, in the odd way that one is safe in a city anywhere. My hotel is away from Central Beirut and secure. Still, I didn't want to keep my friends out when their drive home was going to be a long one. The bridges are still down and people have to take the dirt bypass that is built in place of a bridge.
Cruising the Danube
Life on the river often means spots where I can't get a good wifi connection so I'm a bit behind on blogging. I'm going to do this one fast and then get more detailed on the last two stops. I'm sailing with AMA Waterways and the ship is the AmaVerde as seen from the dock in Vidin. Usually I share a bigger cabin with a friend but for this trip we decided to splurge and get our own cabin. Here's my little home for the week. Most of Thursday was on the ship as we sailed from Bulgaria to Serbia. This lock is the second gate of the Iron Gates. Looking over at the dam on the river. View from my cabin. The water is just below the window. There are only three decks on this ship and I'm on Level 3.
You are amazing and brave. Thank you for bringing world events home to me. I admire you greatly.
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