Tannourine Cedar Reserve

This morning we drove to the Tannourine Cedar Reserve. Again , we climbed the tortourous roads along the precipitious sides of steep valleys incised into the limestone mountains. Again we pass the snow line into the alpine scenery and there are the occasional sightings of skis on car roofs and the odd skiddo. It appeared that, no matter how small, all roads had been cleared and were easily passable - there must be some lessons here for the UK's Highways Agency and local authorities.

Coach on Road

Throughout history, the iconic cedar trees that grow high in the Lebanese mountains have been valued by kings and conquerors for the durability and fragrance of their wood. Some of the cedars are supposed to date back 1,500 years and possibly even to the time of King Solomon but our local guide was dismissive of this. Lebanon’s wealth has been closely connected to the cedar, it has become the national emblem and appears on the flag. The original plan was to enjoy a 2 hour walk through this National Reserve.

However, although the roads were clear, the path into the Reserve still had a good covering. This changed dramatically once in around the locked gates. Here the snow lay pristine sparkling under the clear blue sky. The snow's surface was only broken by the occasional line of paw prints left by the local wildlife or at least those that escaped the prolific local hunters. 

We trusted the Park Ranger that we were actually on the path as we wound our way through the Cedars - it was only the occasional small direction sign like periscopes in the snow that reassured us that we weren't wandering too far off the beaten track. In practice, it was just a track beaten by the Ranger in his snow shoes - we tagged on behind often sinking up to my knees in the driven snow. The snow was so deep and the path too steep in places, that our trek was curtailed. After a brief stop to take pictures across the valley and to exchange the occasional snow ball we followed our tracks back to the cleared road.

We walked a short distance down the road to the Ranger's house where he fed us with sliced cabbage, a bean "stew" and excellent local oranges.

Afterwards we headed to our overnight stop. It was supposed to be at the peaceful Monastery of St. Antonio's where we were to experience the "serenity and peacefulness of monastic life". However, it was close for Christmas we were slept in a much more mundane hotel. Despite its refurbishment not being complete, our rooms had been finished - they were large with a big ensuite wetroom. A large old fashioned radiator soon took the evening chill off the room.

Our Night Stop

Before heading to a local restaurant for our evening meal there were a couple of hours to kill. Many of us walked up into the town but there didn't seemed to be much open and a 5 minute walk in each direction exhausted the sights. However, when I peered into what appeared to be a closed patisserie, a young boy invited me in and went off to find his father. He made the four of us coffee with small freshly baked biscuits. When we asked about his displayed cakes, he insisted on us trying them and then refused to take any payment for them - the Lebanese people are indeed friendly and generous people.