The Swifts are gone,

this morning, just suddenly they disappeared. I did not notice as first, not even yesterday but today when sitting outside on the balcony early in the morning sipping my coffee in a bit of cooler air, they were gone. Just as suddenly as they came they left, overnight so to say. It has been a hot summer these last two months, always over 30 degrees, humid and with little wind. But maybe they already can feel the approaching autumn, also it would be a bit early, hardly August passed half way. Usually the animals are much more sensitive to the weather changes that are coming, and they must have decided it is time to depart back to the warmer parts of Africa while it is still time to do so. Just looked outside, yes, they are gone, with the wind sort to say.

Since last week not only the weather is hot, the political situation is also heating up. The garbage crisis is taking it’s toll, developing into a political crisis. Since last weekend, the garbage crisis demonstrations have given the basis for political turmoil, with tens of thousands of citizens demonstrating on the weekends and even weekdays against the political establishment. Demonstrations have turned violent, not by the majority of the people who are just fed up with the garbage crisis, the electrical crisis, the water crisis, no president and other uncertainties. The situation is volatile to say at best. A small minority is resorting to violence, persistently a small group of people of a few hundreds at most. Are they paid to do so, and if, by whom? Maybe the swifts knew of the political turmoil to come and decided to leave. Isn’t it that animals are much more sensitive to changes, and for instance can feel an earthquake before it hits. So maybe the swifts are sensing that a political earthquake is going to hit and decided to take off sooner than later. Might have been a wise move, who knows.

Besides all of this life goes on, at least pretending to be normal. Maybe one of the best traits of the Lebanese is to carry on as is, pretending that all be good, keeping calm on the surface but are being very worried under the surface. In all of these happenings, going to the north of the country to visit small wineries seems like the best thing to do. Since a few years, to be precise since 2000 small boutique wineries have taken on the big few producers. These small, often family owned and operated venues produce between 5000 to 15000 bottles of wine a year. Often these entrepreneurs developed their hobby into a small but viable undertaking, selling their produce locally and surprisingly to Europe where people appreciate these fine wines. All of these products are not available in supermarkets, only directly from the producers or through their distributors in Beirut. Not surprisingly, two of the three wineries visited are owned or connected to the church. The nectar of the Gods all-right. Some also have some other local by-products like jams, pickled vegetables, honey etc. All are very proud to deliver organic products and are raising attention to that.

Once one leaves the coastal plains and urban areas and drives up into the mountains, one very soon realizes that the landscape changes very quickly. The hustle and bustle and madness of the urban coastal areas gives way to a much calmer atmosphere, a green scenery and depending where ones location is, a cleaner environment appears. Generally still very green hillsides that are much less populated has higher as one drives. Still urban development is happening also here, the ‘predatory’ developers also finding inroads into the hills and mountains. Still in general as further away one drives into valleys and hills, a sort of calm is restored, beautiful vistas open up the greenery of the shrubs and trees calming the sore eyes from the smog and fumes of the coastal lowlands. The villages are plenty at first, getting smaller and thinner as higher as one travels. The valleys are steep and plentiful, opening up into smaller side branches all the time. This is the reason while all traffic is virtually restricted to north-south or vise versa, along the coastal plains. To reach the other side of a valley can take more than half an hour, if at all possible. Sometimes one would have to go back to the coast to give it a new try as no other way is possible. This in return then also explains the ‘infarct’ that is experienced on the coastal roads, as there is no real viable alternative for the major traffic arteries. Anyway, the villages are quaint, clean and calm, and as further away they are from Beirut, many people come back to them only as their second residences on weekends or holidays, leaving them during the week to the people that have carved out an existence for themselves in them or the elderly. Many houses are still in the old style of levantine houses with rough stones and red-tiled roofs. In some places modern designed villas of people that can afford a home in the mountains are to be found also. Some of this modern architecture and house design fit surprisingly well into the landscape and just from the looks of the outside, they must be beautiful places.

The way back to the south was a bit long and cumbersome due to the snarling traffic around Beirut as another #Youstink protest was taking place in downtown, this time reportedly with even more participants. Back to the ‘grind’ tomorrow and then off on Friday to Germany for a week +, this time including a trip to the baltic coast for four days. I love it up there, maybe that is the place to retire too [973 days left]. Bye.