I have been in Damascus, Syria for a few days now. The old city is really cool–a maze of twisty passages that all look alike–and one that has been continuously inhabited for over 5000 years.
People here are generally very polite and friendly. I have had almost no negative reactions to being an American here, but I am definitely a pretty rare beast. I have met one other person traveling on an American passport since I arrived here. It is a bit surreal to tell someone selling Hezbollah buttons that you are an American. In one way Syria is more relaxed than Jordan. There is a significant Christian population here, so there are quite a few night clubs, bars, and liquor stores, and more women who do not wear a hejab (headscarf).
Yesterday I read part of the Syria Today weekly news magazine in English. It had a surprisingly good (throrough, independent, and balanced) analysis of the possible affects of the US Election for Syrian foreign policy. It also had a report criticizing the government in its recent censorship of a Syrian soap opera that featured a freshly released policitcal prisoner. I guess the print media is more free than broadcast TV.
Sorry for the lack of photos this post, but it is 1am and I do not have my camera. Tomorrow I am off to Palmyra, then probably Homs, Hama, Krak de Chevalier, Latakia, and Aleppo. Good night from the Old Town.
I think anyone who has been to Jordan will agree that you need to be at least a little bit crazy to drive here. Fortunately, I qualify. It was my last few days in Jordan so why not…
I rented a car for 3 days to see some of the sites that are difficult to reach using public transport. The result? dipping feet in one international border (Jordan River with Israel/Palestine), 2 fun traveling companions, 920km, two beautiful nature reserves, 15 hitchhikers picked up, 5 castles, and only one warning from the speed control police.
Wadi Mujib and Wadi Dana Nature Reserves (more on these in another post)
Audrey and Muriel and I scrunched into the petite Kia Picanta (1100cc)
Dipping feet in the Jordan river (5m wide) literally spitting distance from Israel.
al-Azraq, al-Kharana, al-Amra, and Umm al-Jimr all out in the middle of some serious nowhere desert.
Everyone loves their mobile phones. Even camel drivers…
I have a Volkswagen because when I bought it, it was the only brand of newish small diesel car available for sale in California. VW loves to use a lot of cheap plastic parts where a small piece of metal, a rubber hose, or even a sturdier piece of plastic would be much more appropriate. Here are just a few examples:
1) About two years ago, I managed to snap a little plastic piece called the “anti-shudder valve rod” when cleaning my EGR valve which was very, very gunked up. I called the dealer hoping to buy a new one. No you can’t buy this part, you have to replace the entire EGR valve for about $250.
This happens so often to mechanics and hobbyists that there are numerous solutions on the TDI Forum about how to repair this part. This example used superglue, a piece of aluminum from a soda can, and some shrink tubing.
2) On my roadtrip this summer, I started loosing brake boost because VW used this piece of crap plastic pipe (which cracked) instead of a traditional piece of rubber hose that I bought for $2 retail.
3) Yesterday, changing an air filter, I found this foam gasket which was disintegrating and causing a vacuum leak. Of course this part cannot be purchased sepately. You need to buy the whole air cleaner assembly. Alex came up with the brilliant solution of making a new one with duct tape and cardboard (works great!).
And don’t get me started talking about how much I hate spring clamps!
Hi-yaa!!! Sorry for the poor quality. I’ll see what I can do.
About three weeks ago, I started taking an Acroyoga class, and I am having a blast. Acroyoga is a mixture of yoga, acrobatics and Thai massage.
Here is picture of Jamie (the “base”) flying Melanie on his arms and Paige on his legs.
I’ll try to get more cool photos soon (with me in some of them even).
This photo should explain why you don’t want to fall asleep and roll your car on I-80 in Nevada. That’s a medivac helicopter taking off from the freeway. The back of the car looked even worse than the front.
After North Carolina, we stopped for a quick visit with Christian and Janene and their kids Emma and Audrey in Des Moines. As always, Christian was generous to a fault. We had a blast swimming!
