Yesterday I drove Jay and his friends east into the Bekaa Valley. We headed towards Baalbek, the 2000+ year old city of Roman temples set up for Jupiter, Bacchus, and Venus. We spent the day driving through the fertile land, walking around the ancient ruins, and enjoying the sun. I made friends with an 11-year-old boy trying to sell me gum. Sarah rode a camel. Malcolm tried the Arguileh (the water pipe). We all tried it too.

I got a flat tire which bent the rim of the wheel, and I've never seen Jay change a tire so fast. He must have been hungry. Lunch, at 5pm, was so good.

Here was the curious sight of the day: we kept pointing out Bedouin homes to the group. Jay said, "They are sort of like the gypsies of this area. See, those are their homes of plastic and burlap, those are their outhouses, and... they have a satellite dish! We don't even have a satellite dish at home!"