Triumph Sails to Syria

1 June 2007

Well I'm in trouble now. I've used up all my superlatives before we reached Syria. What a fascinating, exotic place.

About ten of the 63 rally boats had engine problems on the overnight sail (mostly plastic fouled propellers). Some turned back to Turkey, some were towed by other rally boats, and some limped into Syria on their own. We are down to 59 boats who will continue on to Lebanon today.

The people of Syria are very warm and friendly, going out of their way to help us. It's a poor country, with very little oil, 30% unemployment, and a benevolent dictator. The day we visited Damascus he was re-elected (unopposed) for another seven year term. We saw his picture on posters every 100 meters all over the country. There were fireworks to celebrate during dinner, which interrupted the belly dancer's routine and drowned out her music. Unflustered, she continued her dance to the rhythm
of the fireworks.

We visited three World Heritage Sites (Damascus, Palmyra and Aleppo) on our three-day tour. I don't have words to describe these 10,000 year-old sites. I'll just say we feel so privileged to have seen them with our own eyes.

On to Lebanon tonight. It could be a bumpy 21-hour journey.