Friday 11^th June

Up bright and early to go on today’s organised excursion which started with a trip to the Jetta Grotto. This was actually one of the more interesting visits we have done as the ‘grotto’ is a very poor way of describing what they are actually campaigning to have recognised as one of the 7 natural wonders of the world with quite the most spectacular stalactites and stalagmites in huge caverns on two levels! We arrived at the same time as several hundred school children, but were fortunate in being able to get our tour over before the younger ones got started. The caverns are simply breathtaking and reduce almost all other such sites to being mere side shows.  The process of viewing them is a little rushed and the boat trip along the lower level is almost manic, but there is doubting that they are a sight well worth visiting. The tour today involved various other stops including an inevitable Crusader fort, this time at Byblos which was a biblical Phoenician city where we also had another enormous lunch provided. We do seem finally to be getting the hang of these endless feasts and manage to hold back from eating all the wonderful mezzes that start the meal, now knowing that there are several course yet to follow.

The tour ended up in heights of Harrissa, a small mountain top  location with a huge copy of the Rio Virgin Mary statue where the views across Jounieh bay were fairly impressive, but might have been better in the morning before the heat haze obscured it all somewhat.

Back to the marina for swimming and showers before getting ready to go out for the formal dinner hosted by Jounieh. This turned out to be by far and away the best night so far with an excellent meal, rather too much drink and a first rate disco. Rather inevitably, with the setting being alongside an Olympic sized swimming pool with a dramatic night backdrop of the twinkling lights of the city spread across the hills behind us and random firework displays lighting up the sky, it was no surprise at the end that several people took to the pool, not all willingly!