Calling Baalbeck the best Roman ruins ever may be a bit crude, after all these are the remnants of a once powerful empire so it seems somewhat untactful to glorify their demise.
The impressive entrance and fore court to the Roman Ruins of Baalbeck in Lebanon
But you can’t blame me. Many local businesses survive off of tourists visiting Ephesus in Turkey or the Colosseum in Rome, so why shouldn’t Baalbeck be any different?
Baalbeck?, you ask. You mean you’ve never heard of this place? Sorry, some people spell it Baalbek. Still not familiar?
Staircase at the entrance to the Baalbeck Ruins
Well, it is quite simply, the most impressive site of ruins I’ve seen anywhere. It’s not in Italy, Greece, nor Turkey. These ruins of greatness are found in eastern Lebanon.
Sorry Europe, sorry Italy – the best Roman ruins aren’t even on your continent.
Roman Ruins of Baalbek in Lebanon
What makes Baalbeck stand out isn’t one particular structure, it is the enormity of the overall complex that remains intact, more or less.
The Great Court viewed from the Temple of Jupiter at Baalbeck
From an impressive staircase and forecourt to the immense six pillars of the Temple of Jupiter, the ruins of Baalbeck spark the imagination of even the most weary tourist. Envisioning the hustle and bustle of Roman life from centuries ago isn’t hard as towering structures are found all across the great central court.
The Six Columns of the Temple of Jupiter
Intricately carved pillars and stones lie about, some depicting human scenes, others great lion heads. You can picture merchants, scholars and all sorts of people moving about the ruins of this once great city, well at least I can!
The columned Bacchus Temple at the Baalbeck Ruins
One of the most well kept buildings is the Temple of Bacchus. An impressive columned structure that now serves as the dramatic backdrop to the Baalbeck International Festival, a special outdoor concert series put on once a year in Lebanon, which draws top talent from around the world to perform in front of the ruins.
A close up view of the Temple of Bacchus at Baalbeck
All this history packed together. Buildings beside buildings. Not just a temple or an outdoor theatre, but an entire collection of ruins that you’re free to wander about. Adding to the charm is that the current city of Baalbeck has a very rugged, old charm to it as well, that somehow blends in with the old ruins in the middle of their town.
The Six Columns of the Temple of Jupiter viewed from the Temple of Bacchus
If you come here looking to be awed by a singularly impressive building, then you may be dissappointed. It’s a ‘city of ruins’ that has to be appreciated as a whole. I shall keep exploring, but as of yet – I haven’t yet found a place of ruins that is of more interest than Baalbeck.
A Lion Head Carving, one of many intricately carved blocks at Baalbeck
I don’t often tell people I was kidnapped, as they tend to envision gunmen and extreme treks in a forest or months spent in a locked up room, waiting for ransom demands to be paid.
My kidnapping wasn’t anything like that. Although it did have a dramatic escape plan. So here is the story – be warned though, this is a pretty long story, so sit back and get comfortable.
Drugs Kill – But thankfully Belizean Kidnappers Don’t
Looking back it was quite an entertaining night, but at the time it was far from it. Chalk it up to having a few moments of naivety after a few too many beers.
There were four of us out enjoying a night on the town in San Ignacio, Belize. It was hot and the Belikin beers were cold. But the bars all abruptly closed way too early.
Fueled by alcohol, we wandered the streets looking for lights, looking for a bar. No luck. We reached the end of town and came to a bridge; and this is where our night adventure began.
Enter Craig, the homeless guy.
Our homeless buddy Craig in San Ignacio, Belize
Craig knew of a place that was open, which had beer. Perfect! We cross the bridge to the other side of town, into the darkness. Assured it is only 10 minutes walk away, we are in high spirits and promise to buy Craig a drink.
Twenty minutes later, we’re in the midst of a dark residential neighbourhood. Craig insists it’s still just 10 minutes walk away. We’re now so far from our hotel, the four of us agree to continue on.
At last, a shack of a bar appears in the distance. True to his word, Craig delivered us to a place with alcohol. Unbeknownst to all of us, he also delivered us to our friendly kidnapper.
We chatted with a drunken guy who played for the Belizean National Soccer team and a friendly lady who seemed to like us a little too much. After a couple of beers at this random shack, it was closing time. We were tired and hungry, wanting to head back for a sleep and a late night bite to eat. Lucky for us – the lady drinking at this ‘bar’ was a taxi driver!
We all pile into the taxi lady’s van and take off for some food and sleep.
Or so we thought.
Careening down windy, dark roads, she begins cackling like a witch. A little concerned, we remind her we are hungry and want to stop for food.
“No, no food”, she says, laughing.
So, we ask her to take us back to our hotel.
Nope that isn’t going to happen either. Even after offering to pay a decent sum, it seems she had other plans for us on this random night in Belize.
After a confusing, wild ride this now seemingly crazy lady stops her van outside a big concrete building in the middle of nowhere. Darkness all around, except for this ominous building, which for some reason has loud music pumping out of it.
This is when taxi lady advises us it is time to dance.
No food, no sleep, no idea where we are. Without much choice, we all reluctantly agree to go into this intimidating concrete building.
Inside the crazy lady meets a friend of hers and ushers us past a couple large, intimidating figures in the dark. Her ‘borther’ apparently is the one playing DJ and providing the music. As her and her friend pull me and my buddy to the dance floor, a night of unwanted touching and dancing begins.
The two girls, and Craig the homeless guy are luckily left alone and get to watch the show. Thankfully the song ends soon enough and we’re able to convince our captors that we should drink more – our treat! Buying a round of drinks gives us a short break from dancing.
After a few more songs of being groped and sweat on by the crazy lady we need more beers. But really, we need to get out of here. Grabbing more beers, we convince the girls to dance with us too, so they can act like a barrier between us the sweaty-gropey ladies.
Time seems to be moving horrendously slow now, with every song seemingly going on forever. Tired and frustrated we’re finally given some kind of reprieve as the music temporarily stops and allows us to sit while the two ladies chat on their own – on the dance floor – waiting to grab us again when the music restarts.
One. More. Beer. We get another round and talk amongst ourselves that we need to escape. We need a distraction or some kind of plan. The big, burly guys guarding the door and hanging out at the bar have been watching us like hawks the entire time. Strange glances go back and forth across the dark room between the crazy lady and the scary dark figures. The mood slowly starts to change from plain weird, to scary and sketchy.
And then the music starts again.
Gyrating towards us, arms outstretched, we are summoned to dance once more. With Craig the homeless guy now practically falling over drunk, the rest of us shuffle around on the dance floor. Craig has it easy – the crazy lady and others don’t care about him. He’s safe, and we’re buying him free drinks!
The music goes on, and on. But at the same time it is somewhat of a relief. The vibe in the room is tense and dancing at least appeases the devil dancers.
As another song slows down, we’re allowed back to our table to finish our beers. Sitting, we all stare at each other. The decision is made. As soon as the ‘guards’ are distracted talking to the DJ again, we’re going to make a run for it.
The plan: Bolt across the dancefloor, through the dark hallway, down some stairs to the street, turn left and run.
We sit. We wait. Our beers empty. We stare at each other again. The crazy lady and her friend are chatting, distracted. The scary figures turn their backs to us and chat to the DJ.
“3, 2, 1, now!”
Jumping up from our table, we dart past the chatting ladies and figures in the dark. It’s everyone for themselves as we race out of there as fast as we can. A blast of fresh air greets us as we exit the doorway out of the devil dance hall and hit the street.
We don’t stop, we don’t talk, we don’t look back. We just run down the road and into the darkness.
Our friendly hotel in San Ignacio…will we get back there safe?
Hearts thumping, the night silence is broken by a faint scream. A voice calling out in the darkness, behind us. Then we hear something again. Are they chasing us?
We’re now far enough away for a quick glance back. It’s Craig, our homeless buddy. Yelling at us to wait, but we can’t. He has a cane and will slow us down. “Sorry Craig!” we all yell out and continue running.
Around a corner and out of sight, we stop and regroup. The four of us are all fine. It’s been a messed up night and we’re totally lost.
Then some lights appear in the distance. A vehicle, coming towards us. The four of us jump into some bushes and hide. It might be the crazy lady looking for us.
Nope, just a small car.
We wander aimlessly for the next hour or so, not sure where to go. Nothing is around except fields and darkness.
Now totally exhausted, we agree to take the risk and hail down the next vehicle that passes, instead of jumping in the bushes. The night ends with us hitchhiking and bumming a ride with a friendly local farmer. We pile in the back of his pickup truck and he drives us to our hotel back in town. He wants nothing but we give him a small pile of cash for being in the right place at the right time.
Knowing that the sun will be up soon, we stumble to our rooms to sleep and forget about the crazy night we were ‘kidnapped’ in Belize by an overly friendly crazy lady.
High up in the trees of Borneo, above the flying birds and climbing monkeys, is the most impressive Canopy Walk I’ve taken.
There are some massive trees in Gunung Mulu National Park
Massively long swinging bridges, connected to enormous trees create what is supposedly one of the largest Canopy Walkways in the world.
Gunung Mulu National Park in Borneo is home to a lush forest, where creep crawlies abound and odd bugs seem to appear out of nowhere. Everything seems alive! Sticks start moving (stick bugs) and leaves start crawling (leaf bugs). Even the squirrels here can fly.
The Tree-Based Canopy Skywalk in Mulu National Park, Borneo
So, with so much going on, being able to rise high above the forest and get a birds eye view of the action is a great way to appreciate just how dense and impressive this forest is.
Don’t do this if you’re afraid of heights…
Immensely tall trees make up the pillars for all of the Canopy Walk in Mulu. There are no safety harnesses here or required guides. Once you’re approved to climb to the canopy, you’re on your own. So if you have a fear of heights…you might want to skip this activity!
One of the massive trees that supports the canopy skywalk in Mulu National Park, Borneo
Climbing to dizzying heights, this Canopy Walk quickly surpassed those I’ve done in Canada and Costa Rica. You could see more wildlife here and having the walkway built into the trees of the forest meant you’re not walking along some huge metal contraptions that seem out of place.
Colourful birds, like Hornbills, would fly by without a care and monkeys would meander through the trees beneath me. Orchids and all sorts of odd vegetation grow up in the canopy as well, so much diversity! What a great way to wander around a forest.
A strange little bug up in the forest canopy
Definitely a highlight from my travels to Mulu. The park is famously known for it’s impressive caves, but if you head here, don’t skip out on the Canopy Walk. A big two thumbs up to this one.
Walkway in the Canopy at Gunung Mulu National Park in Borneo
Have you ever gone snorkelling? How about snorkelling in perfectly clear river water?
Getting ready to River Snorkel in Bonito, Brazil
Down in Brazil there is a great little town called Bonito and on the outskirts of town are rivers that have colourful fish.
Being rivers, there is a constant flow of water happening, meaning that you simply put on your snorkel, fins and suit and float on down the river.
Colourful fish seen while Snorkelling in Bonito
It’s a great way to snorkel. First, the water is normally very clear. Second, the current takes you downstream at a leisurely pace, so you don’t even have to use your flippers. Third, the water is often only about waist deep, so no worries if you’re a poor swimmer.
Super clear water, super fun…river snorkelling!
Don’t expect coral reef type colours and sea-life here, it isn’t known for diversity of creatures. But, what it is known for is the possibility of seeing some special creatures like Anacondas or Caiman (small alligator type animals) in the water!
Here fishy, fishy, fishy…
I failed in spotting any Caiman on my river snorkel, so I had to settle for eating a Caiman steak for dinner instead. It was surprisingly good. Tasted mildly fishy and had a texture more like chicken. Imagine a chicken that ate a fish….that’s what it tasted like.
The clear river waters are surrounded by lush, green forest
Crawling around in mud on your hands and knees, carrying a bag full of explosives sounds like a great adventure, doesn’t it?
That is exactly what I got to do in Potosi, Bolivia.
The Miners Market / Mercado Calvario in Potosi
This is the city to visit for a glimpse into the world of old school silver mining.
It’s definitely not something to do if you’re a timid traveller or easily get claustrophobic though.
Just for Fun – Proving that the Dynamite is Real
First, you get dressed up in a head to toe outfit, complete with hard hat and headlamp. But that’s about as far as the safety precautions go.
After that it’s an insane journey into the bowels of a mountain. Carrying dynamite, ammonium nitrate and other explosive materials you enter mine shafts that are sometimes only big enough to squeeze through by sliding down on your stomach, like a seal. One cave-in and you’re quickly trapped inside a mountain!
Hanging out in a Silver Mine in Bolivia
Handing out sticks of dynamite, as if they were candy, you get to meet miners deep inside the mountain. Each one of them working shifts up to 24 hours long, hoping to strike a nice vein of silver in their part of the mine. They may not even speak Spanish here, some olny speak the local Quechua language.
There are young workers here too. Those ones you can give cookies instead of explosives. It seems kind of odd, but they’re happy with this life. Many miners work for themselves, owning a portion of the mountain. The silver they find is theirs. They’re not ruled by a company, they have freedom.
El Tio is the one the miners worship. By offering him cigarettes and alcohol, he will look over them and keep them safe.
It’s hard, dangerous work for sure, but with the blessing of El Tio (The Uncle), a miner can make a decent living by working in his mine whenever he wants.
The most intimidating part of the visit is hearing explosives going off in other parts of the mine and having miners tell you stories about how they’ve been trapped or had their legs broken and shoulders dislocated from cave-ins.
As exciting as it sounds, there is a darker side to it as well. For those who need extra cash, they can go deeper down into the mines. Down there, they use jack hammers to cut through the rock, creating clouds of cancer-causing dust. Without any real protection for the dangerous dust particles, workers are only allowed down there for a few weeks or months at a time. Higher pay, but higher risk.
Thankfully, they’re cautious enough to keep that part of the mine off-limits to travellers.
