On the Eastern side of the Qaroun dam we met a family of gypsies who come every spring for the sheep shearing season. The older siblings were busy grouping the sheep in the pen. Fortunately, their  striking older sister Samar wasn’t camera shy, much to Norbert’s delight( Photo to be featured in the book).

Photo taken by Maurizio Paoli

There have been many efforts to reforest the cedars all  over Lebanon. The most poignant being a hillside in the Chouf Cedar Reserve where a cedar was planted in the name of each soldier who lost his life in the Nahr El Bared conflict.

On the trail from Baskinta to Zaarour, we spotted a rather rare species of  VW camper that had somehow strayed from its usual habitat. This particular specimen is indigenous to Lebanon as evidenced by its red and white markings.

It has been a long-standing tradition in Lebanon for residents of the coastal cities and towns of lower elevation to escape the summer heat by going up to the mountains for the summer. This is called estivation. We encountered  this goat herder with his herd, dogs and mule on the way to their summer residence in the highlands (seriously). By the way, the guy in the hat is Padre, not the goat herder.