72km Mhajjeh to Damascus

A black basalt mosqueThere’s not too much to report from our trip back into Damascus. We just put our heads down and focused on knocking off kilometers, letting our minds wander as the pedals spun round. We thought back to cycling through Europe, what lies ahead as we steer towards Iran and also dreamt about a large coffee from Tim Hortons. That last one seems to be a recurring theme from our daydreams! We may have left the Maritimes but in many ways the Maritimes haven’t left us. After yesterday’s lunchtime adventure we played it safe today, stopping for a chicken wrap by the side of the road and a very tasty one it was too with pickles, yogurt and hot sauce. Entering Damascus is reasonably easy on a bicycle, much less of a hassle than Istanbul, and not long after midday we were at our hotel, washing off the dirt with our first shower in four days. We’ll spend the next few nights in the city, getting our visas renewed and preparing to hit the road again, this time heading for Palmyra in the desert and towards the Euphrates river, which we’ll follow most of the way back to Aleppo.