Weekend Getaway

My friend Rachel is leaving Sham after a somewhat disappointing 9-month stay, returning to where truly calls her heart, Nicaragua. But for her last weekend she decided to get in her favorite part of Syria one last time, which is traveling. She and my roommate Michelle have taken off to Tartous just to eat at one of their favorite restaurants, walk around the corniche, then return by bus (more than 3 hours each way).

So Friday morning we were out the door and on a bus bound for Lattakia by 9am. Four hours later during which I demonstrated by superhuman ability to sleep on buses, we arrived. A taxi wanted 50 lira to take us to the karaj where we could catch a micro to the Blue Beach, or 150 to take us the beach directly. We opted for the former, but as we got closer to town he tried to convince us otherwise.
"The micro is 15 each, that's 45. With the taxi its basically 100. Why not just go straight for only 50 extra?"
"Only 50? That's an entire beer!" I chipped in from the back. He laughed and took us straight to the beach for 100.

At the public beach we bought beers, some grub, planted ourselves under the shade of an umbrella, and stripped, taking the nearby girl-in-bikini as a sign that we could discard without 'Eib. None of us actually with suits, we changed instead into sundresses, shorts, sportbras, tank tops, and skirts. There was a moment of hesitation before taking the plunge, "Lattakia is more open, Lattakia is more open".

Every once in a while guys came over and annoyed us, one asking for my contact solution. Symphathizing with another contact wearer, I let him borrow, only to see him and his friends start to wash their hands with it. He had tried to chat us up when he borrowed it - "I have three friends, you are three. Do you have a car? We have a car. We should travel together. Your Arabic is good." - so I marched over and asked if he knew what the solution was. "Yes."
"Do you know what it is?"
"Yes."
"then what is it?"
"Hand - oxygen..."
"Its for contacts. Eyes." I grabbed it and walked back.

I hadn't been back to Lattakia since two years ago when it was a stop on my week-and-a-half Grand Solo Tour of Syria. What I remember as a construction sight two years ago are now luxury apartments close to the water. But the city still feels laid-back with a sea breeze coming in over the water and girls walking around in strapless dresses.

We stayed at the same hostel I had two years ago as well. In the morning, Rachel and Michelle continued on to Aleppo, Rachel's favorite city in Syria. I got back on a bus for Sham, cause I got laundry and work Sunday morning.