The Daltons are in town

The few campers that come by these days complain about the weather being too hot. It is very hot, but only from 10 till 17:00. The mornings, evenings and nights are still relatively fresh.

The difference with last year is that the shadow trees (the locals call them “parasols”) have grown huge and provide protection against the sun. They provide an excellent spot for the campers to put their tent or to just rest in the shadow.

When Zakaria needs a walk in the garden, I immediately head for the shadow trees. He enjoys them because they have so many leaves which he can grasp. I just love to sit there.

The best place to hide from the sun heat is the house. The tiles stay cool, if no sun allowed on them. It’s fun to lye on the cool floor.

Especially for Zakaria who is at the most painful stage of getting his first teeth out. He has got 4 by now and others are coming. He is not eating nor sleeping well. And needs a lot of comforting.

He loves making a ride either in the car or on the motorbike, and has been visiting nephews of his a few times going along on the motorbike with one of his bog brothers. He is very outgoing.

The big story this week is that motorbikes are being stolen in the village. Usually one that is standing in front of the door with the key in it. It happens at the time that the villagers are taking their afternoon nap.

Yesterday, at about 14 o’clock I was working in the kitchen and heard talking and laughing in the street. That is so unusual at the most peaceful moment of the day. I looked outside and saw 4 youngsters passing by. Each of them with a cigarette in their mouth, they looked like delinquents. When the leader saw the workshop and garages underneath the house, he urged them all to stop. He had a good look and then they continued walking. I went on the balcony to see where they were going and found them to be at about 100 meters away observing our building still. When the leader saw me, he signed to all to disperse and they ran away.

I told Khaliel - who is working downstairs – that he has to be careful. He was sleeping with the television at maximum volume.

Today I hear a lot of customers coming by and the word is spreading fast.

Lesson learned for the villagers is that leaving the front door open and the key in the car or on the motorbike is something of the past. Times are changing.

Scheduled to leave

The weather continues to be hot and awkward at times. Since yesterday, heavy winds are blowing. The kind of winds you expect in a Mexican desert. Instead of tumbleweeds we have straw flying around, then everybody is harvesting.

School is finished. The summer holidays have started. They last 3 months. Damascene and Aleppene families are moving to the seaside where they are joined by many Arabs of the Gulf States.

The seaside is not a place you want to be these days when you like peace and tranquillity.

I prefer the coastal mountains. Not far from Lattakia (the place to be in summer according to Aleppenes), Saladdin’s Castle is picturesquely lying on top of a mountain. You can walk in it for hours, feeling the atmosphere and imagining how it used to be in the old times when army soldiers where guarding the walls.

1 day at such a place is worth more than 3 weeks at the beach.

I used to make a lot of trips through the country, but with Zakaria being so small it is not easy to enjoy. He wants to eat and sleep, preferably at home. When awake he wants to move around and not sit still in the car for many hours.

A family visit for a few hours is the maximum we can manage with him.

The journey to Belgium next month will be strenuous on the both of us (Zakaria and me, we are leaving on the 15th of July). Luckily I managed to have a direct flight and we will be travelling at night. I just have to be well prepared to run the luggage through the scanner and do the check-in without disturbing Zakaria too much in his sleep.

We will be in Belgium when the weather is at its hottest over here. Let’s just hope the temperatures over there will be over 20°C without rain. That’s hard for us to cope with.

Note : Wrote this item on June 5th, they managed to put the phone service out again for the whole village. How st…. ?