Crossroads

Enjoy a lie in today after the room's collective decision last night to visit the nearby Qalat. It's late morning by the time we roll out of the hostel towards the minibus station. I converse with a lawyer as we drive at the usual warp factor 4 along the highway. The bus leaves us by the side of the road, but it's not difficult to make our way to the castle, looking all big and imposing on a nearby hillock. We sit and enjoy the views of the arid landscape. Some Bedouin tribes people have arrived and are observed erecting their big tents at great speed on the ground below us. We are the only visitors today, save for some Bedouin kids who have decided to take a break from their game of football, and a couple of girls from the nearby town.

I leave the perch first and pass what turns out to be the girls' families on the way down the hill as they sit and enjoy a roadside picnic. They unsurprisingly invite me over for some food and a nice cup of tea, which is much appreciated. The rest of the group eventually catch up and we all sit relaxed on the rug watching the world go by, eating scrambled eggs and attempting to work out which kids belong to which family. We ultimately say goodbye, and make our way back along the road to the main intersection. It's pretty funny attempting to flag down a bus or car. A farmer stops, simply to have a chat with us- he's not going our way- and we almost miss the bus that stops just behind him.

Safely back in Hama, we're conveniently dropped off near some of the famous waterwheels, but getting to them proves surprisingly difficult. We reckon we'd have to walk miles to get to them past all the private fenced off houses and riverside cafeterias along the bank, so we gainfully hop over a dyke to get in some good shots of wheels that haven't moved for some time judging by the stagnant water surrounding them.

The latter part of the day is spent with everybody sorting out their own particular tasks. A Ronaldinho backpack, a pair of jeans, knock off DVDs, some cheesecake and a haircut are all part of the equation. Hama has been a revelation. It was immediately friendly and we've all had a great time here. Our last act on the busy central streets is to grab another bite to eat at Yasser's busy takeaway, where once again, he provides us with awesome falafel and chips until we can't eat anymore. After refusing to take my money, he shouts "Habibi" as we say our goodbyes.

It would be wrong on so many levels not to celebrate our last night together- tomorrow we all head in our own directions. So, we locate a nearby (and typically discreet) bottle store to purchase some of the more popular Egyptian beer, which we enjoy back at the hotel. The evenings of this trip have been a series of rapid flashes. Even though there haven't been many nights out, most evenings have been very sociable and even the quieter times seem to have passed very quickly. A few pages of a book and a couple of chats, and before you know it, it's light out time again. I think that's probably a very good sign.