I nearly plumped for my only ever camel ride in Egypt, but instead decided to recount my journey on The Téléphérique (proudly delivered in 1965 just like me!), a precipitous cable car ride starting at the bay of Jounieh, a city 16KM outside Beirut in Lebanon.
Far Less Hair-Raising!
It was the year of my marriage in 2000 and against my better judgement (I hate heights), I was persuaded to take the 1.5 kilometre trip up a mountainside to see a massive statue of Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa.
We Lingered Here For Far Longer Than Is Usual!
The journey up was sort of OK, but the downward leg revealed why the ride had been christened ‘The Terrorpherique’ in my guidebook.
As we lurched off the rocky terra firma, the car we were in stopped dead in its tracks and just swung back & forth for a few terrifying moments a mile up in the air, before we continued on our slow, tortuous way. I don’t mind admitting that I closed my eyes in places and even let out a couple of “I’m not happy with this” yelps!
Super Scary!
I have experienced lots of cable cars since in places such as Grindelwald, Prague, Hong Kong, Borovets, Poina Brasov, Cape Town, Montserrat & Butlins Minehead, but nothing comes close to that memorable Lebanese adrenalin fuelled experience.
I always think of cable cars as running on a track, like the one in San Francisco. this one looks terrifying. I would have closed my eyes also.
Yikes! I used to not have any fear of heights but I find the older I get, the less willing I am to get to close to the edge of a precipice. Did you enjoy the views at any point you weren’t wishing you’d never boarded?
I did enjoy the views but did not relax until I reached the bottom!
Had to google the difference between a cable car and a gondola. They are the same! Most of the cable cars I ride are in the frigid winter and on the way to the top of the ski hill 😉 Great theme for this year’s A to Z Challenge! I look forward to reading more!