It’s a Small World

Is there anything more epic than walking up a steep mountain path surrounded by a carpet of wildflowers, and looking out over the Sea of Galilee to the snowy peaks of Mt Hermon rising in the distance? Yes. It’s doing that and managing to dodge all the cow pies on said path. Not naming names here, but someone didn’t manage. We were headed up Mt. Arbel, my favorite hike in Galilee. You can see for miles, explore caves and see thousands of smiling flowers. We took our time, soaking up the beauty and also waiting on a crowd of seniors as they crept down a section of ladders, eating bananas and in general looking like they had all week. For once the planes weren’t a continual racket overhead, so that was a blessed relief.

Sunset on the Beach…after walking and treasure hunting and gazing at the aqueduct. The sand dunes were excellent for jumping down, throwing sand, and in general tapping into our 5 year old selves.

Caesarea with its ancient history and the ghosts of martyred Christians. The harbor was busy with divers but I didn’t see any of them leaping up and down with excitement so they mustn’t have found anything of note.

And then there was absolutely perfect sailing. After absolutely imperfect navigating. Could we find parking for lunch? No. Could we find our restaurant? No. Did we fit into the parking garage? Certainly not. Eventually we found a horrible tight parking spot, some horrible expensive corner market snacks that we called lunch, and headed to the boat for a glorious afternoon of actual sailing on the Med. Flat seas and the perfect wind to fill the sails. We dangled our feet over the edge of the boat and ate and chilled. Funny, how a few hours on the water clears the mind. Which was good, cause then we couldn’t find our supper spot so we walked and walked and drooped and in general felt like hunters. Why didn’t we just eat at the first place we came to? Because we’re on a budget, that’s why. And budget travelers are a stubborn group. Give in to your laziness for 1 minute and suddenly you realize you just spent $15 on an ice cream. Israel can be crazy expensive.

I could write more about Elah Valley, pizza in Dr Lena’s apartment and scrambling up a mountain to visit Samson’s hideout, but it’s all starting to sound the same.

Our first 4 friends have left and we’ve been joined by 4 new ones. Let the good times roll!