Our second
day in Israel began bright and early.
After eating breakfast as a group in the hotel, we boarded the bus en
route for the Tel Dan Nature Reserve.
There we took a peaceful walk through a scenic trail. One group broke off for a jog and was able to
see the entrance and gates of an ancient city before rejoining the group. Our next stop was the Golan Heights. The road was long and winding, but allowed
for plenty of pictures of the rolling landscape. We stopped at the site of an Israeli bunker
where we could see the shared border with Syria. Phil taught us about the 6 day war and the current cease-fire between the two
nations. The valley below us was the DMZ
(De-Militarized Zone) and the site of a UN training base. We also had time to meet Philippine Soldiers,
buy fresh fruit from a stand and view sculptures built from war tanks.
Then we went
kayaking on the Jordan River!! We split into small groups that each had their
own raft. As we traveled down the river
we interacted with many of the locals swimming in the river and in other kayaks. After drying off we headed back to the hotel to prepare for
Shabbat. AHH SAMSON THE BATTERY IS LOW AND IT IS ALMOST SHABBAT
SHABBAT SHALOM
Wednesday we
boarded the fli8ght, preparing for an 11 hour flight. Most of us were able to fall asleep after
dinner was served in-flight. The rest of
us enjoyed the crying of cute babies, various TV shows, and woke up to The
King’s Speech. It was already Thursday
afternoon in Israel when we arrived at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.
Coming out
of the airport we were introduced to our fabulous tour guide Phil, a
knowledgeable father and witty comedian.
We also met our guard and medic Maria.
Although she packs a gun, she is a genuine sweet heart. Our Israeli bus driver, Eran took us to our
first destination in Caesarea. Although
there was some pekok (traffic), the
bus dropped us off at an ancient aqueduct by the beach that was both beautiful
and intuitive. For many of us it was our
first time seeing and stepping into the Mediterranean Sea. Our next stop was the Golan Hotel where we
sat down for our first meal in Israel and slept in rooms overlooking the Sea of
Galilee.
