Sweet and Salty--Day 4

The fourth and final day of hiking was a beautiful one.  We hiked at Nahal Amud, most of which is now a nature reserve, and contains a stream with the same name.  The picture of the pillar below is considered its namesake:

We did not reach the pillar until the end of our hike, near a cave that contained the remains of a Neanderthal.  The pillar resembles a Neanderthal.  The hike started out with cloudy skies but quickly they broke up and allowed the sunlight to come through, causing the colors of our surroundings--the wildflowers, tall grass, palm trees, rocky cliffs with their caves--to explode. 

The start of our hike



We squeezed through the fence to gain access to the reserve

I wanted to lay on this hill and watch the clouds--maybe I will get to later

One of many caves

The terrain on this hike was annoying most of the time because we had to walk through what looked like a dry riverbed, which was home to softball-sized rocks.  At one point, while making our way down a dirt path, the girl in front of me slid and almost rolled all the way down.  When we reached the bottom and started walking on the rocks, I saw why:

She was hiking in Toms!!  Wow.  I had a muscle spasm in my foot on the first day, and I was wearing real shoes; I'm not sure how she felt after walking on all those stones.  While hiking this day, I talked a lot with one of our guides; his name is Asav (not sure the English spelling is right).  We talked a lot about Jewish writers, the Hebrew language--he even taught me some new words--and what the United States is like.  He has never been, but is wanting to visit some day.  I didn't think to get a picture with him, but he was a lot of fun to talk with.  He even tried to talk me into finishing my degree here in Jerusalem.  Anyway, we seemed to spend more time walking on rocks than anything else, but besides that, I think this was one of my favorite hiking days in addition to the first one. 

One of many breaks

I kept thinking of the burning bush from Exodus when I saw this tree

Crossing the stream near the end of the trail

Our security guard showed us a plant that is safe to eat.  The taste is hard to describe, but was actually not bad.  He said they're "good for munchies".  He was right.

This is what they look like when you pull them from the stem



Unpeel and eat; they resemble mini pumpkins

Stopping to take in the scenery

A friend took our picture as we meandered through dirt and brush

When we reached the bus, we drove to our final destination for the trip--Tiberias to relax at Bora Bora Beach in the Sea of Galilee, where the bottle that contained water from the Mediterranean was poured into the Galilee. The water was beautiful here too, not as blue as the Mediterranean, but definitely clean and clear. And yes, cold. So cold in fact that my friend Becca (who previously made fun of me for thinking the Dead Sea was icy--the water temp might have been 60 degrees--it was February, after all), would not go in to swim. The beach was not sandy, but rocky. After stepping foot in the chilly Galilee I found a cozy, cushion-covered bench and lay under the shade of a giant palm tree.  Shortly thereafter, they announced it was time to eat; one of my favorite times.  They served various wines, cheeses, and amazing baked bread and pitas with dip that I couldn't get enough of.  I won't even say how much pita and bread I ate, but my sole motive was to eat the dip.  The name of it is escaping me right now, but I know it was made mostly of cream cheese.  After more than two hours of relaxing, eating, talking, eating, and even reading/discussing the bible, we were back on the bus for our 3 hour trip back to Jerusalem.

 

On the way to Bora Bora Beach

Our madrachim and guides for the trip; the guy in the foreground is Eyal--he looks like Elijah Wood, but he doesn't like to hear that

The Sea of Galilee

I went rock climbing by the water and found this lizard spying on me

I had one shot at photographing the lizard--unfortunately my camera focused on the rocks instead



 

Looking north--you can see the Golan Heights in the distance

So ends day 4 and the Sweet and Salty section of my blog.  I will sign off with this sign that I saw on the first day at Achziv Beach:

Sweet and Salty--Days 2 and 3

Day 2:  hike up Mt. Meron (some spell it Maron). At almost 4,000 feet above sea level, it is the second highest mountain in Israel, behind those of the Golan. This hike was less intense than day 1, but it was a longer trek. The terrain was a lot more manageable, consisting mostly of dirt paths and a plethera of trees, which provided a lot of shade from what sun was visible through the clouds.  I lagged behind the group on purpose, wanting to have the opportunity to take photographs. The armed guard, who has to be at the very end of the line at all times, was very nice and allowed me some time to do this. There was no water to cross this day, so my feet stayed dry, thankfully.  Also, I only hit my head three times on low branches, a record low at that point in the trip.  The hike was otherwise uneventful, but not in a negative way.  It was very peaceful for me, and since I was lagging behind I listened to some music on my mp3 player.  Once I caught up to the group, it was picture time.  As you can tell in the pictures, it grew very hazy.  This was disappointing because once we reached the top, our view, though amazing, was limited.  From the top of Mt. Meron you can see the mountains of Lebanon, Mt. Hermon, the Golan Heights, Syria, etc.  I could make out some of these places, but barely.

 

 

The trees here are so fascinating

View on the ascent to the top

View from the top

Our blue dot showing us where we were...sooo close to the border, it was a shame we couldn't say hello



Starting the trek up

 

A flock of these flew overhead while we sat at the top

 

A few of the amazing people I've met here





 

More amazing people

Day 3: Day 3 was Saturday=Shabbat, so we didn't hike that day; it was our day of rest.  We were staying in Peki'in, also referred to as Bukeia by the Jewish historian Josephus.  Peki'in has a mixed population of Druze, Christian, some Muslim, and according to tradition, there has always been a Jew living there for the last 2,000 years (since the Second Temple Period).  Today, one Jew remains.  Her name is Margalit Zinati (I hope I spelled that right). She descends from one of the ancient families to have lived in the village for the last 2,000 years.  She oversees the ancient synagogue in the village, said to have two stones of the Second temple in its walls. 

Margalit Zinati

It was nice to see a U.S. flag. The striped flag is that of the Druze

To celebrate the end of Shabbat, we had a campfire/cookout.  My favorite part of the evening was lying on the rugs by the fire and watching the clouds race by the moon.  Once they passed, the sky was clear and the stars were bright.  My least favorite part of the evening was biting my tongue so hard I couldn't eat dinner.  After a few days, the numbness went away and I was back to normal.  An earlier highlight was playing chess with my friend Rob.  Even though I lost both times, it was good practice as I've only played two other times.  Our second game lasted about an hour, which I almost won.

Morning mist over the village of Peki'in