Joan, Ed and Eric Journey Through Israel

My final thoughts…. Our blog is filled with much adventure, every day survival in an unknown land, and some disappointment of "famous" landmarks. But over the course of the last couple of months as I have taken time to reflect, what I come away with is the memories of the the people along the way. They live in a different culture with different customs and a different language and thousands of years of history. The following are some of our experiences that we had interacting with the people. The first people group we encountered was at the Newark airport …there were many orthodox Jewish men with their customary clothing and grouped together bobbing back and forth saying their prayers. They kept to themselves and weren't allowed to sit by females on the plane. Ed was seated next to one who was about our age and we did have a conversation with him. He lived in American, had eight children, many the same age as ours, and was going to relax and refresh himself. A very ni

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The trek home started well. Caught a taxi to the train station. Easy enough. Took the train to the airport. Went through the most lax security screening in recent memory.  We then flew 11 hours (tough) back to Newark, New Jersey.  Next, our flight from there to Charlotte was delayed. Then delayed again. Then it got canceled. Due to the glut of cancellations and rescheduling we couldn't get a flight home for a day or two and they weren't (United) going to give us any accomodations or vouchers.  The train couldn't get us home. So we ended up renting a car and driving all night to get home. I (Ed) am writing this from our rental car as we are still miles from home and have watched another sunrise.  Our "day" has been over 30 hours long.  We are extremely exhausted and crave nothing more than a shower and to put head to pillow.  North Carolina is looking good though.

Today was the last day of our adventure.  Hard to believe.  We are in Tel Aviv now which is a very modern city compared to all the other places we have passed through in Israel. We started off our day  by chilling in our hotel room followed by a quaint breakfast at the hotel.  Afterwards, we headed down to the Carmel Market which was quite a scene.  When you first enter, most of the vendors are selling junk. But once you get past them you find a smorgasbord of fresh fruits, vegetables, meat, baked goods and other delicacies.  We decided to procure some fresh things for our lunch.  Had an excellent midday meal.  In the afternoon we took a local bus to the Eretz Israel Museum where we saw loads of fascinating artifacts from a variety of eras in history.  The late afternoon found us getting our feet wet in the Mediterranean Sea.  The surf and wind were quite fierce! For dinner we walked the boardwalk area until we found a good place to eat and watch the sun set over the sea.  Our celebrat

Forgot to mention that this was our first hotel with separate male and female dorms, so I was on my own for the night.  Our plan was to rise at 4:45am and be on the trail by 5 so that we could see the sunrise (one of my roommates was up at 3:50 and took an hour to get ready, I finally got up and was ready in 5 min.).  I was out waiting for the guys by 4:40 and we were on our way by 4:55 and after locating the trail were on our way. Ed started at a brisk pace, fastest Eric and I had seen him walk. The trail snaked up over 450 meters to the top of the Masada. We made it a good 10 minutes before the beautiful sunrise. We then explored the ruins of Herod's mountain top home before our descent and a hearty breakfast at the hostel. A 15 minutes drive north in our car and we were at the Ein Gedi National Park, a small oasis next to the Dead Sea. We hiked up to several small waterfalls and pools  and then headed higher as I climbed by hand and foot, and cables and hand holds to reach half

Our day began early (surprise) with a walk to the Mount of Olives.  There are numerous special sites along the way and we took in many of them. Some were unavailable to us for various (ridiculous) reasons. We did observe the Garden of Gethsemane which was very cool.  We then went back to our hostel to pick up our packs (so nice to walk the morning without full pack).  From there we went to the City of David National Park. We bought a pass early in our journey to allow us to go to all the National Parks but, lo and behold, our pass was not good at this one (thanks Israel). The park had an unusual underground waterway called Hezekiah's Tunnel which is something we wanted to do so we paid the admission.  The tunnel had water flowing through it that was mostly ankle deep but was 70 cm deep in a few parts. Flashlights were mandatory.  It was extremely narrow and very cramped.  It was 500 meters long and a sign said it would take 40 minutes to walk through. We did it in 20. A tasty lunch

We woke this morning in Jerusalem and realized our hostel's front door is just 10 feet away from the West Bank Chain Gate check point. Which means there are men with semi Automatic weapons right outside our door. I sat and watched them this morning as I drank a cup of coffee. We didn't have a set plan except to get to Bethleham via public transportation. We started out and came to the Western Wall and so we stopped for a bit to take it in. Then it was off to the bus and our timing was perfect for both legs of the trip. The ride was pleasant and we arrived just 1km from Manger square and many taxi drivers were waiting like vultures to drive us the distance. But of course we walked. We made it to the Church of the Nativity, but we felt quite unwelcome as we were constantly being told we couldn't go into places where others were and we were even told we couldn't stay for Mass. No room for us at the Inn. After lunch we were finally able to make it down to the Grotto, thanks

We slept in until 8am this morning. That gave me (Joan) about 12 hours of sleep and I am feeling much better. The "rash" on the back of my legs from the knee to my ankles is looking much better. I know we haven't written about the stange redness, which did not itch or anything, but was quite disturbing looking and had developed on Monday. We think it must be a reaction to a plant or insect. We spoke to a pharmacist on Tuesday in Tiberbius and got some cream for it.  Moving on... We had an amazing breakfast of fresh vegetables and warm pita with toppings and half an avacado topped with chopped onion, tomatoes, cucumbers, and herbs, and a few other goodies. We slowly prepared for our day and our host was kind enough to allow us to leave our packs at the hostel for the day. We were off through the confusing streets and visiting various sights and we sampled local foods along the way. The touristy spots were ok but the places we enjoyed the most were the ones less visited. We

With daytime highs forecasted to be around 90, we made the decision to rise really early and hit the trail before the heat got bad. Our book told us that the first two kilometers or so would be straight uphill as we would go over Mt. Tabor and that was an understatement. It was extremely hard and to compound the difficulty Joan was not feeling well.  How she ever made it is a mystery.  Serious fortitude.  The one thing they did not tell us was that there would be some rock climbing.  It was brutal. When we finally made it we walked a beautiful trail that circled the top part of the mountain displaying beautiful vistas.  We finally stopped to eat the breakfast we had packed.  We feasted on Cinnamon Babka (Seinfeld reference, not sure what this was really called).  The descent was this twisty switchback on the road leading us to the town of Diboryya.  We had a tough time navigating the streets until we finally found the trail again.  It was a bit sketchy. When we did finally find it, we

Being flexible and ready for change is a good attribute for a hiker/backpacker/walker.  Today's forecast was for high temps and on our agenda was a long hike with steep climbs.  After much discussion we nixed that plan and made alternate ones.  We decided to take a bus to an interesting national park in Beit She'an. This park had the ruins of both Roman and Byzantine eras and were fascinating.  We made a good choice and spent several hours exploring.  From there we hopped a bus to the bustling downtown of Afula.  A stopover there allowed us to go to a large grocery store where we stocked provisions for tomorrow's hike.  We then caught a bus to Gazit Junction where we had reserved a room at the Pearl Valley hotel. It lies at the foot of Mount Tabor, the first of two mountains we will cross tomorrow on our way to Nazareth.  After a little down time, we walked a small distance to the main town of Kefar Tavor where we had dinner at a wonderful cafe that was recommended to us by

Jumped out of bed and got an early start today. We quickly packed, ate a small breakfast and hit the road around 6:30 a.m.  We followed the coastal highway to a national park that was unfortunately closed.  So we marched on. Our next two km was straight uphill. It was a tremendously tough stretch that wore us down quickly.  The good thing for us was it was slightly hazy with the clouds holding back the sun.  After hitting a plateau we followed the mountain ridge line south with the Sea of Galilee on our left.  It was quite a peaceful and beautiful walk.  As we descended we ended up at the Jordan River baptismal site where we took a small break for ice cream and coffee!  We then headed off for our destination at the Country Lodge Kibbutz.  It's like a small commune. We dropped our things and went for a refreshing swim in the cleanest pool I've ever seen.  Afterwards, we did our daily cleaning and then went to the chocolate factory that is run here at the kibbutz. We had some tas

After yesterday we decided to take a bus to Tiberius. Much of the route was backtracking and our feet were tired so a 15 minute bus ride was on the menu for us. After a big breakfast at our hostel, more like a hotel, we walked 2km to the bus stop. Tiberius is small interesting town, some new, some old, and some tacky beach area. We are staying in and exploring the old city. We spent some time at the market eating lunch and buying fruit, pastries, and meat and cheese from the locals for tomorrow.  The market area was quite interesting and not nearly as intimidating as some would lead to believe. We fared quite well. As our day went on we spent some time resting by the edge of the Sea of Galilee. Very peaceful with beautiful views. The evening found us watching a small parade through town. Extremely loud! 

We had an 11 hour day, as we started out from Arbel at 7am, after a light breakfast of bread we had saved from our amazing dinner last night. We knew we were in for a treat as we had already had views of Mount Arbel, a mountain that had been split in two by an earthquake around 759 BC. From the peak, we could see miles and miles...the east shore of Sea of Galilee..and so much more. Our 400 meter descent was down the face of the cliff using handholds and very careful steps. Along the decent we viewed and went into cave dwellings. We were rewarded after an incredible morning, when we stopped at a small store that had pastries, yogurt, and an iced coffee thing. We also bought a few things for later, but shortly after we can upon a road side sandwich shop and purchased 3 large sandwiches filled with local foods and stored those for lunch. The next few hours were filled with poor signage and included a 4 kilometer detour due to that. We are not sure but our mileage total was in excess of 30

I am tired and hungry. Yesterday was Shabbot and all stores were closed. We thought we had prepared, but we ran short and had to have Cliff bars for dinner and then at the first store today we only picked up a bag of peanuts thinking we would find another store along the way, but we didn't and the only store in the town we are staying in tonight is closed. So it is now 5pm and we are starving and our only option tonight is the expensive restaurant where we are staying....Happy Mother's Day to Me!!! So our journey today started in Iliniya. We had a meager breakfast of fruit and muesli and off we went. The locals at the goat farm told us that our walk today would be less "trashy" and they were correct. Our walk took us through some nice wooded areas and fields. The trail is not necessarily well marked and we missed a turn but took what our tour book said was an alternate route. We passed by a holocaust memorial.  Eventually, after passing over some rocky passes we got o

We have found sleeping interesting so far. We can get some good stretches of sleep at night but they are interrupted by loud chanting and music broadcast over loudspeakers usually around 4 a.m.  Last night we were serenaded with "festive music" till around 1 a.m.  Nonetheless, we arose this morning fairly refreshed and ready to walk. We provided our own breakfast this day (pitas, yogurt and fruit). After adding a few provisions for our day from a local market and getting another glimpse of the Cana Wedding Chapel, we hit the road.  Today was quite sunny and warm.  We did not plan for this to be a long distance day but the first part was pretty much all uphill for 5 km.  The topography can be very picturesque with the towns and cities grouped tightly together on the hillsides. What we find very disconcerting is that some of our paths have been lined heavily with garbage. Such disrespect for the land. Surprising. After we walked along some mountain ridges we made a steep descen

We have found our accommodations very good and have included filling breakfasts.  Today we woke to bright blue skies and we were ready to go. To begin our trip we climbed 406 steps to the top of Nazareth and then out into the countryside on the way to Zippori National Park.  This was  a good trek with interesting views. The recent rains did make some of the paths muddy and the Israeli dirt will cake on your shoes like no other.  It was like walking in very heavy platform shoes.  We arrived at Zippori National Park and found it to be very fascinating.  The area was home to a number of archaeological digs, revealing some amazing mosaic works from around AD 100 as well as a cavernous aqueduct. After some exploration we walked toward Cana. Our path took us through Meshada, a very Muslim city. The reaction to us was surprising.  The children roaming the streets seemed to mock us and others simply gave us long stares. But after quickly passing through there we arrived in Cana. We spent some

After a long 25 hour trek taking plane, train and automobile we finally made it to Haifa, Israel. We found our accomodations at the Port Inn. After quickly settling in we decided we must eat something to carry us through till morning (our internal clocks were way off).  A local store provided us with fruit, nuts and yogurt to hold us. We then laid our heads down for a well needed yet weird night's sleep.  Our first morning in Haifa, we were treated to a  big, interesting breakfast at our Inn. We then headed out to explore the area.  The day greeted us with rain, the first they had in weeks.  Fortunately, it wasn't too heavy.  We started by taking the Carmelit Subway, the worlds shortest and Israel's only subway. The short ten-minute ride took us to the top of Mount Carmel.  We traversed the hillside taking in many sights including Elijah's cave. After a tasty lunch we took a couple of buses to arrive in Nazareth.  We were armed with directions to our hostel but unfortun

It's the day of our departure and so far it's been crazy. At 11 a.m. This morning I just happened to stop  doing all the little "to do" list items and when I checked the email we had gotten a notice from United Airlines that said our flight had been delayed.  But the weird part was it wasn't our original flight. It seems our original flight had been cancelled and we had been put on another flight. The big problem was it wasn't delayed for us.........it was going 5 Hours Earlier!! We had less than two hours to pack and get to the airport, through check in, security and to the gate. Quite a tall order. We scrambled to get our rucksacks packed.  Our driver, Charlie, was great. He came right away and whisked us away to the airport. Somehow we made it to the gate as they were boarding. Upon arrival in Newark, we found we had been bumped off our flight tonight! The girl at UA customer service was very nice and got us back on the flight. The problem we had was there

Six weeks ago Ed and I decided to tag along with Eric on his trip to Israel. This has been a place I have wanted to visit for many years and I thought it would be a couple more years before I would go. But life is a journey and it is important to learn to adapt to the uncontrollable and sometimes confusing situations that come into one's life. And so it is with much joy that I find myself in a place where I have the opportunity to journey to a land full of history and special meaning. A land where many religions and cultures collide and we hope to experience it all. We will spend the first part walking in the Galilee region and then travel to Jerusalem and Bethlehem to take in all the sights. Next we will travel to the Dead Sea area and  climb the Masada and hike in the Ein Gedi Nature Preserve and bathing in the Dead Sea, before returning Tel Aviv for a final day of exploration. Shalom, Joan