Sea of Galilee, River Jordan, Mt Hermon/Golan Hts

WOW!!!!
We have been to some of the most awesome sites. We plan. God laughs. He plans and we are blessed!
I won't tell you what our plans were. I'll just tell you where God led our friend Naim to take us. Naim lives in Yuvalim which is in the central part of Galilee in the northern part of Israel. The first day we headed east (Kibbutz Geshel). The 2nd day we went west (Haifa & Akko). Today we head north.

As we drove, Naim would tell stories of the kibbutz along the way or the town of Non-Jews (Arabic, Muslim, Druze, etc), etc. He stopped by a grove of olive trees, I mean HUGE-trunked olive trees! We got out and took pictures of these trees that are 200-300 years old! We saw horses, cows and sheep in the fields.

The Sea of Galilee
Our first stop was on the Sea of Galilee. Naim took us to a place where he puts his kayak in (we decided not to go kayaking because my knee would probably not let me get out once I got in :). So we walked down this flatish ramp and walked into the water! I was in the Sea of Galilee!!!!! Bruce took pictures. Naim showed us that the edge of the water was "living". The whole beach was beautiful tiny shells. Some were barely big enough to see while others were about an inch long. You could pickup handfuls! No sand. Every other place we saw the edge of the sea, it was rocky. Naim said that it was a favorite restaurant for tourists, but nobody was there. While we were cooling our feet in the sun, an older woman (85 yrs) and a young man (her grandson) came walking down to the water. Lilly Rousso spoke English so we could talk. It turned out she was a teacher who had come from France and taught in a kibbutz for 40 years and now volunteered in a classroom teaching learning disabled children. She had Omri (our host on Sunday) in her class years ago! She had asked her grandson (Israeli special forces home on short leave) to take her to the water. She was a strong woman with opinions galore about politics, but an absolute love. She was truly one of the pioneers that helped build Israel again. She and Bruce talked for quite awhile while I listened and looked at the shells!

Jordan River
Our next stop was the Jordan River. I know we said we stopped on Sunday (or was it Monday?) but here again, Naim had a surprise for me! We went to a different place that he said I couldn't tell anyone where it was. Again its a place where he puts in his kayak. There was a muddy, sloped "beach" that required slow going. But it led down to the most wonderful water and a beautiful section of the Jordan River. The river is very low due to draught conditions in the country. In most places its very muddy. But in this section, it had a pretty good current and was absolutely beautiful. Except where we were standing, the edges were lined by rushes and other plants. This was exactly what I was hoping the Jordan would look like but had been warned that I would be disappointed. We ate a lunch of fruit and vegies there by the Jordan. Again we were blessed by our host/guide.

Capernaum
Another surprise today was stopping in Capernaum (sp?), the city and area where Jesus spent most of his ministry years. We stopped at the place where it is believed that Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount (Beatitudes), fed the 5,000 with loaves and fishes, etc. I was NOT impressed by all the churches built on all the traditional sites and all the tour buses of people visiting them. We had not encountered tour buses anywhere else up to this point.

Golan Heights and Mt Hermon
We then drove to the northermost part of Israel, the Golan Heights. Once a fortress for Syrian guns to fire on Israel, the Golan Heights is now rich vineyards which produce excellent wines. On top is miles of flatish land of rocks and trees. No settlements. Naim's niece is working up here. On the other side is Syria. We climbed and climbed through Druz and Arab villages to the 2nd highest mountain in Israel, Mt Hermon. There was a little snow at the top but the best part is that there is a ski lift that took Naim and Bruce to the top of the world! What a ride! Snow in Israel! I sat and watched for them to come down again :) This area is said to be "the eyes of Israel".

After this long day, we headed back to Yuvalim, picked up Naim's family and went out for an awesome dinner. They really know the best places to eat!