Sailing, riding, wading, hiking...whew!

On a trip such as this one we do so many things that sadly some events get confused or forgotten whenn I sit down at the computer.  After I posted the blog last night I remembered that I had completely left out one major event.  After lunch yesterday we drove to an overlook near the border of Israel and Syria.  The sky was so clear that we could see the NATO peace-keeping village and villages in Syria from our vantage point.  We possibly saw Damascus in the distant horizon.  So, we had looked over into the lands of two of Israel's neighbors in one day!  This photo is looking into Syria.  Notice the Syrian flag in th distance.

But, now to the events of today...

Today was packed with varied activities...and the first one began very early.  Barry had told us that one of the mornings we were in the Galilee area we needed to get up to view the sunrise over the Sea of Galilee, and nearly everyone heeded his suggestion.  About twenty of us gathered just before sunrise on the lake side of our hotel to do just that, and we were rewarded with a beautiful view.

Our first event of the day was to take a boatride on the Sea of Galilee...always a crowdpleaser, I am told.  Petie, who claims to have slept well and feeling good, was up for the day's activities.  Our guide, Gus, had managed to borrow a wheel chair and worked as not only our guide, but also as Petie's personal chauffer today.  

A bazillion photos were taken on the boat...photos of the boat, the area surrounding the Sea of Galilee, and all of our friends posing for photos.  Blake posed with Melissa, Jean posed with Brian acting as her guardian angel, and Tabatha and Melissa took a moment to just "chill out" and enjoy the experience.

We had an excellent view of Mount Arbel from the boat (more on this location later). 

Buddy and Petie posed for many pictures.  Lavaughn said that Petie had a "leg up" on the rest of us.  There is no sympathy around this group!  

After the boatride we visited the ancient Galilee boat from the time of Jesus.  The next stop was at the Mount of Beatitudes where we learned that this site may or may not be the one referrred to in the Bible, but it was close, and of course some religious group had built a place of worship on this particular site.

On to Corazim, one of the towns cursed by Jesus.  As soon as we got in the site Blake chased a herd (family? group? covey?) of rock badgers.  One brave rock badger was brave enough to stay around for photos.  Greg chastized those of us photographing the badger.  He said, "Here we are among third century ruins and everyone wants to take pictures of a rodent!"  FYI:  I am pretty sure I saw Greg snap a picture of the badger when no one was looking.

Of course, we also took photos of the ancient ruins.

The next stop was Bethsaida.  By this time it was pretty hot, so we were able to see that site fast.  On to Capernaeum, the town that boasts about being the "home of Jesus".  Many improvemments have been made at this site, and it is exciting to see what they are doing to make the area more visitor-friendly.  By this time it was the noon hour.  The sun was strong and we were both hot and hungry.

After lunch we visited the site of Magdala, a new addition to the Biblical sites available to tourists.  A group planned to put a large hotel on this site, and as they began excavating they discovered that the ruins of the Biblical town of Magdala was right where the hotel was planned to be.  So, there was a sudden change of plans, and they have begun excavating the area not for a hotel...but for archaeological benefits.  They have much work to do, but we were able to see part of what they have found so far, and the centerpiece is what they believe to be the remains of the oldest synagogue in Israel.  Impressive!

From there we visited the Church of the Primacy, and after a perfunctory visit to the church itelf, our group walked behind it where there was easy-access to the Sea of Galilee.  Most of our group went wading in the water and some picked up a selection of rocks from the Sea of Galilee to take home.  Some of the boys and men skipped rocks.  I took a selfportrait of my experience.

Our final stop of the day was at Mount Arbel...remember we saw it from a distance this morning.  The peak of this mountain is about 900 feet above the Sea of Galilee, and the bus took us to a parking area, but the climb from there involved about 30 minutes of up-hill hiking.  Nearly everyone made the climb, and we were rewarded by a spectacular view.  The Sea of Galilee was beautiful in the late-afternoon sunshine, and the hike was tolerable due to a stiff wind to cool us off.  The air was so clear that we could see many of the sites we have visited during our stay in the area of Galilee.  Again, many photos were taken from the summit.  One photo is of Malcolm, who announced that this climb would be a once-in-a-liftime experience for him.

Sharon and Jim posed for a photo and Olen, Gus, Jacob and Blake discussed the view with the Sea of Galilee in the background.

We have had dinner, and it is rumored that Ethan and Isaiah have gone fishing in the Sea of Galilee.  Strangely enough, the gentleman at the hotel desk had poles to loan them.  Not sure what they plan to use for bait, and there are no details about whether a lisence is needed in Israel, or whether they have game wardens, or what the boys would do if they actually caught a fish!

Our last night in the area of Galilee.  It is a little bitter sweet.  Tomorrow we load the bus, and after our period of worship we willl head to other adventures, with plans to end Sunday evening in Jerusalem.  Much excitement ahead of us!