I spent four days in the Upper Galilee/Golan Heights area. It was boiling hot, it was mostly barren, it was right on the border of both Lebanon and Syria, not exactly the friendliest (or most stable) neighbors, and it was lovely.
Tzfat--or Tsfat, or Zafet, or Safed, or about six other ways to spell it--was interesting, built on a hilltop, with a long history of Jewish spiritualism (or 'kabbalah'). I'd talked to several people who all really loved Tzfat, and so I used it as my base, but somehow it didn't do it for me. I don't understand why; certainly the narrow cobblestone alleys were attractive, the people were friendly enough, I loved the B&B I stayed at, and there's nothing I can fault, but I just didn't love it.
The next day I headed north to the Hula valley, where half a billion (with a 'b') birds pass through twice a year whilst migrating between Europe, Asia and Africa. Unfortunately, in summer, birds aren't migrating anywhere, and all I saw were some pigeons. (And monster catfish that could have eaten the pigeons!) It was hot and humid and a long walk to see nothing.
But after that I went to Banias falls, which was lovely and cool. They had even built a "suspended trail" over the river, along a basalt canyon, which was nothing short of spectacular. A short drive away was an archaeological site from 300 BCE and the remains of a Crusader-era fort, both very cool but blisteringly hot, so I didn't stay long.
I have to give kudos to the Israel national parks service which manages a wide variety of resources and seems to have gotten the balance of public access, preservation, and interpretation spot on.
I should also note that when I went to the first park, the nice person told me it was 29 shekels or I could go to 6 parks for 99 shekels. Well, six was ridiculous--I wasn't even sure I'd go to three--so I paid each one separately. In the end, I went to six...
The next day I was thinking of going to the Sea of Galilee (possibly doing some preaching) but when I'd passed through a few days prior, I was not terribly impressed, and this was seconded by a friend who'd lived in Israel. Instead I had a nice easy day, made even easier because Tzfat shut down at 2:30pm!
I should note, because the Jewish sabbath is Saturday, the weekend in Israel is Friday and Saturday, and Sunday is a normal working day. Of course, in a tourist area you'd hardly notice the difference, but in a conservative town like Tzfat, everything stopped, including the buses! (There are some parts of Israel where they will throw stones at your car if they see you driving on Saturday!) Since there was nothing to be done, I went back to the hotel where I'd spied a hammock earlier, and I took a nap in the sunshine. A light breeze had mercifully started to blow, and it was heavenly.
I also realised it had been seven years--since I'd moved to Pennsylvania--that I'd been in a hammock! As this had been a weekend ritual for over a decade in LA, it was hard to believe. I also used to get in the hot tub two or three times a week in LA. Since moving, I think I've been in a hot tub once. No wonder I'm so stressed. :-(
In the evening I drove to Mount Meron, not far away, to take photos of the sunset. On the way I saw a wild pig crossing the road, so I jumped out of the car to take a photo! This startled three little piglets that had been hiding, and they ran across the road to join their mom. I was happily following them and snapping pictures, oblivious to how far I'd moved from the car, when the mom turned and snorted at me.
You've never seen me move so fast in my life.
Saturday I left Tzfat at 11am, I had to be at the airport at 6pm, and it was a two hour drive. With 5 hours to kill, my first stop was Nazareth, which was perfect because it was an Arab city, and so wouldn't be closed for Shabbat. Unfortunately, Nazareth kind of sucked.
Of course this is where Jesus grew up, so various Christian denominations had plonked churches down on every site associated with his life, all of which have been destroyed and rebuilt many times as the city changed hands (and had occasional earthquakes) over the past two millenia. The biggest, the church of the Annunciation, was finished in 1969 out of bare concrete and it is...interesting. It did have mosaics of Mary and Jesus from around the world, which was actually quite interesting, especially the one from Japan showing a very Oriental-looking Jesus.
Hilariously, while everyone else believes Mary was visited by an angel to announce that she was bearing the son of God while she was at home, the Greek Orthodox believe it happened while she was fetching water at the well, and so they built a separate Church of the Annunciation a few blocks away! I did nor go into that one.
I did wander through the alleyways of the Old City, browse at a souq, and ate at a falafel stand, but that only took two hours and I was bored, so I left.
The road to the airport took me past Mount Maggido, which in Hebrew is "Har Maggido" which has been corrupted into "Armageddon." It is a stronghold on the trade route from Egypt to Syria, and so has been fought over for 6000 years! No wonder John predicted it would be the site of the final battle on Earth.
Having been continuously occupied, and having changed hands so many times, they say it's one of the most important archaeological sites in Israel, and there I was at the entrance, with a couple of hours to kill...and I just couldn't do it. I'd been culturally saturated, and the the thought of walking around in the 40C (104F) heat was too much. I got back in my car, tail tucked firmly between my legs, and drove off (with the air conditioning on full).
So I arrived at the airport at 3pm, 3 hours before I planned, and 5 hours before my flight!! On a whim, I continued on Route 1 to Jaffa (next to Tel Aviv) where I sat on the beach and dipped my toes in the Mediterranean Sea. That was the perfect end to a lovely holiday.
The plane was an hour and a half late and I didn't get home until 3am, but I didn't care. I had a great time, saw some amazing things, found some of the answers I was looking for, and have new directions in my life. Isn't that what travel is supposed to be about?
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