We finally took our trip to the North. Just between us, I could have lived without it, but Sid has been feeling cooped up.
We left Tuesday, March 15. I will never again begin a trip on the Ides of March.
I reserved a car from Hertz. We had been using Eldan, but the last time we rented from them the car had cigarette butts in the ashtray (of a non-smoking car) and they charged a security deposit without letting us know.When I told this to the clerk when we returned the car I just got a blank stare. So to hell with them, there are other fish in the sea. Hence, Hertz. When we went to get the car there was a long line and only 2 people working at the counter. When it finally got to be our turn (30 minutes later) there was some problem with an unpaid bill from our last rental EIGHT YEARS AGO. According to them we owed $30 for using the tollway. Impossible, I said, because the way it works is the toll company sends the bill to the car rental company, and they pass the charge through to the customer's credit card. In addition they said we owed another $100 for an accident. This is from 8 years ago, and they couldn't understand why this wasn't crystal clear in our memories. I must have been over-caffeinated that morning because between the half hour wait and the unpaid bill nonsense I got very steamed and we walked out. We went next door to Thrifty; all they had was a full size car for 4 times what Hertz was charging for a midsize. Then we bit the bullet and went back across the street to Eldan. All they had were full size cars for about the same price as Thrifty. In a final attempt to avoid going back to Hertz with my tail between my legs, we tried Sixt. They had a compact for a few dollars more than Hertz and we grabbed it. And they were very nice. By the time we got back to the apartment to pick up our bags it was lunch time, so we made sandwiches to eat along the way. We didn't leave Jerusalem till 1PM. Beware the Ides of March.
From then on things improved. We flipped our original plans and went straight to Nof Ginossar via the Jordan Valley. I love this ride. It's my kind of scenic (desert) and not terribly crowded. We made it to Tiberias in two and a half hours. Because we've stayed at the kibbutz several times we were upgraded to a deluxe room. What, you might ask, is a deluxe room at a kibbutz? It's much larger, has a ginormous soaking tub and they provided bathrobes and slippers. Best of all, they had Fox News.
We weren't terribly hungry for dinner so we had a light snack in the bar. We met some interesting tourists, chatted a while, then went back to the room to watch the early Super Tuesday results.
On Wednesday we took a jeep tour in the Golan Heights. It was just the two of us, and the guide was very good. We went to 2 areas that couldn't have been more different even though they were only a few minutes apart. That's one of the things that continually amazes me about Israel. For such a tiny country it has about 15 micro-climates and an immense variety of flora and fauna. Our guide was particularly in tune to plant life. For the first 15 or so minutes he pointed out several varieties of poisonous plants and how they kill. The giant fennel which thins the blood causing internal bleeding. The oleander which causes a heart attack. Cheery stuff. But then we saw some amazing animals - an eagle with a 12 foot wing span soaring above a field looking for prey, and several hyraxes, a mammal so unique that it's its own genus. The views overlooking the Galilee from the Golan are beautiful. We also got a brief lesson about the political and military history of the area. In order to appreciate the precise nature of the security situation you really have to see it from the Golan Heights. From there we travelled to Beitsaida Valley, a descent of about 1000 yards, and drove through a very bumpy trail that followed a small spring fed stream. We stopped and the guide made tea - a home brew composed of mint, star anise, citrus flowers, cinnamon and a few other herbs that he threw in. It was a great expedition.
Afterward we had to make our annual pilgrimage to the Teva Naot factory outlet. I've been coming to this store for many years, and always bought at least 2 pairs of sandals. This time I struck out. The prices were no better than what you'd pay on sale, and the selection was not good at all. What a disappointment, even tho it's a very scenic drive. Lesson learned - it's not worth schlepping up to within a few miles of the Lebanese border just to get a few dollars off a pair of shoes.
To make up for it we had a wonderful dinner at the Pagoda, a Chinese restaurant that's been around for years. Food is always good.
Thursday morning after breakfast we were on our way to Zippori. This is a place I've wanted to visit for years and it didn't disappoint. It was a Jewish city that didn't participate in the Jewish Revolt against the Romans, and for that reason it wasn't razed. In fact it was an important city in the Galilee till Byzantine times. It's best known for the magnificent mosaic floors that have survived for two millenia.
This is part of a cactus forest, like nothing I've ever seen.
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It wouldn't be right not to address the recent wave of terrorism that took place during last week's visit by VP Biden. On my way to art class Wednesday morning I passed by the Citadel Hotel, which had a fleet of dark-windowed black SUVs with diplomatic plates and several security personnel outside. As I continued to class I mentally composed a letter to him, asking when he planned to call the family of Taylor Force, who was murdered in Jaffa the previous night, and what the US government planned to do about it. (Another American tourist, Kristene Luken was murdered last Saturday in the Jerusalem Forest.) When I got to class everyone was abuzz about the shooting spree that had taken place only a few minutes before. Two Arabs, this time with guns, went on a rampage through residential areas, and were finally stopped somewhere very near the school. One of the students lives in the neighborhood and heard shooting. What made this attack different is the fact that they have upgraded from knives to guns. The unfortunate irony is that the only person injured happened to be an Arab, who is being treated in Hadassah Hospital. Although not widely reported, there is an average of one attack per day, somewhere in the country.
In spite of this, Israel is the 11th happiest country in the world according to Sustainable Development Solutions Network and the Earth Institute at Columbia University. Life goes on and time goes by much too quickly. We are in countdown mode with only 13 days left. And I'm not ready to leave, not by a long shot.
Shabbat shalom,
Peggy and Sid
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