Day 2 Part 8

I would have never believed that trying to describe a single day would take eight posts.  And that is even leaving out some other interesting experiences, like the restrooms in Israel.  Hopefully you are picking up on what an overwhelming experience it is to travel to Israel for the first time.  We met people who have traveled to Israel up to 40 times.  Really.  Some now basically live in Israel part of the year.  Before our trip, I thought I would probably never see Israel and did not have any strong feelings one way or the other about that.  Now that I have gone?  I would jump at the chance to go again.  There is so much more to see, learn and re-learn.  Go 40 times?  I can see why.

The devotion at the Arbel Pass is over.  We wearily trudge back the mile or so to our buses and silently hope that we are done for the day.  Sensory overload maybe.  Ceasarea already seems like it was days ago, not just a few hours. This tour hosted by the Center for Holy Land Studies is excellent.  We never lacked for content, not for a moment it seemed.

Speaking of content, this is Dr. Wave Nunnaly, PhD.  He is the scholar/guide who rides our bus (the Red Bus).  

We occasionally have to share him with the other buses and once we had to leave him behind as he was contracted to give a seminar to another group about some aspect of Hebrew antiquity.  He is also a professor at our Seminary in Springfield, Mo. You might say he is a busy guy.  He is passionate about all things biblical.  

We sit even more heavily in our seats awaiting our final (hopefully) destination of this very long day, Tiberias.  As was the case all the day, Dr. Nunnaly is filling the silence with additional learning, history, maps and biblical instruction.  It is fascinating, just as long as I don't have to go on another hike or climb another fifteen thousand stairs. I feel that my tiny cup of learning capacity is spilling over the top while even more is being poured in.

The bus seems to glide down the grade from the Arbel Pass to Tiberias almost silently as it doesn't have to strain as we approach the shores of the Sea of Galilee.  Tiberas will be our home for the next couple of eventful days.

Ahh...the Sea of Galilee stretches out before us.  It is so calm, mirror smooth, blue and beautiful.  This is the sea that Jesus walked on the same night the disciples thought they would perish because of the storm and waves.  Not tonight.  This looks like the Sea that the disciples labored all night to catch fish and caught nothing.  There is not a ripple to mar the surface of the Sea. The region of Galilee is well watered, fertile and green. 

We enter the city of Tiberias.  Is is obviously smaller than Tel Aviv, but just as bustling and crowded.  Narrow streets, motorized scooters buzzing back and forth, shops and wares and falafel available in the streets.  

We arrive at our hotel, the Tiberias Ceasar. 

It's a nice hotel.  We are told to debus, leave our suitcases and they will be delivered to our rooms (never had that happen before).  We are told to freshen up and come down for dinner.  Dinner!  I am instantly energized.  

Here's where hindsight makes me wish I had been a little more creative.  I NEVER took any pictures of our magnificent buffets or the amazing array of choices of Mediterranean cuisine.  Why would I take pictures of food?  I am in Israel!  I am here to take pictures of rocks!  Lots of rocks!  Piles of rocks!    

For the obvious I miss the subtle, there are olives of all colors and shapes, cucumbers, what looks like five kinds of coleslaw, lettuce salads, and oddly my favorite of all the choices?  Dill pickles.  Honestly.  They are the best I have ever had.  I like dill pickles anyway, but these, perhaps a little less on the vinegary "bite" I am used to, but excellent.  I was not the only one, one of our fellow travelers also commented on how wonderful the dill pickles were as well.  We had to elbow each other out of the way if we met at the buffet.

We are overwhelmed by our choices and feel we must try EVERYTHING on the first night.  These buffets are maybe 15 feet long, two or three tiers of food choices and that is just the salads.  The hot buffets with many choices, none of which I recognize.  I must try them all.

I already eat too much.  But then there is the dessert buffet.  Again, so many choices. I try only many of them as I am so miserably full. Coffee.  I must have coffee with my Israel desserts.  I signal to one of the several waiters who are crisscrossing the room attending to all of our culinary needs.  Coffee? Of course. They bring me coffee, sort of.  It's actually a cup of hot water and a little packet of Nescafe.  What?  Instant coffee?  Yep.  That is all the coffee they offered at all of the hotels we stayed at in Israel.  It is not my favorite.  We found you can get "Turkish coffee" at some of the little falafel stands around town.  Turkish coffee is like, putting three scoops of Nescafe in your cup (one is the prescribed dose) except much more bitter.  Cream?  They stare at us like they have never heard this request before.  We say "milk?", they shrug their shoulders and bring a little glass of milk. No Starbucks here.  We did find a "Stars and Bucks" in Bethlehem which almost cost us our lives, but we'll get to that later.

We have great conversations around our table while we consume way too much food.  We are all energized by the calories and the sights and experiences of the day.  The huge room we are in is abuzz with excited talk.  What a spectacular day.  There is no way tomorrow can compete with what we have experienced today I think.  At our briefing we are told we will be traveling to a place called "Dan" in the morning.  Hmmm....

We take the elevator to our room.  Elevators in Israel are all about the size of a phone booth. I know my youngest readers will be saying "phone booth?".  Perhaps you could say they are about the size of a bathroom stall without the plumbing.  Honestly you can get about 5 adult bodies in one elevator, except I have eaten too much and we can only get four.  

Our room is very nice.  We have a little balcony about large enough for two people to stand on at a time except I have eaten too much and JoLynn can only half get on the balcony with me.  We / I can overlook the Sea of Galilee from our balcony.  The air is warm and pleasant as the sun has gone down behind the Arbel Pass.  The fishing boats come into the little harbor at the foot of our hotel.  No navigation lighting whatsoever.  How do they see each other and not crash?

Our bed is comfortable.  I think a bed of nails might have been cozy after all the exertions of the day but regardless I fall right asleep, the perfect ending to our first full day in the land of Israel.