Hi everyone. I’m sorry that I did not blog for such a long time. We didn’t have internet for a few days. Also, I have been so tired at night because our days have been so filled with fun and interesting stuff. So, let me tell you what my Dad and I have been doing.
Last Sunday we were still in Jerusalem. We walked the Old City walls to Damascus Gate. We went beneath the Old City in something called Zedekiah’s cave. It was dark and spooky. They say it was a rock quarry during the days of King Solomon. My Dad said Fred Flintstone worked here. We then drove to the Dead Sea. We visited Qumran, the place where they discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls. My Dad kept reminding me that when I was little I used to call them the Dead Sea squirrels. We slept at Ein Gedi Field School. There was no internet, but there were lots of ibex all around. I really liked it there.
Monday morning we woke up early to go hiking. In Ein Gedi there are two hikes, Nachal Arugot and Nachal David. We did both. We did the long trail all the way to the end of Nachal Arugot, and then walked back through the water. It took us about three hours. We then did Nachal David, which is much shorter. After hiking we drove up north on the Jordan Valley road, and we slept in Beit Shean. I loved the hiking so much.
On Tuesday we visited the antiquities and ruins of Beit Shean from the Roman times. My Dad told me it was like taking a trip to Rome. I love ancient history so this was really cool. We also met the Mayor of Beit Shean and his assistant named Michal who was very nice. We went to a very old synagogue at Beit Alpha that has an amazing mosaic floor. Right nearby there is an Australian kangaroo park named “Gangaroo” that we went to. It was so much fun petting and feeding the kangaroos. I wanted to take one home as a pet but my Dad said not this time. We also saw goats, sheep, peacocks and other birds, and we ran through a maze made of grass. From there we went to the oldest kibbutz in Israel, Degania. On that kibbutz they have a chocolate factory called Galita. I got to sit and make a chocolate lollipop and all sorts of chocolates covered with different candies. This was so much fun and tasty. We stopped at the Kinneret, and then drove farther up north to sleep in Kfar Giladi.
On Wednesday we went hiking in the Banias. It wasn’t as hard as Nachal Arugot but it was still fun. We also saw the ancient temple to the Greek god Pan. We drove through the Golan Heights up to Nimrod’s Castle. My Dad and I hiked all the way to the top of the castle and had an incredible view of the Golan Heights. Then we drove to Mitzpe Golani which is a memorial to Golani Brigade soldiers who fought there during the Six Day War. There is an abandoned armored jeep there and the old Syrian bunkers. It was sad to see how many soldiers were killed but it was really neat to visit the place where such an important battle took place. We then drove to meet a man named Yoav who was waiting for us with a safari jeep. We took an amazing two hour jeep tour of the Golan Heights. He took us into the Hula Valley, and then we drove up through bumpy rocks, mud and water up a Golan Heights mountain. There were still tank tracks there because the army did a big war games exercise there last week. We got out of the jeep a few times to walk through nature and a waterfall, and then he took us on a scenic but very bumpy ride down the mountain. He then took us on a high speed tour of the farmlands of the Golan. We drove so fast, it was so much fun! We saw the sunset which was perfect timing for the end of our tour. He was a really nice and funny guy, I hope we see him again. My Dad and I then went swimming at our hotel in Kfar Giladi, they have a great indoor pool.
Thursday was a full day in the snow in the Hermon. It was my first time in so much snow. We went on an alpine ride, and we rented a snowboard. I built a fortress out of snow, and we had a major snowball war! After the Hermon we drove to one of our favorite kibbutz guest houses in Israel, Lochamei Hagetaot, where we slept Thursday night.
Friday morning I played with cats on the kibbutz, and also had an amazing breakfast. We then drove down the coast to Caesarea, where we visited the antiquities. We then drove to Netanya, my Dad's home city when he was in the army. He showed me the apartment where he lived, and the center of town. We then when to Uncle Isaac and Aunt Lydia's for Shabbat. I saw lots of family, had yummy food, played with cousins, and relaxed. I told my Dad that playing with my cousins improved my Hebrew.
Sunday we drove to Tel Aviv. We went to the Azrielli Tower mall, and we bought a professional pair of Matkot. For those of you who don't know what that is, Matkot is the popular Israeli beach game we call Smashball. With two rackets and a small rubber ball, you try to keep the ball alive as long as possible. My Dad and I went to the beach in Tel Aviv and played Matkot for a couple of hours. I love this game so much, I want to play more and more! We saw the sun set on Tel Aviv, and then drove to Holon to stay with our friends Shlomo and Nava. We had a yummy dinner, and I had fun playing with their new puppy dog.
We have an exciting and packed last week, including hiking in the Negev and a graduation ceremony of Air Force pilots. I will try to write some more.
This weekend my Dad asked me if so far this is what I expected for this trip. I told him no, not really. It’s much more than I ever expected! I am having soooo much fun and learning soooo much. I love Israel and I love being here with my Dad.
Friday morning I played with cats on the kibbutz, and also had an amazing breakfast. We then drove down the coast to Caesarea, where we visited the antiquities. We then drove to Netanya, my Dad's home city when he was in the army. He showed me the apartment where he lived, and the center of town. We then when to Uncle Isaac and Aunt Lydia's for Shabbat. I saw lots of family, had yummy food, played with cousins, and relaxed. I told my Dad that playing with my cousins improved my Hebrew.
Sunday we drove to Tel Aviv. We went to the Azrielli Tower mall, and we bought a professional pair of Matkot. For those of you who don't know what that is, Matkot is the popular Israeli beach game we call Smashball. With two rackets and a small rubber ball, you try to keep the ball alive as long as possible. My Dad and I went to the beach in Tel Aviv and played Matkot for a couple of hours. I love this game so much, I want to play more and more! We saw the sun set on Tel Aviv, and then drove to Holon to stay with our friends Shlomo and Nava. We had a yummy dinner, and I had fun playing with their new puppy dog.
We have an exciting and packed last week, including hiking in the Negev and a graduation ceremony of Air Force pilots. I will try to write some more.
This weekend my Dad asked me if so far this is what I expected for this trip. I told him no, not really. It’s much more than I ever expected! I am having soooo much fun and learning soooo much. I love Israel and I love being here with my Dad.
Now you are up to date with my trip!
Happy Blogging from Israel!!
Ilan
