The South Trip

After a couple of days of hanging out in Tel Aviv, we embarked on a road trip down to Eilat - the furthest southern tip of the country. The reason for driving 5 hours through the Negev Desert was to show my friend the desert (obviously), but to also take and physically accompany a nervous Roisin down for her first scubadiving experience.

On the way down, we stopped in Mitzpeh Ramon to check out the view of the desert.

The view...


Morning yoga...

Over the past few years, I have spent a fair bit of time in Eilat - scubadiving in the day and partying throughout the night. Not to inflate my ego here, but I really did feel like a celebrity coming back to this wacky part of the world, as I honestly didn't realize how many friends and diving connections I had really made along the way!

As soon as we arrived, we dropped our stuff at the hostel and B lined for the dive center. After getting insured, I set up all my scuba gear and went diving. My equipment was thanking me, as it has been close to 3 years since the last time it saw water! I'm sorry...felt really bad leaving it in my closet for so long. So, hopefully, the next wait won't be as long!

After the dive, I caught up with my Scottish Divemaster Instructor. Oh, I missed his accent and dry humour.

The photo turned out corrupted,
but fittingly, so is the 'Scott'!

The next day, I organized an introductory dive for Roisin with an old friend. While there are no photos of her first dive, I can tell you that it was a spectacular experience that I was so happy to have witnessed! I have a feeling she's caught the diving bug now...not sorry!

That night, we hit up the one and only decent bar in Eilat, where all the divers hang out. Much fun and many a beer was had!

In the morning, we made our way down to the beach. While Roisin strummed her guitar, I took a refreshing dip in the Red Sea. Yes, it was late November and I was swimming and sunbaking! Roisin's music caught the attention of a pudgy Russian man, decked out in a tiny black Speedo and a gold Rolex. He decided to set up shop on the reclining chair next to me. We soon realized that he didn't know English, nor Hebrew, nor French, nor Spanish, nor Italian, nor Japanese - completely depleting our combined lingual resources.

Despite the language barrier, we managed to communicate just fine in Russian/German/Yiddish/sign language, and of course, MUSIC! He showed us traditional Russian folks songs in exchange for one of Roisin's masterpieces. When he reached a chord he didn't remember, he shook his head in disappointment, apologizing for his mistakes by waving his hand over his shoulder to indicate it has been a long time since he has played, and by leveling a flat hand to his waist to indicate that he hasn't played the guitar since he was a small boy. After much laughing at the fact that we couldn't understand each other, we caught a streak of luck, during which we managed to figure out our ages, places of birth, and whether we were married and had any children!!

While we were in our bikinis,
local Israelis were fully clothed...

That night, we hung out with my friend, who took Roisin down on her first dive. We ate falafel and stank from all the umba sauce (a Yemenite mango curry) that I added to it! This, I'm sorry about!

Falafel makes us goofy...

As it turned out, my friend lives near Haifa and was traveling back up north anyway, so we decided to give him a ride up - making a recipe for FUN!

We stopped in Timna park...


I'm ready for my close-up...


Copper deposits make the earth red...

Within the park are incredible hills of rock, salt and minerals. The grand hill behind the famous "mushroom" got my attention. I decided to climb all the way up. The view from the top was incredible. (There is evidence of this great feat, but alas, it was not taken with my camera and I'm still waiting for the proof to be sent).

Meet the mushroom...


The chariots of fire...

After exploring Timna and its wonders, we continued driving up north. On the way, we stopped at a kibbutz that I used to spend a lot of time at as a child.

Navigating at its finest...


Visiting old family friends...


They took us on a tour of the kibbutz...


View from the main building...


Communal laundry...


So much history...

This kibbutz in particular specializes in milk products. Part of the tour was to see all the cows and the new milking station that was constructed. Imagine a sci-fi structure, featuring a massive circular ring - just wide enough for the length of one cow - that stops for a cow to move on and get hooked up to these Matrix-like tubes, then rotates a stall to the left to grab the next cow waiting in line. The technology today! I remember when all of the cows were lined up together and the devices used now look ancient in comparison. Pretty impressive!

The drive back up to the apartment went by faster than predicted. I took the new highway #6, which for a small fee is a non-stop drive from Be'er Sheva, straight to my house!

The North Trip

The trip up north started with me taking Roisin to my favourite tapas breakfast place. Located in a kibbutz overlooking Lake Kineret and its surrounding rolling hills, we enjoyed warm sun on our backs and an array of mouth-watering goodies.

Freshly baked scones with an assortment of pesto, sundried tomato, marmalade and butter spreads...labane with herbs and olive oil (the real stuff), tangy yogurt, salty goat cheese...marinated red bell peppers, roasted eggplant, sweet potato infused with orange...arabic salad, bruschetta...omlette with herbs...freshly squeezed orange juice...and for Roisin, an Americano. Before I forget, little fruit salads and bite-size baklava!

The breakfast spread...

The wait has been too long - 2.5 years to be exact!


A new and satisfied customer...

After breakfast, we drove along the lake and did some walking on water of our own! Having just had a 2 hour breakfast, exercise was in order. With only a few minutes of precious sunlight left, we made an 'executive decision' to forgo hiking the Arbel trail, still 30 minutes away, and instead, left the car by the road, got out and started to walk. This is where we ended up...

Rolling green hills on one side of the lake
with the Jordanian rift valley on the other...

We saw a flock of sheep and a hooded figure...

We continued walking and found ourselves in the Switzerland Memorial Forest. There were a bunch of dirt bikers having fun weaving through the trees and dodging various obstacles!

If we continued walking, we would have reached Tiberias.

The next day, I took Roisin (a vegetarian) to Amirim - a vegetarian moshav (like a kibbutz). We stumbled upon a cute cafe house and spent our time playing sheshbesh (backgammon) while the sun set. I enjoyed a banana and date lassi and shared an Indian coconut curry and soup with my dear friend.

Concentrate...

Finally, the finger has been documented...

Later that evening, we drove up to visit Shimshon, who once was my pediatrcian back in Vancouver. Also a vegeterian, Shimshon welcomed us with his famous soup, but what caught my attention first was a little stuffed animal that I used to play with as a child while waiting in his office. It was waiting for me on the sofa, as always. Thanks, Shimshon.

In the morning, Shimshon took us further north to a bird sanctuary at Hula Agamon Lake, which is home to 500 million birds that migrate from Africa up through our rift valley on route to Europe. Being a full-fledged bird watcher, Doc brought two binoculars, a bird glossary to identify our spotings, and pointed out the various birdlife: cranes, pelicans, raptors, ducks, and a funky bird whose style of flying reminds me of an old car trying to jump-start. Other animals included giant rats and humans.

Doc and patient - 20 years later...

Shimshon has storytelling powers...

One of many giant rat-like creatures...

You don't need to go to Egypt for papyrus...

The next day, we went to a nearby forest to visit Ruth's corner - a memorial to Shimshon's late wife. Playing music in a forest is a magical experience.

The enchanted forest...

Ruth's corner...

I hear music...


The entertainment has arrived...


A whistling Shimshon...


I decided to go off alone on a trail...


Shimshon didn't mention that
there are some 20-30 cows in the forest...

Tune in next time for news of our South Trip!

Roman Kings for a Day

I decided to take Roisin to the ancient Roman ruins of Quesaria (Caesarea) - just a 20-minute car ride from my place.

This once prominent seaport of the ancient world is now a national park where visitors can come to enjoy spectacular views, incredible archaeology and delicious cuisine. It is host to structural relics dating back to the Persian era, as well as influences from Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Crusader and Ottoman rule.

We dallied our way through the city, pretending to re-enact chariot races, climbing a top the walls and arches of commerical markets, and imagining what life might have been like back in the day of King Herod. We even jumped over the fence to climb down to what once was an impressive palace stretching into the sea. Today, remains of the seaside pool exist. As if we were Roman Kings ourselves, we soaked our feet and indulged in the beauty while relaxing to the undulating waves and sounds of the sea giving life to the pool.

Similar to how part of Alexandria is now underwater, so is part of Quesaria. Being an adventurous person who happens to be a PADI divemaster, I plan to dive the ancient ruins sometime next week! I'll let you know how it goes!

Yeah, it was fun!