Camping in Galilee

Last weekend I joined the young adults on a camping trip to Galilee.  I like to act nonchalant about it, like, "oh, we're just going camping... in Galilee..."  Of course I thought we were going to be roughing it because they were warning us about the Palestine Viper, and camel spiders...but we went to a campsite where there were bathrooms and showers, and a kitchen.  Nevertheless, it was amazing.

We drove North from Jerusalem, and crossed through a desert.  The sand there is a different color than the sand in, say, New Mexico, or Arizona...  It is a very light tan, almost pinkish color; very beautiful.  We saw the Bedouin villages.  I was riding in a car, so I didn't expect to see camels, or donkeys, but we saw them.

This camel looked especially sweaty and tired.  I felt sad for him because he was there for tourists who wanted to had a quick ride while stopped at a gas station.  So he spent most of his time sitting on concrete, on his knees.  I realized camels have weird legs.  It's like they have two knees on their back legs.  Since I have never really observed a camel, this was new to me.

the next thing I knew, we were amidst these buttes, which were so majestic.  After a while we passed through some fertile valleys.  Then we passed by the city of Jericho, which isn't at all the original one found in the Bible (if you remember, that one was destroyed).  From my understanding it was the third Jericho.  I didn't get a good picture. 

We passed by date palm farms and beautiful landscapes. 



When we arrived, a group of us went to Capernaum to see some historical sites.  Capernaum has a double meaning; either house of Nahum, or house of peace.  It is a tiny site on the Sea of Galilee.  It is also where Peter's house is believed to have been.  They built a church around it, and then another one, and now a third church sits on top of it.  Here are some pictures:

 Here is the entrance!

And this is the church built on top of St. Peter's house.  It is on stilts, so you can go up to it and see the ruins underneath.

Here are the ruins under the church.

And Here's Dustin next to the statue of St. Peter. 

I was helping Daniela with food when Deniel Geppert (there he is again) told everyone where we were going.  I was just along for the ride thinking we were going hiking, and the next thing I know we are at Capernaum, a "sacred" site.  As I walked up to the church, the monk looked at my legs and pointed me out the door because I was wearing shorts.  I wasn't allowed in.  Had I known we were going to go to a holy site, I would have covered up... So that put a damper on my day.  I suppose I could have just kept walking in...  what would that monk have done?  Tackled me?  That's a funny thought.  But I couldn't be so irreverent.  That's just not me.  While I do not embrace their standards, I at least want to respect them in their territory.

I was sad in this picture because they didn't let me in the church.  Oh well.  Everyone told me I wasn't missing much.  The ruins and scenery were more exciting.  There are more pictures on my facebook page.  (not enough time to post them all!)

So After that we went to the Mt. of Beatitudes (hopefully I can post a panorama of that scene soon).  The view of the Sea of Galilee was incredible!  Daniel was nice enough not to try to take us in to see the church there (because I would have had to wait outside with my sinful shorts on...).  So we focused on the view and left.

And after that, we went swimming... in the SEA OF GALILEE!  So I add that to my list of interesting things I've done in my life.  I will admit, I felt awesome, but I kept thinking of the show River Monsters and wondered what crazy creatures were lurking in this sea (It's really more of a lake: it's freshwater and it's way smaller than lake Michigan, but still special in its own way).

That night we had a bonfire.  It was really neat!  Israeli marshmallows are kosher, and not very good...
Daniela and I sang "Con Poder" in Spanish, per our tradition, and then her and the group sang a lot of songs I don't know, and it was great!  Several of the songs were in Hebrew.  Marcell taught me how to count to ten in German. And there was chocolate.  I was happy.

Sometime soon I'll have to post about the second day when we hiked through the wilderness of Galilee and came upon a canyon with fresh springs and beautiful waterfalls (an oasis in the dry wilderness)... The sights were of epic proportions.  It's already been a week since we went on this trip... That's how behind I am...  I've already swam in the Mediteranean sea now (add that one to my list as well!).  More posts and pictures soon!