Well, we got off to a great start picking up the first group on Brenner Street, the second group at the Inbal and the final group at Ben Gurion Airport. We embarked on our journey laden with hiking poles, hiking boots, water bottles and thanks to Penny’s refrigerator, lots of grapes and milk. We immediately found that almost everyone’s name started with the letter R, making those whose name started otherwise feeling a little left out.
We arrived at Kibbutz Ein Gev for a great dinner but more importantly a beautiful introduction and briefing from Rozi and Yishai. The rooms in the kibbutz hotel were amazingly Israeli. Simple in style in every way except for of course the flat screen televisions! No shampoo, but flat screen televisions.
Wake up came at the un-Godly hour of 6:00 am but the group arrived at breakfast with smiles and eager excitement.
As we arrived at the start of the hike Rozi led us in the official opening ceremony which easily could have put China to shame. Newly clad in our Emunah “The Hike that Heals” t-shirts we marked the start with our first of many group pictures.
We arrived at Kibbutz Ein Gev for a great dinner but more importantly a beautiful introduction and briefing from Rozi and Yishai. The rooms in the kibbutz hotel were amazingly Israeli. Simple in style in every way except for of course the flat screen televisions! No shampoo, but flat screen televisions.
Wake up came at the un-Godly hour of 6:00 am but the group arrived at breakfast with smiles and eager excitement.
As we arrived at the start of the hike Rozi led us in the official opening ceremony which easily could have put China to shame. Newly clad in our Emunah “The Hike that Heals” t-shirts we marked the start with our first of many group pictures.
And now a word from our brilliant guide Yishai:
“Today, we boldly hiked the Gilbon riverbed in the central Golan from top to bottom; from where it begins, all the way down to the Hula Valley. Water flowing, bushes blooming, birds flying and an amazing amount of heat surrounded by insects made this day a truly unforgettable experience. Walking along beautiful water we reached the Gilbon Waterfall (the 2nd highest waterfall in Israel) continuing until we reached the destroyed Syrian stronghold of Jelabina.”
“We hiked, we swam, we showered in the cold water. We met thorns, bugs and cows. We even managed to get into a ruin of an ancient Jewish village called Devorah. We spoke about the Mishna and Talmud period when people lived here and even stood at the entrance of Rabbi Eliezer Hakapar’s Bet Midrash. Like a pearl in the middle of the ocean, we found a pool built by the Syrians filled with crystal water meant only for Syrian officers. From there we descended into the prickly bushes along a water pipe between two minefields. We made our way to an ancient flour mill and then on to a destroyed aqueduct that provided a much needed shower for us all. Finally we trekked the last stretch to reach our bus, never happier to see Arik our nahag.”
All in all it was a terrific day and a wonderful experience to understand the deepest meaning of the word Emunah.
After finishing our hike we took a short visit to Aniam, a really cute artist village which probably would have been even nicer had anything other than the coffee shop been open. If the stores had to close due to the heat, imagine how crazy we were to be hiking.
In their own words:
Rhonda: Today got a perfect score of 100, oh wait. Was that the temperature?
Awards of the day:
Best hat – Rhonda
Best coordinated outfit – Rozi
Hero of the Day – Zach!
“Today, we boldly hiked the Gilbon riverbed in the central Golan from top to bottom; from where it begins, all the way down to the Hula Valley. Water flowing, bushes blooming, birds flying and an amazing amount of heat surrounded by insects made this day a truly unforgettable experience. Walking along beautiful water we reached the Gilbon Waterfall (the 2nd highest waterfall in Israel) continuing until we reached the destroyed Syrian stronghold of Jelabina.”
“We hiked, we swam, we showered in the cold water. We met thorns, bugs and cows. We even managed to get into a ruin of an ancient Jewish village called Devorah. We spoke about the Mishna and Talmud period when people lived here and even stood at the entrance of Rabbi Eliezer Hakapar’s Bet Midrash. Like a pearl in the middle of the ocean, we found a pool built by the Syrians filled with crystal water meant only for Syrian officers. From there we descended into the prickly bushes along a water pipe between two minefields. We made our way to an ancient flour mill and then on to a destroyed aqueduct that provided a much needed shower for us all. Finally we trekked the last stretch to reach our bus, never happier to see Arik our nahag.”
All in all it was a terrific day and a wonderful experience to understand the deepest meaning of the word Emunah.
After finishing our hike we took a short visit to Aniam, a really cute artist village which probably would have been even nicer had anything other than the coffee shop been open. If the stores had to close due to the heat, imagine how crazy we were to be hiking.
In their own words:
Rhonda: Today got a perfect score of 100, oh wait. Was that the temperature?
Awards of the day:
Best hat – Rhonda
Best coordinated outfit – Rozi
Hero of the Day – Zach!
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