Sea of Galilee

The last three days were filled with some of the best scenery and some of the best times that I've had since in Israel. How is that possible, since everything has been so wonderful, you say? Hard to believe, but true.

A study-tour friend of mine invited me to go on a 3-day hike around the Kinneret, also known as the Sea of Galilee. Our goal was to walk around the entire thing in 2.5 days, which is approximately 53 km (33 miles) all around. Almost everyone made it--only one guy walked the entire thing. I walked most of it, except for a couple miles when my shoes caused massive blisters and I opted for a taxi to the next beach we stayed at.

The first night was lovely. 8 of us met together from Tiberias, not really knowing what we were doing, where we'd be sleeping, or what the beaches would be like. Thankfully, we made it around 1/3 of the distance around the first day and entered the camping site/beach to eat and sleep. The beach was unswimmable but peaceful until night fell. Before night, it was hard to imagine how Jesus' disciples could have been afraid of a storm on this lake, because it was calm all day. Once night fell, however, the winds kicked up and made some waves. In winter, apparently, the storms hit the lake suddenly and fiercely.

We woke up the next day quite sore and continued on our journey, with Ben in the front the whole way. He was very determined to make it to the end, so we all felt a bit rushed. I preferred to take the time and just enjoy the beaches we came to. Also, we walked along the highway most of the time, because there wasn't a proper trail. This wasn't ideal, but it was cool to say we went all the way around.

The 2nd day was the most exhausting. Ben, the organizer of the trip, ended up going ahead of us (6 girls and 1 guy) in order to finish quickly. I didn't mind--I preferred to camp another day and not hurry. Some others took a bus back to Tiberias, then home, because they also had painful blisters and it was just very hot that day or they were just ready to be done early.

The others met me at the campground later (it took them 2-3 hours to come) as I zoned out on a lovely tuft of a grass, glad not to move my sore sore feet for awhile. After they arrived, (which was an adventure in and of itself, but I'll leave that story for the others to tell...)
We swam a little, ate a little, and eyed the Israeli Army's barbecue longingly... until finally I was nominated to go over there and ask them if they had any leftover food for us weary hikers. Alas, they didn't have anything cooked, but they gave us everything we needed to cook the chicken and hot dogs, including lighter fluid and coals. HA! Thank you, IDF. We prepared a fire and gathered makeshift skewers and made a grill out of an old fence, enjoyed the chicken.

The best parts were the swimming, the friends, and the strange/hilarious mishaps in between. Needless to say, we were all exceptionally glad to make it back to Tiberias in record time. We got to walk mostly on the beach this time, through muddy and grass areas, instead of the dreaded highway, and Simon and I even enjoyed a little swim and icecream along the way. Pictures soon!