Flourishing Life

Chris, Edith, Bob & Bernd on Mr. Arbel

This morning I ate one of the best breakfasts I've ever eaten. The Shavit family knows how to cook and how to present a meal. I needed all the nutrition I could get for the hiking we did today. The four of us headed off for the top of Mt. Arbel where Bernd and Edith left us. They felt today's hike would be difficult (it was) and they walked back down to town and eventually headed to Tel Aviv for a couple of days of R&R before flying back to Frankfurt.

Bob and I climbed down the cliff. It was part climbing, part hiking, though it would have made a terrific rappel. Besides getting slowed down by a group of 8th graders, the descent wasn't so bad, and it afforded us some pretty amazing views. At the bottom of Arbel we eventually made it out of the valley, also known as the Valley of Doves, and found our way to a roadside restaurant where we enjoyed falafel sandwiches.

View of Mt. Arbel with the Horns of Hattin from Capernaum

Then, it was back to a bit of a more traditional trail, heading in the basic direction of Tabgha, We skirted along groves of olive trees and some kind of fruit trees that may have been pomegranate. Eventually, we came to a landmark indicated on the map, a stone bridge over a stream from the Ottoman period. The trail splits, wasn't marked properly, and we took another detour. We had hoped not to do that again today, but we kept the streak alive. When we realized the mistake, we needed to cross the stream, which was actually dry, but climbing down through all the brush and back up the other side looked challenging. So, we stayed on the dirt road we were on, which was part of a farm, and eventually made it to a main road, where we were able to navigate to the trail. Last detour of the trip!

At Capernaum

We passed by Tabgah, the Church of the Multiplication, the Church of the Primacy of Peter (all places we visited last week), and arrived at our destination, Capernaum. We called our taxi and waited. Now, we're back in Tiberias and tomorrow we'll catch a small bus to Tel Aiv for our flight back home. This has been a wonderful journey, but I am definitely ready to be back in Lebanon… Kentucky!