Day 7: July 14th, 2010 (Tiberias)

Scott at the gate in Capernaum

We woke up at 6:30 AM and went downstairs for breakfast at 7:15 AM. We then boarded the bus at 8:00 AM and drove to Capernaum (8:30 AM). This is where Jesus ended up after being chased out of Nazereth. This is also the place where he started Christianity and performed many of his miracles. An old Synagogue ruins remains where Jesus actually taught. Our next stop (10:00 AM) was the Golan Heights Winery.

The Saffrans at the Golan Heights Winery

They gave us a tour of the winery and then we had the opportunity to sample three wines. The best part of this was watching the kids sample the wines. Hannah didn’t like any of them but Zach liked the sweeter dessert wine. I think a couple of the kids actually felt the effects of the wine after the tour. They gave everybody a token wine opener as a parting gift.

We then ventured further northwest through the Golan Heights to an old Army Outpost called Merom Golan on Mt. Bental. From there we looked over the border of Israel to Lebanon, Syria and Jordan.

Hannah on Mt. Bental with Syria in the background

There is a buffer zone between the borders that the UN oversees. In the distance we could actually hear tanks firing their guns (practicing maneuvers). On top of the outpost we had a great view of the surrounding countryside. We got back on the bus and drove over to a place where they have jeep tours of the Golan Heights. Each jeep held nine people and we drove through the back countryside along barbed wired fences with signs stating “danger land mines”.

Land Mine sign in Golan Heights

Throughout the Golan Heights there are still many live mines that the Syrians planted there when they controlled the land. During the jeep tour we made one pit stop at an old ruins along a stream. We got out and stretched our legs and then hit the road again. The jeeps drove us over to the Naot Shoe Factory located in the Kibbutz Naot.

Jeep at the Naot Shoe Factory

This was one of the highlights for Al since she loves their shoes and you can buy then at a reduced price compared to what it cost in the US. We were there about an hour and then made a very quick stop at a gas station to pick up lunch since we were on a time crunch. I got a yogurt, Zach got a beef sausage and Al and Hannah had hummus and pita. We needed to hustle because we were scheduled for a rafting trip down the Jordan River. When we got to the river we all changed into our bathing suits and listening to a guide give us instructions on what to do on the raft. After our little “class” we got our life vests and manned our rafts. Denise G. joined our family and we had five people on our raft. Most of the way the water was very calm and there was only one little drop where they take of picture of you. This was a very nice relaxing rafting trip. When everybody made it down the river we got back on the bus and I decided to hang out with the kids. All throughout the trip they would sit in the back of the bus while the adults sat upfront. I decided to give them a hard time and sit in the back. This started an all out fight and the kids attacked me. We wrestled for a while until I lost steam and headed back up front to my seat. By the way, everybody stayed in the same seat on the bus throughout the whole trip. When we got back to the hotel, I walked over to the store and picked up some water and beers. We then showered up and met everybody downstairs for dinner. We walked over to a restaurant called Decks where they cook up different types of meats and fishes. It was a good meal but took too long. After dinner we walked around the market place a little bit and then headed back to the room around 11:00 PM.

Rafting on the Jordan River