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| The goat farm |
One of the best parts of going to school in Israel is the holiday schedule. Next week, Passover starts, and we get a ten day break from classes. I’m hoping to use those ten days to travel to Jordan, catch up on studying and rest up for finals.
A few weeks ago, thanks to Purim, we had a three-day weekend. Purim is the Israeli version of Halloween, only with more alcohol. It's a chance to wear a fun costume and drink until you can't tell the difference between Mordecai and Haman.
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| Turkish aqueduct |
It also ended up being a great opportunity for some classmates and me to get out of town and go exploring. We spent 3 days walking the Jesus Trail, a 60 kilometer footpath that stretches from Nazareth to the Sea of Galilee. On Thursday we took a bus to Nazareth, spent the night in a convent and started our journey bright and early the next morning.
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| Trail |
The trail ran through wilderness, fields of wild flowers, construction sites, pasture lands, orchards, cities, along major highways, quiet country roads and through many historic and religious sites. It was a great journey and there was always something new to see.
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| Mount Arbel |
We stayed at a convent, an organic goat farm and a bed and breakfast. We said hello to lots of friendly locals in Cana who were remarkably accepting of the sweaty strangers wandering through their town carrying backpacks. We ate our weight in falafel, fries and trail mix and enjoyed a fantastic meal at a small restaurant in Moshte Arbel. We saw ruins of ancient synagogues, holy churches, a Roman road, a Turkish aqueduct, a Bedouin castle and more cows and sheep then I can count. We ended our three-day trek sitting by the Sea of Galilee near the ruins of Capernaum.
A shirut took us to the Haifa train station, and the next day I went back to classes, studying and the sometimes tedious life of a medical student. It can be difficult to remember, amidst all the day-to-day tasks, what an amazing country exists outside of our classroom walls. Fortunately, holidays like Purim provide a chance to see all the things this country has to offer.
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| Wildflowers |
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| The Sea of Galilee |
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| Bedouin castle |
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| Forest on trail |
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| Capernaum synagogue ruins |
(Many thanks to the awesome and talented Casey and Jonathan Ditty for all of the pictures!) - blogger of the month, Angel Eads
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