ISRAEL - Jerusalem tour, Mt. Tabor, and more good eating

Dome of the Rock, Temple Mount, Old City, Jerusalem

28 Mar, Mon - We were picked up by the Bein Harim mini tour bus at the Seasons Resort hotel next door to our condo at 0630 and drove to several other hotels both in Netanya and Herzilya to pick up more people. Finally, at a meeting point in Tel Aviv, we switched to another mini bus for folks who were on our all-day Jerusalem tour and were not also going to Bethlehem or Masada. Along the way Raphael (Raphi) pointed out the ruined trucks left on the roadside as a memorial to those who kept the Jewish defenders of Jerusalem supplied during the 1948 war. Once in Jerusalem we stopped for a potty break at the Park Hotel near the new King David Bridge (designed to remind viewers of David's harp).

From there we drove to Mt. Scopus where we had a great view of the Mount of Olives and the Old City. Coming down the hill on our way to the Jaffa Gate we passed the Tomb of Mary, the Basilica of the Agony (Gethsemane) with its mosaic facade,

the Dominus Flevit Church shaped like a teardrop, and the 19th cent. Russian Church of Mary Magdalene with its cluster of golden onion domes.

We also saw the huge Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives

and the sealed Golden Gate (through which the Messiah is supposed to enter Jerusalem). I was wondering how we were going to deal with parking in this obviously crowded area of ancient buildings when we turned into an underground garage (!) and took an elevator to the street level of the Jaffa Gate. There we walked through a modern shopping arcade and stopped for a briefing in a square just outside the gate. Security moved us out of the square because an unattended bag had been found. Once through the gate we turned right into the Armenian Quarter. The Tower of David (really a minaret constructed by the Ottomans in 1610) and the Citadel (Medieval but based on Herod's fortress) drew our camera lenses both from outside the city and from within.

A short distance into the AQ, we turned left and went downhill to Ararat Street and a plaza (Hurva?) in the Jewish Quarter. Here we encountered a bar mitzvah procession with a canopy, hired drummers and people dancing and clapping. It was quite a scene. (apparently Mondays and Thursdays are bar mitzvah days.) Dropping down to an overlook of the Western Wall plaza, we stopped at a huge gold menorah (7-branched) based on plans from the Second Temple (destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD) for use in the Third yet-to-be-built Temple and enclosed in a bulletproof glass dome. Dropping down the last set of stairs we joined a slow-moving line to go through Security and entered the Western Wall plaza. Women were herded off to the right and men, with appropriate headcovering (available to borrow) were free to approach a larger section of the wall to pray and leave wishes crammed into the cracks between the huge foundation stones. There were many groups of bar mitzvah celebrations. A 13-yr-old would "lay" (or don) the tefillin, the two strapped boxes containing scripture, one for the left arm and one for the forehead (also known as phylacteries) and read from the Torah for his first time. They would also carry an Ark with the Torah to one of several tabernacles placed at the Wall. Some men prayed at the wall in the black suits and hats of the Orthodox; others wore fringed prayer shawls. When our group reassembled, we exited the plaza at the NW corner and walked along a street (more like a lane) crowded with stalls selling souvenirs, food and clothing.






Eventually we reached the Via Dolorosa at around Station V (Tradition holds that there is a handprint at the next Station made by Jesus when he fell the first time.) and turned W to follow the route uphill.

Our guide led us to a more upscale souvenir shop, of course, where we were assured that it was safe to use our credit cards and, "as a special deal, everything was 50% off for us". We bought a couple of olive wood crosses and a refrigerator magnet of the Hand of Fatima (or the Hamsa Hand) to avert the the evil eye. Then we went to lunch across the square and had (surprise, surprise) falafel and schwarma. After that we were allotted about thirty minutes (!) to explore the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

The building is not impressive to look at but fairly hums with the faith energy of the Christian pilgrims who kneel at the Stone of Unction or line up to enter the Holy Sepulchre itself. The church, founded by St. Helen, the mother of Emperor Constantine, contains according to tradition the last four stations of the Via Dolorosa. You go up a flight a stairs to a rock said to be the summit of Calvary then back down to the tomb. There are lower level chapels and a central rotunda as well.

(photos, left : rotunda; right: Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre)

When most of us had gathered outside again, we made for the Jaffa Gate and met the rest of the group, some of whom had not wanted to spend the whole time in the Church.

Back on the bus it was only a short ride to Yad VaShem ("A memorial and a name"), the Holocaust Museum.

We tried to see everything but it was impossible in the hour and twenty minutes we had. (We could have stayed longer because we had to wait at the bus for a taxi to bring people to our bus and pick up others who were staying in Jerusalem...)

The rest of the trip was pretty slow what with rush hour traffic and, from Tel Aviv to Netanya, a taxi driver who did not know where the Seasons Resort was. We got back after 1900 and found Bob and Mark already home. C.J. prepared some pasta and sauce with the leftover kebab meat in it for dinner.

Mt. Tabor from the air

29 Mar, Tues - After breakfast and time spent while Bob tried to straighten out the insurance debacle for Mike, we drove to Mt. Tabor (HarTavor) and, since we were early for flying, we drove up to the summit and walked around the monastery grounds. C.J. and I observed part of a mass in the Basilica of the Transfiguration in an unrecognizable language, but with beautiful singing from (amazing acoustics) the dozen or so participants gathered about the sunken altar. Back at the launch, conditions were very light but C.J. and I began to get ready. Then a local tandem pilot showed up and rigged for a solo flight along with another Israeli. The tandem guy got up but the other Israeli and Mark both went down. I waited until 1223 before launching and even then sank and had to scratch the hillside, then out over Daburiyya where I eventually found enough lift to get above launch and then above the monastery on the summit. I was really happy to achieve enough height to see the winding road leading to the top, and the monastery buildings. At first there seemed to be a ceiling at about 2300 ft where the air got rough but later I climbed to 4500 ft in relatively smooth air. I was looking for someone to go XC with but Mark and the tandem pilot had flown north toward Nazereth. I was thinking more about going downwind toward the Sea of Galilee and even set a GoTo for Mevo-Hama. When Mark and the other two locals finally did go south, I was too far to the north and probably too low. Meanwhile C.J. was up when I was down and down when I was up so we were out of sync. So, after an hour and fifteen minutes I landed in the LZ near Daburiyya (photo, right) with somewhat of a struggle to get down. Bob picked us up and we chased Mark all the way across the Kinneret to Ma'agan, about 25 km. Bob let Moishe know what we were doing and he came down to meet us with his three children and we ate a late lunch at an Arab cafe in Ma'agan. We drove back to the condo dropping off the Israeli pilot at his car at the Tabor launch on the way. Then we met Yariv near his office in Herzilya and drove to Old Jaffa for a walk around the cleaned up old port. (photo, left, twice-rebuilt 1654 St. Peter's Church and Wishing bridge) The restaurant Yariv had planned to eat at was all reserved so we walked on to another place with Yariv and Orley and had a good dinner. We got back to the condo after midnight and realized that we would have to get up early enough to do our seat selection at 0700 for the return flights.

ISRAEL - Galilee, Flying and Eating

Daburiyya, an Arab town in Galilee near Mt. Tabor

26 Mar, Sat - We were up at 0600 to meet Yariv at his multi-use airport; each of us flew with him. In my flight we flew over his neighborhood and the adjacent Arab village and could see the difference in types of housing and infrastructure from the air. The airport was interesting in that there were some GA aircraft, some trikes, some powered parachutes, some RC models and a helicopter all using two dirt strips or the area between. From there we followed the suggestions of the GPS to get to Mt. Tabor with a stop at lunch time in a cafe/service station in Nein just outside of Afula for an Arab lunch of pita, hummus, and several small plates of pickles, tsatziki, red relish, onions, falafel, and a kebab (ground beef? lamb?) with fries. Dessert was bahklava. We drove up the extremely winding road to launch at Tabor (tah BOR or tah VOR) and C.J. and I flew even though the wind was cross from the right (N). At first I got up but when I went south to try to fly over the monastery, I sank and had to beat back into the wind looking at a soccer field downwind as an alternate. By the time I had pushed out to the road I started finding lift and then there was more over the town of Daburiyya, enough to climb back to launch, sink out and do it again. That was enough and I went out to the LZ and landed with C.J. Bob and Heckler did not fly; Bob is still nursing his badly bruised upper arm/shoulder. They picked us up and we turned east on the main road instead of west toward "home" - we were going to give another site a try on the other side of the Sea of Galilee (Kinneret or Ga-lil, as they say locally). We crossed a ridge where the east-facing Ya'avneel site was, descended to the 700 feet below-sea-level Kinneret, crossing the Jordan River at the south end. Since we could see people soaring we drove almost to Ein Gev and turned up a narrow but mostly paved road that climbed a canyon with a national park and mine field on one side. Once on the top, now on the Golan Heights, we turned south and drove a few km to find the unpaved road into the "Mevo-Hama" flying site (next turn past the Muslim cemetery road S of the kibbutz Mevo-Hama). (A smoother and probably faster route going down is to is to just take Rte 98 south along the ridge and down to Ma'agan on the Kinneret.) We had to be back for dinner with Yariv and family at 8 pm so we could only soar along the 2000 ft ridge (photo, right, Sea of Galilee looking N) for 30 minutes before spiraling down to land in the tall (!) hay field LZ near some shade structures for banana trees and maybe date palms. Bob picked us up and we drove back through really bad end-of-weekend traffic (especially near Um Al-Famm). But we managed to get back to the condo with time to shower and change clothes and still be ten minutes early for dinner with Yariv, his wife Orly, and their three children nicknamed Mimi, Momo, and Doda. They have a beautiful house in Kefar Hess, an Israeli community settled 80 years ago. We got back to the condo around 2230.

27 Mar, Sun - We had breakfast and then I walked down to the shore with Bob to check out the grocery store and get some fruit and stuff. Later B & M went for breakfast at Cafe Neto and to pick up Bob's phone. The forecast is for northerly winds continuing through the week - not good for any of the sites. Maybe it's time to plan a trip to Jerusalem. Around 1100 we took off for the Galilee stopping at Afula to visit Mike at Rahelli's apartment, and to pick up the tandem gear. (photo, left, sign marking Sea Level, Sea of Galilee still far below)Then we drove to Mevo-Hama where winds were somewhat strong on launch. Bob flew - first time since he had been injured - and toplanded (but not at all in his usual style). As we watched, the windlines on the Sea of Galilee filled in and, since we had been told by locals not to fly in that case, C.J., Mark and I packed up. B & M decided to go visit Moishe across the lake while C.J. and I got dropped off at the gateway to the excavated settlement of Susita/Hippos and hiked up to the archaeological site at the top of the hill. There were 4th cent. BC Roman ruins as well as later Hellenic/Christian ruins. There were also concrete block buildings and bunkers from when the local kibbutz had fortified the hill during the 1948 war. We found that there was a trail going down the front side all the way to the main road by the lake at Ein Gev, so we hiked down through the wildflowers (and minefields). Once down, we walked through the kibbutz to the little harbor and then back to the main road where we just missed Bob who had come back to pick us up for dinner at Moishe's. After using the cell phone to straighten that out we all joined Sherry and Moishe's family for a lasagna dinner with halvah for dessert. Yariv helped me get info on tours to Jerusalem from Netanya and C.J. and I booked a tour for Monday leaving at 0630. We got back to the condo around 2215.

ISRAEL - Touring the South - Eilat, Masada, the Dead Sea...and a flight

22 Mar, Tues - It was just barely dawn (Israel is two hours ahead of London time) when we reached the coast of Israel and we went straight in over Tel Aviv to land at Ben Gurion. We cleared Immigration and Customs easily, and I withdrew 800 NIS (about $240) from an ATM, then took the rental car shuttle to Eldan, the car rental company with whom Bob had arranged our van. It was a bit cumbersome having to lug all our gear on and off the shuttle but it meant that no one would be stuck waiting at the airport while the paperwork was completed. We were all somewhat jet-lagged and the route finding to Apco in Caesarea was less than perfect but we eventually got there, visited a bit with Adam and the staff and then headed back to Netanya with a non English-speaking cleaning lady who was going to work on the filthy condo in which we were staying. Just outside Netanya we stopped at a falafel stand to have either a late breakfast or an early lunch. At the condo, we unpacked and cleaned before leaving the cleaner to finish the job while we took our wings out to find some flying. We went south and along a new linear park, all nicely landscaped but also with a fence on the edge of the bluff. When we finally found a group of paragliders, no one was flying (well, almost no one; one hotshot did launch in the strong wind and played for a few minutes before toplanding in a rotor; no one else tried). After hanging out until 1500 or so, we drove to a big box store in Netanya S and bought milk, cheese, bread, and pasta sauce, while Bob and Mark got some other stuff and a blender for protein smoothies. Back at the condo C.J. and I cleaned the fridge before putting the food away. Then everyone crashed for a couple of hours...most of us got up at least for a while but soon enough went back to bed and slept until 0630.

23 Mar, Wed - C.J. and I made our usual oatmeal for breakfast and then cleaned the dirty cabinet shelves and washed all the dishes - the kitchen is now not quite so gross. The gas stove does not work but there is a hotplate, a hot water pot, and a microwave so there was no problem doing as much cooking as we might want to do. We drove to the Netanya launch again and found no other pilots there. Bob launched first showing how to get over the fence. Then Mark got off as well. I wasn't sure about launching and C.J. had definitely decided not to fly. When Bob and Mark launched a second time, I rigged up to fly. A local tandem pilot showed up about that time and the wind picked up as well so I decided not to fly. The tandem guy launched (with help) and landed, switched passengers, and went to launch again. This time a gust lifted him, dislocated his helper's shoulder and smacked Bob hard in the upper arm. His wing ended up hanging from the light pole but neither he nor his passenger were hurt.
After helping to get the wing down I drove Bob to the Laniado Hospital emergency room and left him there while C.J. and I went back to the nearby falafel stand for lunch. On the way back we checked on Bob but he had not been seen yet. We went back to launch with Mark's falafel and hung around until the same tandem guy showed up. We decided that we didn't want to see any more carnage so we took a walk on the coastal promenade back north toward Netanya. We got down to the shore where there were some bars and restaurants that were sort of in off season mode. We climbed back up the bluff and came out near the main plaza then continued north past an amphitheater and roller hockey rink. Yariv called on my cell phone and asked us to meet back at the main plaza so we could go pick up Bob and head to Haifa to visit Mike at Rambam Hospital. On the way we stopped off at a horse ranch kibbutz where Yariv's sister was the manager. She also had the GPS that Yariv had programmed for us, so now it should be easier to find the flying sites. We visited Mike until 2100 when visiting hours ended - he seemed to be doing pretty well but didn't know how long he was going to be hospitalized with the broken ribs and scapula. We drove back to Netanya where we had peanut butter and jelly (Bob brought big jars from Costco) sandwiches for dinner. We got to bed at 2300.

24 Mar, Thu - Rain was forecast so we decided touring was the best use of our time. Bob had been wanting to go to Eilat on the southern tip of Israel. After breakfast we loaded the van with overnight gear as well as the flying stuff. The first stop was north to Cafe Neto so Mark could have another breakfast (after one of Bob's protein smoothies). Then we got gas and tried to find the Amigo cell agent in Netanya S using the GPS. No luck, but when we stopped to call Amigo, someone spotted the MIRS sign right across the street. That office was closed and so was the next one we were directed to but the third office took Bob's phone and promised to have the ringer fixed "soon". By then it was nearly 1100 but we set off in rain down the Rte 2 expressway past Tel Aviv and then down to Beer Sheva where we drove by the scruffy-looking "Bedouin Market". Very soon the landscape changed from verdant green to desert tan and the sky cleared to partly sunny.
The next big stop along Rte 40 was in Mitspe Ramon where we walked up to The Camel lookout for a good view out over the Machtesh Ramon, a steep scarp above a deep, wide canyon. Near where we parked for the next overlook in town, the one that juts out and overhangs the cliff edge we saw several ibex grazing in a playground behind some apartment buildings. Driving on we crossed the canyon through Utah-like scenery. To make a loop through the Eilat Mountains, we took the turn on Rte 12 and drove through the highlands bordering Egypt's Sinai Peninsula (barbed wire and bunkers). We stopped to take photos at the Mt. Shemolo viewpoint on the descent to Eilat and the Red Sea (large photo at top of page). Parking near a big mall, we strolled along a resort beach and C.J. got to wade in the warm waters of the Gulf of Aqaba/Eilat.


It was about dinnertime so we bought an ear of grilled corn with butter and pepper at a stall on the boardwalk-like area. And we bought a schwarma wrap at another stall. Back in the car at 1800 we drove north on Rte 90. It got dark pretty soon afterward so our sightseeing was over for the day, although we did stop at Ein Boqek, a resort/oasis on the Dead Sea shore. It was too dark (and cold) for a salty dip so we continued on north another 30 min to a turnoff to the Masada National Park and the expensive hostel/guesthouse where we spent the night. The plan was to get up at 0400 for the hike to the top - the gate opens at 0430 - for sunrise at 0540.

25 Mar, Fri - The cell phone alarm clock got us up at 0400 and we were at the gate by 0430 (but it didn't open up until 0440 - one hour before sunrise). There was a 27 NIS entrance fee but Bob paid the fees out of our prepaid share. It was still dark and we missed the trail as it dropped down to cross a wash and had to backtrack a short distance. Then it was one foot in front of the other as we switchbacked up the Snake Path. (photo, left, below)
By the time we were part way up it was light enough to shut off our headlamps. We were on top in plenty of time for sunrise; unfortunately it was too cloudy to see it. Nevertheless, there was plenty to look at as we walked across the top and around the perimeter - Herod's winter palaces, casement walls, cisterns, the Roman siege ramp and their fortified camps below. There were some floor mosaics and reproductions of frescos. C.J. and I started down at 0650 in plenty of time to get to the included huge buffet breakfast at the guest house. There were three styles of eggs (but no bacon or sausage, of course), sour creams, herring, cheese, and a whole big section of fruit, salads, veggies and sauces. After breakfast we got packed up and were out of there by 0930 or 1000. Bob took us back to Ein Boqek so C.J. could swim in the Dead Sea, well, float, since you wouldn't want to put your face in the water. It was too cold and windy for me to consider taking my clothes off and getting wet but C.J. enjoyed the experience. Heading back north along the shore of the Dead Sea on Rte 90 we detoured up a winding road to a kibbutz on the clifftop where the Dragot launch is located. Bob and Mark had only been there with a group of locals so they weren't sure how to find it, and the guard did not want us to leave the main road due to the danger of flash flooding. So we drove back down (We could not have flown in the west wind anyway). We stopped for gas and drinks (fresh squeezed OJ for B & M) at the intersection with Rte 1. Heading west we drove up into the Jerusalem hills and through part of the city. Using the GPS, we found the flying site south of Netanya near Ga'ash but in a sandy area near Arsuf. Even with the GPS it was difficult to find our way through the maze of sandy tracks. There were 10-12 paragliders flying in the smooth ridge lift.
C.J. and I got two flights each of about 10 minutes toplanding each time. (It looked like it would have been unpleasant to land on the beach and have to carry the gear back up.) Later we went back to Netanya S to try to get Bob's cell phone back but they were closed (Friday and Saturday are the weekend in Israel). We had dinner at the nearby Burgus Burger Bar and then drove to the Netanya launch where the wind was too cross from the north. It seemed like a good idea to get to bed early since the next day we were due to fly with Yariv in his powered parachute at 0730 and then go to Mt Tabor.

ISRAEL - London Stopover

Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament from the Jubilee Bridge

20 Mar 2011-31 Mar 2011

C.J. and I were pretty sure that we would not be able to do a big trip this year but when Bob Hannah called to tell us that airline fares were reasonable and the weather was warm and sunny in Israel, we decided to go for it. And we're glad we did because Israel was another place we would never have thought to visit on our own. With a small group (made even smaller by Mike Daniel's accident before we arrived) of folks who knew something about the country and the flying sites, we felt fairly comfortable about exploring some new experiences.

20 Mar, Sun - Unlike almost all of our trips to far distant destinations, this one started late in the day as we drove to meet Bob for a 1630 departure from his house. What with one thing and another we didn't head off in Michael's van till much later, and then we still had to pick up Mark Heckler at his home in Issaquah. So we didn't reach SeaTac until after 1735 when the "bag drop" for British Airways was supposed to close. It was no problem and our bags were checked in with no additional charge for the third bag (even though Bob and Mark had to pay for their second checked bags online). The seats on the 747 were pretty cramped with not much knee room but we got a drink and a bottle of wine and a decent dinner of either lasagna or beef in gravy. C.J. and I attempted to sleep as much as possible.

21 Mar, Mon - There were a couple of holes in the cloud cover as we came in over Scotland, and then there were good views as we approached London. Our path took us over the Thames and we could see the London Eye, Buckingham Palace and the Mall before heading back W to Heathrow airport. Since we were going to leave the airport, we had to go through Passport Control, then we found the "left baggage" counter and paid 8.50 pounds for each bag. I had already used an ATM to get 40 pounds (about $68) from our USAA account and Bob and Heckler had changed US dollars when we arrived. After Bob arranged to meet Andy, the local who was buying Bob's old tandem wing and reserve, we got one-day travelcards for the London Underground from a ticket machine and took the Tube to Picadilly Circus, about a 45-50 min ride some of it above ground. Picadilly Circus (photo, left) reminded me of Times Square but the center of the "circus" was a column with a statue of Eros on the top. Andy led us away from Picadilly along Coventry, then along a pedestrian street lined with bookshops to St. Martins where we found a pub for a late lunch. We shared a pint of draft ale and had fish-and-chips with "mushy peas" for me and a lamb and mint pie for C.J. Later we walked down St. Martins (passing St. Martins in-the-Field church) to Trafalgar Square with its statues and Nelson's Column overlooked by the National Gallery. We passed through the Admiralty Arch and walked along the Mall leading to Buckingham Palace for a ways before turning into St. James Park and walking around the north end of the Duck Pond.





We had good views of the upper parts of the Whitehall government buildings and we headed that way walking between the buildings on King Charles Street (photo, left) to Whitehall/Parliament Street. From here we had a view of Westminster Abbey (photo, left, below) and as we came around the corner onto Bridge Street, we were right next to Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. When we reached the middle of the Thames on Westminster Bridge, Andy had to leave us. Rather than going directly to the London Eye which Mark wanted to ride, we turned back to see if we could visit Westminster but it was after 1700 and closed (besides, a sign said something about an entry fee of 16 pounds). We all returned to Trafalgar Square passing the well-guarded entrance to 10 Downing Street and checked out the Horse Guards in their traditional uniforms on the way.

We got a photo of us up with one of the lions at the base of Nelson's Column thanks to Mark and Bob. C.J. and I spent about 45 min (open until 1800) in the National Gallery which has an incredible collection of famous paintings. From there we cut across and around and found the Jubilee pedestrian bridges across the Thames. Mark and Bob paid the 15-18 pound fee for a ride on the Eye while C.J. and I returned to St. James Park, walked along the water and across a bridge. We went up Marlborough, past St. James Square and Palace a little uncertainly since I had dropped the copy of the city map we had brought. But, we finally came out on Picadilly Street, turned left past the Ritz Hotel and found the Green Point Tube station which brought us back to Heathrow in plenty of time to get our bags back and get to the Terminal B gate for our 2235 flight. C.J. had her bag searched at Security because she had taken the unopened wine from lunch with her and had forgotten all about it. The Boeing 767-400 had more legroom than the 747, and 2-3-2 seating. We got a hot dinner shortly after takeoff and then tried to get some sleep on the 4 1/2 hour flight to Tel Aviv.