Little Lolly's Small Adventures: Haifa, Israel. Excursion: Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth & the Sea of Galilee. Day 1.

This morning we arrived safe in the Port of Haifa. Guests were certainly excited about getting off to explore parts of the Holy Land, either exploring locally or going on excursions. Others hired a car to get around and about under their own steam - and venture further afield.

Crew were excited too because the Human Resources Manager arranged crew tours to Jerusalem. It gave the chance for staff to get of the ship too. Tours for crew were organised for 2 days running (the ship is staying overnight in Haifa) so that everyone could get a chance to see Jerusalem.

Us five tour escorts met downstairs in the 'Boogie Plaza' of the ship (I can't remember why it is called that - I think it has something to do with it being a former staff entertainment area) and would be one of the first people to get off the ship and go through passport control, in time to meet the guests as they came to their assigned buses. There were four buses going out on one overnight tour (Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth & the Sea of Galilee) and two buses going on another two-day tour (Masada, the Dead Sea, Jerusalem & Bethlehem). One bus doing the Masada, Dead Sea, Jerusalem & Bethlehem tour didn't get an escort. In the meantime guests met up in the showroom in order to be assigned to their relevant tour bus before going through passport control.

The lower church and grotto at the Basilica of the Annunciation

I got stuck in passport control for a bit. When asked 'where are you from', at passport control, I truthfully replied that I was from Mufulira, Zambia (Mufulira is the stated birth town in my British passport) but hold a British passport because Zambia was a former British colony and also the fact that my parents were British. It didn't seem to sit very well with the official so my passport was looked at in great detail (I wonder if they knew were Zambia was let alone Mufulira!). My passport was eventually handed back to me as being authentic (I wonder if they googled 'Zambia' or 'Mufulira'!). Reina kindly waited for me until I had been cleared then we both headed to our buses.

Our guide for the two days was a lovely woman called Tali, and the driver was Carlos. Once introductions were done we waited for passengers to arrive. Some guests went through immigration very quickly, others took quite a while, but eventually we had all the guests that was on our list.

And so our day began!

The upper church.

The day was hot but the guests managed, without anyone becoming dehydrated or fainting.

En route to Nazareth, Tali gave us a history of Israel and pointed out things of interest along the way. Eventually we arrived in Nazareth and visited the Church of Annunciation and then the Church of St. Joseph. The Church of the Annunciation is built above what is believed to be Mary's house, the ruins of which still remain and we were able to see.

Capernum

Next we headed to Capernaum, an ancient fishing village located on the northern shore of the sea of Galilee, passing Mt Tabor where the transfiguration of Jesus was seen, past Cana where water was turned into wine, through Jordan Rift Valley in which Sea of Galilee is situated, past Tiberius and then past Tabgha where the miracles with fish and loaves of bread where performed; and past Mount of Beatitudes where Sermon on the Mount took place. The bus stopped very briefly for guests to see (through the bus window) the area where the Sermon on the Mount took place.

At Capernum (also called St. Peter's Village) we saw ruins of a synagogue and ruins of a house, said to be that of St. Peter which was turned eventually turned into a church by the Byzantines. The ruins are now underneath a modern church that has been built over the top of it. We also saw the ruins of the ancient town of Capernum.

We also had time to take photographs at the edge of Lake Galilee.

By now we were hungry and so we headed for lunch at the Nof Ginosar Kibbutz Hotel where we had a nice buffet lunch. Water and wine were included. One guest stated she had an 'alcohol allergy' so our guide had to ensure no alcohol was in any food.

After lunch we drove towards Yardenit, past the synagogue of Magdala and through Tiberius to get to the Jordan River.

On the banks of the Jordan River we visited Yardenit, also known as Yardenit Baptismal site. It is a lovely, tranquil area. There were baptisms taking place but guests could watch if they wished. Discreet photographs were allowed. I went down some steps to the water's edge and dipped my feet in the river. The water was cool and refreshing. I ended up sitting down on a step, leaving my feet in the water so that curious fish could swim around with ease. Soon there was a ticklish sensation - the fish were giving me a nibble pedicure! Small and bigger fish had a go at taking off the dead skin from my feet. I was in my element - it was wonderful. I was also able to see some baptismal candidates undergoing full water immersion baptism. The atmosphere was almost serene; definitely spiritual and reverent.

Time was marching on and we had to head to our bus for the drive to Tel Aviv. On the way we passed by Megido – place of Armageddon, through the Valley of Megiddo, and drove along part of what would have been the road to Carmel. We also could see Sumaria, West Bank/Judea/Jordan in the distance.

We had a brief stop, half way through our journey to Tel Aviv, so that guests could stretch their legs and have a toilet break if they wanted.

Continuing our route to Tel Aviv, Tali (our guide) started frantically re-counting the number of guests she had on our bus. I later found out that one of the tour buses had left 4 passengers behind. One of the left-behind-guests had the hotel telephone number of where we were staying overnight and called them. The hotel, in turn, called all the tour bus guides to let them know what had happened. One of the guides nor the escort had done a head count at the toilet stop. The errant bus had nearly reached Tel Aviv by then... They had to turn around and fetch the remaining guests. Oops.

Instead of going straight to hotel in Tel Aviv, have dinner and then go out for the evening tour, Tali suggested that we head straight to Jaffa instead and then head to our hotel. She realised that guests, after having dinner, might be tired and would want head to bed. She therefore wanted to give them the opportunity to complete the tour of Jaffa and Tel Aviv before they got too tired. If they had energy after dinner – they could visit the promenade under their own steam or join her. (The visit to the promenade was part of the tour itinerary, and the promenade is literally on the hotel
doorstep.) The majority of guests were happy to continue with the rest of the tour prior to going on to the hotel.

View of the beach from my window.

So, we arrived in Jaffa, on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, at sunset. In the glow of the sun we had a lovely view of Andromeda's Rock and also Tel Aviv's Sea Promenade. En route to the hotel we passed through the modern Part of Tel Aviv, and could see the market and promenade.

At the Renaissance Hotel we checked-in and then had time to freshen up before dinner. Tali met up with us at the dining room and the rest is history. We had a lovely meal. The majority of guests headed to bed after dinner, one or two headed onto the promenade to get some fresh air and experience a bit of Tel Aviv's night life. I decided to head to my hotel room which I was sharing with one of the ship's receptionists who escorting another bus group.

Our route today, more or less.

It has been a packed day with lots to see and do; much to take in but it was wonderful. It is a privilege to be here in this beautiful country, the 'Holy Land'. I find it is very humbling to be in such a special place and seeing history.

Tali was an excellent guide and was glad I was with her group. I'm looking forward to tomorrow!

PHOTOGRAPHS

Nazereth: Church of Annunciation (there were two parts to this church - a church on the lower ground and the larger church upstairs)