Danger! Cliff Edge!

Today started early in the Galilee….I was up at the crack of dawn. With the morning light I was able to get this nice shot of the house in which we are staying

As you can see, its call Smadar View Villa

Once everyone joined me among the waking world (which did not take place until close to 10:00 am), we met our guide, Yaniv, and headed out for a day of hiking at Mount Arbel in the Galilee. Now, those of you who knew me when I was much younger know that I used to do a great deal of backpacking and rock climbing…and it never made me nervous. Well, I guess the combination of fatherhood, a small child whose blood sugar dropped to 40, sheer cliffs that are nearly 300 feet high, and no ropes or other safety gear is the exact combination needed to make this old veteran climber climb right out of his skin….I was just a tad nervous!!!

Nice view, isn’t it!! That’s Yaniv on the left. He did an awesome job with the kids. They were particularly nervous about this hike, especially after having stood at this look-out spot and seeing the chasm down which they were about to descend.

Off we went…Jake was being extremely bold and did not seem to care about the fact that one slip and he would plummet to the floor below…it wasn’t until we were about half way down that we realized his blood sugar was about 40!! A juice box and a few glucose tablets later and we were off again. Here is one last shot just to give you some perspective about what we accomplished….check out the tiny buildings below….this was steep and high!!!

Once we got down we had a leisurely hike the rest of the way down to the Bedouin village below….well almost. Herb, my father-in-law, and Ryan got ahead of the rest of us just enough that we could not see which way they went at a fork in the trail. After a brief exploration of the options, Rachel and I did what we have been taught by watching Survivor Man and Man vs. Wild…we guessed!!! We headed down the trail to the right, past the Muslim cemetery and down to the spot where the cars were waiting for us. Thus ends the adventure of Mount Arbel.

Oh, one last photo of historic and biblical note…according to Yaniv, the view of Galilee below encompasses the land in which about 80% of the New Testiment took place.

Not much else to tell about the day….lunch, shopping, dinner, and off to bed. Tomorrow – hiking through the waterfalls and renting ATVs in the Golan Heights.

If you want to see more photos of the day’s adventure, check out the slide show on my web site.

Lilah Tov (that’s good night for those who don’t speak Hebrew)!!