Thoughts On [insert religious topic(s) here]

This morning was an incredibly laid back morning. We didn’t have to be in Wadi Rum till 4 and we didn’t have to be out of our hotel till noon. Habits are hard to break though and we were both up by 7 AM. We got some breakfast-and lunch . At breakfast we met Kelly, who had just gotten to Petra last night from Amman and was going to see the city today. We had gotten 2-day passes yesterday and, since we were exhausted from the hiking yesterday, gave her our extra passes. After breakfast we rested in the room, watching the American economy crisis and being thankful to have a few days to wait to re-enter into that situation. (more…)

Jac’line and I made sure we were well rested today because we both knew there would be a lot of walking at Petra. Apparently, Jac’line had forgotten just how much walking there is because we were both VERY surprised by how far we had to walk to get to some of the ruins.

We were eating breakfast by 7 AM. It was a huge buffet and we both filled up, taking doggie bags for later in the day. Since Petra was walking distance from our hotel, we were walking through the tiny siq-tunnel-into the ancient city by 8 AM. (more…)

We got up early this morning to get our rental car and get the heck out of Amman.

By 8:15 Dave and I were standing outside Reliable Rent-A-Car in downtown Amman while Jac’line filled out the paperwork for the car. This gave Dave and I an opportunity to get acquainted. He is from Toronto and is a salesman for a telecommunications company. He flew into Amman and is going to be going to Turkey by next week to see some friends. He’s a really nice guy and reminded of one of my cousins in New York.

When we had the car, I navigated us out of the city and onto the main highway heading south out of Amman. Mind you, I have no GPS maps for Jordan. So we are going old-school here with paper maps and expanded maps of cities. It’s frustrating following the road on a map when you can know EXACTLY where you are with a GPS. Needless to say, I’m planning on getting lost a few times as we both get more comfortable driving n Jordan. (more…)

After finishing the post last night at 5 PM, I took a nap. I woke from the nap at 6:30… AM!!!! I must have been exhausted because Jac’line said I slept like a rock. I was pretty refreshed but who wouldn’t be after 13.5 hours of sleep? It was shaping up to be a good day of rest. Ironically, it’s also Shabbat in Israel today.

We had some coffee in our room and went down to the lobby for breakfast. Breakfast is the wrong word to describe the meal we were served. It consisted of a single hard-boiled egg, two slices of pita and cheese. :-/ They skimp a bit on breakfasts here in Jordan. (more…)

Before going to be last night, we decided that we’d push our day back an hour tomorrow to get some additional rest. We left En Harod at 8:15 and took a cab to the border. Our cab driver told us that Jordanians really don’t like Americans and that we should be careful. He suggested we tell people that we are from Scandinavia. At the time, he put a bit of fear in us that probably affected our first impressions of Jordan.

At the border we had an interesting time getting through because frankly, we just didn’t know what to do. We followed a large tourist group and got all the stuff we needed to board a transport bus over the Jordan river and into the checkpoint on the other side that would admit us to Jordan. (more…)

Since we didn’t have a busy day ahead of us, we lazed around the hostel in Tel Hai till 11, letting our laundry dry and repacking. We had a slight change of plans in lodging for tonight. We have to drop the rental car off in Afula, about 45 minutes from the border so we needed to find a closer place to the border to sleep. That way, we don’t have to get up really early to cross the border and meet our guide for Jerash.

With the help of the travel agent who helped plan our large group trip, we found lodging at a kibbutz in En Harod, about 15 minutes from the border. We decided that we’ll head south towards Afula to drop the car off (it had to be at Budget by 5 PM) and revisit some of the Galilee on the way down. (more…)

With the help of my GPS, today was an exciting day exploring the Golan Heights. We had a buffet breakfast at Shlomi and started driving through the mountains towards Tel Hai in the north of the Golan. Once we got out of Shlomi, Jac’line let me drive through the mountains. The roads in northern Israel are pretty bumpy, so it’s hard to get over 80 kph, approximately 50 mph.

Looking on the GPS, we noticed that there were a few scenic stop-offs on the way that offered views down into the Golan and the Galilee. We stopped at one in Goren Park about an hour out of Shlomi. Standing on the stage of an amphitheatre, we looked out into the valley below. I’ll say it again, this land is stunning. Mountain after mountain stretch before you everywhere you look. (more…)

When I woke up a few hours later, I realized I hadn’t had any water since dinner and was very dehydrated. Unfortunately, we didn’t have anymore water in the room (it was all in the car) and I didn’t have the strength to walk to the store to get some. I didn’t want to wake Jac’line so I just forced myself to sleep until about 7 AM. When I woke up, she had been up for a while, so I asked her to get me some water and breakfast. She kindly nursed me back to health and hopefully, I’ll be good to go for a while.

We left the hostel at 8 AM, heading to the Mediterranean coast, and north to the Lebanon border to the small town of Shlomi. The GPS really got broken in today. The maps I got for Israel are AMAZING! I can zoom in to the level of alleyways and see every possible route to get around traffic or along the coastline. For example, we were able to completely avoid the morning traffic of Tel Aviv by driving on a highway that went around the city, a path that would have been much harder to do with a standard map. (more…)

After a busy day yesterday, you would think we’d take it easy today. Nope. We left Jaffa Gate at 8 AM to pick up our rental car. We rented a tiny Hyundai Getz, bright red, probably to let all the locals know to watch out for tourist drivers. Our plan was to meet Jacky and Nancy at the rental place and drive down to Beit Guvrin, a location famous for its large caves. Jac’line had been to the caves twice before and wanted all of us to experience them.

Our Hyundai Getz at Beit Guvrin

With my GPS in hand, we started driving out of the busy Old City and towards Beit Guvrin. Within the first couple of minutes I got us off-course but I quickly got the hang of the GPS program and we got ot the caves with no other major issues. The drive took about 45 minutes but along the way, we got to see the landscape of Israel from a perspective other than a tour bus. (more…)

Today was a day of biblical proportions. Seriously. We walked much of the land Jesus would have walked during his final week in Jerusalem. But that wasn’t exactly the plan for the day.

Before going to bed last night, we sat with Howard on the patio and invited him to walk around the outside of the city walls with us today. After seeing the city from above on the ramparts, our plan was to see the city from the outside, walking along the walls and seeing all the gates of the city. If you have a map of Jerusalem, now would be a good time to get it out. If not, Google is your friend. Believe me, a map will make this much more interesting-especially if it gives elevations. (more…)

We got up and out at 8 AM this morning and headed to the rental car place hoping to get our car today. Unfortunately, it was closed for Shabbat. We decided to grab a cup of coffee at the YMCA across the street. When I think YMCA, I think of gyms and hang-out spots. Aside from the King David Hotel, a five-star hotel, the YMCA is the second nicest hotel in Jerusalem. The building is built onto an old church and has amazing architecture. We also headed over to the King David just across the street. There is no wonder that it is a five-star hotel. The floor has the signatures of famous dignitaries that have come to the country. The back patio looks out over the entire Old City. (more…)

Well, after long goodbyes, 34 of the pilgrims left for Florida. It was bittersweet, but now it’s time for the JAM Journey (Jac’line and Mat). Once everyone had left, Jac’line and I decided to just relax in our rooms until we had to check-out at 11. So, I watched some Simpsons and finished packing my stuff.

We met Jacky and Nancy down in the lobby and then got a taxi to Jaffa Gate. Unfortunately, the taxi couldn’t drop us off right at the hostel, so we had to carry all our stuff another quarter mile to the hostel. Not a good way to start the day off. Jac’line and I got checked into our hostel and went up to see our room. Ironically, we somehow double booked so we had two rooms, an upper one and a lower one with a patio. We chose the lower one, and offered the upper one to Nancy and Jacky. It was another mini-Anona pilgrimage for four more days. (more…)

Today was our last full day of the trip. Tomorrow everyone leaves for Florida and Jac’line and I stay behind to continue our journey. It’s bittersweet, but by the end of the day, we realized that everyone on the trip had been changed for the better from this experience.

We started the day with a visit to the Pool of Bethesda, where Jesus healed the paralyzed man in John. The pool is located right next to the Church of St Anne, where Mary’s parents supposedly lived. Both the pool and the church are located in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City, in a rather sketchy section, right by the entrance to St. Stephen’s Gate. I’m not stereotyping Arab men with this statement, but many of the men in the quarter were very rude and persistent when we would walk by their shops. The area is known for pick-pocketing as well so we all kept an eye on our wallets and bags. (more…)

We only spent a half day today sight-seeing, coming back early so people can get a head-start on packing. Many of us are leaving in only one day. Jac’line and I are staying for another two weeks. Additionally, Nancy Cappo and Jacky Saeger are also staying a few extra days to spend more time in the Old City.

It was a somber day. Ruthie took us to Yad Vashem–the Holocaust Museum–and the Israel Museum to educate about her people from her perspective. We all formed a strong bond with her this trip, so we were anxious to hear what she had to share with us. (more…)

Only two more days left with the group. This has been an amazing experience with the other 37 pilgrims from Anona. I have seen myself grow so much over these days and I look forward to being in classes with them in the future as we continue exploring our faith together.

Today we spent the majority of our time in the Jewish quarter of the Old City. A little background: Jerusalem today is a bustling modern city covering a many square miles. It has mass transportation, modern roads and modern buildings. The Old City is the part of Jerusalem found within the walls of the old city, hence the name Old City.

The Old City is divided into four sections called quarters; Jewish, Muslim, Armenian and Christian. Each of the quarters has a different flavor and that’s what makes the city so unique. Four different religions live within one square mile of each other. On the eastern side of the Old City is the Temple Mount with the Western Wall, the Southern Steps, and the Dome of the Rock. (more…)