Being a Tourist - Caesarea, Rosh Hanikra, the Dead Sea and Park Goren!

If you look at the picture above and at M's face, you might think this trip was a complete bust, and granted she was not happy in this picture, but adventures were definitely had, and although we had been to Israel before, this time we decided to explore new sites. The first and most challenging was Goren Park. This nature reserve is full of different hikes and usually packed with tourists and Israeli tzofim (scouts), but with tourists still barred from entering Israel and school still in session, the park was completely empty. Normally, visitors spend several hours, hiking down the mountain and walking to the waterfall only to be picked up by a tour bus at the bottom, but since we were on our own, we only figured out that part once we had already climbed 45 minutes down the steep mountain. M's face is the moment she realizes that we need to climb back up right before she lost it. And although the rest of us are smiling, both Baba and I shared at the top that we both wanted to cry knowing we also had to climb back up! 

The good news after Goren was that no hike would compare to that and everything else we did would be easy breezy, except for the extreme heat that Israel was facing.

Our adventures in the north took us to Rosh Hanikra and the caves. We took a cable car down the grottos and after exploring the caves rented a go cart which we took to Betset Beach, where of course the girls enjoyed ice cream.

Our next adventure led us to the ancient Roman city of Caesarea. Ammo went along with us, and since he is a tour guide by profession, we received a private tour of the site. Caesarea, is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Israel, but while Israel is still closed to tourists, we were the ONLY people in the Roman amphitheater.  The history of the sites coupled with the sea views of the Mediterranean made it one of the best days of the trip. After visiting the sites, we went to the Aqueduct Beach, a public beach in Caesarea with ruins from Roman aqueducts. "Public beach" also meant no bathrooms or changing rooms so attempting to change into our bathing suits in the open while hiding behind an aqueduct was not ideal, but according to Ammo, this is what everyone does!

In our last trip to Israel in 2019, we only made it as far south as Jerusalem, but this time, we were determined to make it further south and so we took the scenic route along the Jordanian border and headed to the lowest place on earth.

 

 

 

I hadn't been to the Dead Sea in over 25 years, and Baba and the girls had never been. While the mud and experience is a must at least once, I think the ladies all agreed that we could probably skip the Dead Sea on our next visit. In fact, if anyone had a great time, it was Baba!