2011 - 3rd Journey, Day 4

"And A Fierce Gale Of Wind Descended On the Lake" (Luke 8:23)

DAY 21  (May 17, 2011):  Third Journey, Day 4

Over and Down and Through the Cliffs of Arbel to the Sea of Galilee

Shavit’s Bed and Breakfast on a shoulder of the Arbel Cliffs is one REALLY fine place to wake up even if it is only 4:20 in the morning and after a mere four and a half hours sleep.  The place is magnificently beautiful with arbors of hanging vines and flowers everywhere.  By the way, this is apparently just what the expression “every man under his vine and under his fig tree” (used three times in the Old Testament) is all about.

Shavit’s B & B is a hard place to leave, so I got a late start at 9:30 after a terrific breakfast and began the three-quarter mile walk up to the Cliff Park itself.  It was while making this first effort of the morning that I encountered my nemesis for the rest of the day.  It was only 10 o’clock but already a hot wind was blowing in my face.  What I couldn’t know at that moment was that as I climbed the western slope the mountain was acting as a shield so that I wouldn’t feel the brunt of this wind until I summited.  As soon as I stepped out upon the actual heights of Arbel I knew I was in for an unusual day.

The view was phenomenal and despite the dust in the air I got the following shot of the Plain of Gennesaret.  This is the Northwest corner of the Sea.  Just out of sight on the waterfront to the right are the ruins of ancient Magdala from whence one very famous Mary came.  All the rest of the shoreline is the area in which Jesus spent a tremendous amount of time, preached some of His very most famous sermons, worked many miracles, and made His home in Capernaum which is along the shore as it turns the corner and heads off to the right in the distance.  Much food for thought when you stand in this place.

Unfortunately, the wind was howling and dangerous here.  I don’t have a weather report, but guess it was in the vicinity of 40 miles an hour since I was actually being pushed off balance and forced to take a step now and then to keep from falling over.  It did give me pause, but I was determined to take the shorter, harder, steeper trail down, so I spent about 20 minutes re-rigging my equipment.  Fearing the monopod “sword” might jam itself on the rocks somehow I removed it from the under arm position and strapped it vertically to the back of the pack.  Then, using the extra leather chin strap rope I’d brought along for emergency, I took off my hat and lashed it on the back of the pack too.  This hat had a very wide and stiff brim which had helped shield my face from the gale on the way up, but was now a liability, capable of catching the wind and pulling me off balance, so I stowed it.  Then I took the pack’s belly straps and lengthened them so that rather than directly clutching my stomach, they came out and over the front pack so that I could tightly restrain it from swinging.  Having thus reduced my exposure to the wind I started down.

It was now man against mountain, rather than nonchalant tourist with a camera time.  The trail is quite manageable, but make sure you have a full complement of fingers and toes before you embark upon it because you’ll need every one of them.  Add in the wind, and I can tell you for sure that I was one focused (though I think not foolhardy) neophyte mountain climber.  Here are a couple of shots along the way to give you the feel.   Remember, I was always DEscending though the first two shots might suggest ascending…

Only one way to traverse this face, use the hand and foot holds...

Half way down, the trail levels off along the line where vertical cliff face meets sloping gravel falling down into the valley.  This produces a shelf area of soft and clean dirt to walk upon with the sheer face of the cliffs (in places even overhanging) rising up above. This area has quite a few caves in the rock wall which are big enough to stand in.  I found two cows in one of them and one or two caves with the capacity to hold maybe 20 to 30 of these beasts.  The fascinating historian Josephus describes this area as the scene of much bloodshed when Herod defeated a band of robbers in the area.  I highly recommend that you follow the link I’m about to provide and then scroll down to chapter 16 to read the first five (numbered) paragraphs from his account.  This passage also mentions the town of Sephoris which is another name for the Zippori I mentioned (and showed a photo of the view from the roman theatre) back on the blog post for “Third Journey – Day 1”.  So, here’s the link for Josephus, Wars of the Jews, Book 1 after which you need to scroll down to chapter 16 to read the few salient paragraphs one through five:  http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/josephus/war-1.htm

Passing through this region one comes to an easy and well maintained trail leading back down to the Arbel River and the ancient Via Maris, a primary highway most certainly used by both the Old and New Testament heroes and villains.

Despite the heat and contrary winds, my morning had been spent in constant delight and wonder.  Sweeping panoramas of Galilee, from the Horns of Hattin in the west to the Plain of Genneseret lying at the feet of Upper Galilee’s mountains in the north, the Golan Heights across the Galilean Sea in the east and the expanse of the Sea itself with Tiberias prominently displayed on its western shore are enough to transfix even the most jaded traveler.  And of course, for the Bible student, all of these places play significant roles in Scriptural history, both Old and New.  Ah, Galilee!  Oh, Galilee!

But striding out onto the plain at the foot of the cliffs at 12:30 I was about to confront (figuratively) Matthew sitting in his tax collector’s booth waiting to take the toll, for I would pay dearly for all of this splendor.  It was in this immediate area, here on the north end of the Sea of Galilee where Jesus met Matthew in the Gospel which bears his name at chapter 9 and verse 9.  And it would be here that I would meet the second of the two great challenges on this journey.

The first challenge had been that ascent from the Arbel Valley up to Shavit’s Bed and Breakfast the evening before.  This, the second, was on mostly level ground wandering through gentle hills and either olive or banana groves.  But the heat was rising and the wind was merciless.  My hat had worked perfectly as a sun screen throughout the trip, and I was especially glad for its stiff brim which never flapped in the wind and thus fully protected my face from the wind, but it also presented a significant surface area for the air to push against.  I would spend the next two and a half hours leaning into this gale which was directly against my line of travel. 

Do any of you remember the photo on the back of the “Bridge Over Troubled Water” album which depicts diminutive little Paul Simon pushing the towering Art Garfunkel along with the top of his head lodged in Art’s back?  That’s how I felt for two and a half hours, like I was pushing someone along with the top of my head. 

But to complete the picture you’d have to imagine several people walking alongside, each of whom is holding a hair dryer and blowing it into my face.  Miserable, and sucking my strength as fast as I was sucking juice out of the “camel back” bladder in my pack.  I drank about four litres of water and juice this day thanks to the gas stations which I could periodically leave the trail to utilize.

At 2:45, I was only three quarters of a mile from all the comforts a beach front hotel on the Sea of Galilee can offer, but just then that distance seemed altogether insurmountable.  By this point I was actually shuffling my feet on occasion and tripping over stones no larger than my big toe.  I was done in, altogether wasted.

So you can imagine my relief when I limped into a little gas station convenience store to find air conditioning and two empty plastic chairs at a 30” square plastic table next to a plastic juice and soft drink cooler!  At that moment (shades of Esau in Genesis 25:29-34), I might have traded all the grandeur of Galilee for the cheap plastic comforts of that gas station.  Shame on me, but I have a new found sympathy for Esau, I can tell you that.

I sat there in my refreshing oasis for 40 minutes, drinking a litre of “Pear Cactus Apple Soft Drink” and summoning strength for the final push.  Finally at 3:10 I headed out, grimly determined, and gained my purpose 20 minutes later at the resort of Karei Deshe where the accommodations were most welcome and deeply appreciated. 

As is my custom (this you know by now) I checked into the hotel and shortly later walked down to the beach hoping to soak in the Sea.  But, no deal, for there were imposing red signs denying me the right, and for good reason.  The lake was covered with white caps, and while the waves were no more than six or eight inches high, the desk clerk had warned that currents could be treacherous and I’d seen the brown clouds of dirt in the water along the shoreline from the heights of Arbel earlier in the day, which betray the presence of off shore currents (rip tides).  So, no soak in the Sea today. 

And so, less than an hour after I arrived, at 4 o’clock, sleep overwhelmed me.  I woke again at 6, showered, and went down for dinner, but by 9 o’clock I was fast asleep once more.  Much as I love you all, I confess to thinking, “Forget about the blog, they’ll just have to wait.”  Can you forgive me?

For an excellent little treatise on "The East Wind" see Ferrell Jenkins' article at this link:  Ferrell Jenkins' Travel Blog

Larry H