Hiking to Tabgah and Capernaum (11 miles)

From Israel, Jesus Trail, Water Walking1

Photos from November 25th 2009

The next morning we entered Arbel National Park and ascended the Arbel Cliff. We soaked up the view from the top. After an hour or so we descended, passing ancient cliff dwellings and caves. This is where Mariella saved the life of a baby tortoise that was turned upside down, Maryanne you would’ve taken this guy home in a heartbeat, Mariella sure wanted to. We continued down the mountain into Wadi Hamam before continuing to Tabgah. At this point a refreshing rain ensued that turned into heavy, not so welcomed, rain. We decided to ask the Franciscan monastery, which is the traditional location of the feeding of the 5,000, if there were any accommodations for the night. After some persuasion slash playing the poor couple without a place to stay, they let us stay in one of their rooms located in the back garden near a babbling brook that empties in the nearby Sea of Galilee-not too bad at all. Yet another example of God’s provision, this time near the site where he fed 5,000. Beautiful! The next day we woke up and walked to the church of the Primacy of St. Peter, which is built over a rock traditionally thought to be where Jesus shared a meal with his disciples after the resurrection. Then we ascended the Mount of Beatitudes, the traditional side of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Later, we hiked down the mount to Capernaum where we meandered through the ruins of the city which was the hub of Jesus’ ministry. In Capernaum there are ruins of a synagogue and the church at St. Peters house built over the ruins of St. Peters home. Mariella made friends with more strangers as she played with a few of the cats at the ruins, they later picked us up on the road and offered to join them as they drove around the Sea of Galilee, we gladly jumped in. It turned out to be a huge blessing for all people involved. Linda and Mariella were glad to have another female around and Craig and James both found they had an affinity for similar strange adventures involving more discomfort than most prefer. Thank you James and Linda for letting us join you. After a short time of driving, James suggested we pull over when we see the Jordan River and jump in. So we did! Somewhere on the drive we also passed the location where Jesus cast demons into pigs that ran off a cliff into the sea. We continued to a place where people can be baptized in the Jordan. There were busloads of people, literally! We ended the day in Tiberias where Linda treated all of us to a nice dinner. Thank you guys for letting us hang out with you. We needed to be around other people. The arguments were becoming too frequent, turns out several days of hiking on our own creates a bit more tension than the last 150’ish days. Thank you for being a blessing to us. *Thank you so much Linda for the few delightful hours of female interaction-you were indeed a gift from God for me-love Mariella.

From Israel, Jesus Trail, Water Walking2