Day 7 -- The camel ride happens and north to Galilee

We packed and said 'good-bye' to Jerusalem and began our trip north to the Galilee region. But first, there was this matter of a camel ride to take care of.

The Judean hills in the background frame this picture of roomates and camelmates Jane (focusing on the camera) and JoAnn (focusing on the camel).


Camels, it has been said, are the only animals created by committee, a strange creature. Have you ever heard the noise a camel makes? It starts deep in the inner chambers and echoes out the mouth in a gurgling sputter.

Chuck and Gerry just made a bet with Ricardo and Brandon -- "First one to Capernaum and back wins three goats and five cakes of raisins."


When riding a camel, you have to lean back, lean forward and then lean back as the beast of burden shifts its weight from back to front and then to the back again. Here, Bev and Peggie show us how to do it while screaming and holding on for dear life.

Riding in Israel is quite the experience. You'll be riding along and our guide say's thing like "Samson was born on the other side of that hill" and "Saul gathered his army by that stand of Eucalyptus trees" etc. The bible just comes alive in this place.

The story of Gideon preparing his army is not the way most leaders would go about it. He began by whittling it down to 300 soldiers from 30,000. It happened at this very spring. Judges 6-7 records the story that Gilla is reading from.

Beit Shean is a city that is famous in the Bible, because it is here that the corpses of Saul and his three son's were hung from the city walls after their defeat and death in battle. Over the centuries, this key crossroads location became a major Roman city. An earthquake destroyed the city in 749 and left these recently unearthed ruins for us to explore.


Within the city was a 7,000 seat theatre...and where do the theatre goers "go " at intermission? Not a lot of privacy in those days, but very effective, if not ingenious, toilet seats eh? Trust me, this was the best picture for this family blog (I have other re-enactment shots that I'm willing to sell).

What a fun day that ended with us checking into our hotel on the shores of Lake Gennesaret or as it is also known, the Sea of Galilee. So, until tomorrow, dear reader, I must sign off now and thank you for reading the narrative of this great odyssey. Feedback is always welcome. So are baked goods that look and taste like Marionberry Pie.