Friday: I was up before 5 to make breakfast and lunch! Everyone wanted to leave early as it was going to be a hot day, so I had it all ready for 6 and then no one got up! But as I was ready I left at 6.30. It was about 25km today, a couple of climbs and a beautiful walk through forest! However, they hadn't sent the address of the campsite yet so I ended up walking an extra 3km and had to walk another 3 back, so I did 30km in the end. I hoped they'd have already set up camp, but no such luck! I did some laundry. It is about 35'c today, but it was still quite comfortable- I'm born for the heat, although some of them moaned about it and a lot ended up hitchhiking to camp or going home for the weekend.
We had a nice dinner and I shared a poem I wrote about the walk so far. A good atmosphere as we sat round the campfire until late- people playing instruments and singing. For all the challenges, it is a great experience- not a care in the world! And I know I will miss this simple life when I'm back home! Such a warm night, it didn't fall below 23c.
Saturday- a typically chilled Shabbat, luckily we were camping in a wood that offered some shade as it was even warmer today- about 37c. I finished my book- Pompeii by Robert Harris- not my typical fiction but it was interesting especially as I have been there. And Daniela had kindly found an English book when she was in Jerusalem and bought it for me- the shack, which I know I have read before but all I remember is that I really enjoyed it! So I started reading that and done some wordsearches. Me and Miriam went for a walk in the nearby Neve Shalom- an interesting town set up in the 90's offering an integrated multi-faith/race community whereby Palestinians and Jews are living together and the kids are educated together, etc. It has lots of nice "peace" gardens and an audio dome which is a big outside room that offers amazing acoustics! I collected more firewood, but am actively refraining from doing all the jobs around camp so other people have to do it. In the evening, the guy who'd given us a lift to tel aviv returned so I was chatting to him.
Sunday: we had 20km to walk today and then we were meeting a coach at 3.30pm to take us to one of the girls houses where her family were doing us a meal. It was much cooler today- mid-20's which was a relief. It was a relatively flat walk through woods mainly. I met Miriam along the way and walked with her, then we met up with Yaki (the heart surgeon) and the 3 of us arrived about 12. Yaki was being picked up by his wife as he lives nearby and he kindly offered for us to go with them to his house for a shower and then he'd drop us at the girls house later when the others arrived. So that was very nice and saved us waiting 3 hours! His wife drove us to a falafel place where they bought both of us a falafel pitta and cold drink. Then to their house where we both had hot showers and then a nap in a real bed- it was like laying on a cloud- so comfortable! Then Yaki woke us when the bus had picked the others up and he dropped us at the house. They were both lovely houses!! The second one had a pool and large terrace area which had a barbecue area and huge table that we could all fit round! I wasn't so hungry after the falafel but they had done lots of salads and vegetables and meat!! There was beers and cakes. It was very kind of them! We sat chatting and chilling for a couple of hours until the bus come back and picked us up about 7.30. Before Yaki invited us, Daniela had also invited me to her apartment as her parents were picking her up and she said me and Miriam could go to hers for a hot shower and stuff, but it would have meant missing the walking tomorrow and things worked out well in the end. It was thoughtful of her though! Tonight and tomorrow (in the Hebrew calendar the night belongs to the following day) is Holocaust Memorial Day, so there are lots of events happening- another public holiday! The Hebrew calendar also says that we are in year 5 thousand and something, as they don't believe in Jesus so don't count from Jesus's birth like most of the world. I looked in a mirror at Yakis for the first time in a while and I am about 2 stone heavier than I was before the walk, but sporting an impressive tan! Three Israeli guys rejoined the walk today- they were nice so I'm glad they are back.
We drove about 60km in the bus to the beach where we would camp and walk from tomorrow- it means we skip this section of the walk which I was upset about at first as I feel we are cheating, but I'm assured that's it's a boring couple of days through industrial areas and along the roads. I'm hoping I make up this 60km with all the times I get lost and the extra bits I do. We arrived about 8.30pm and as you can imagine it was chilly and windy on the beach! I set up my tent and went straight to bed, nice listening to the waves!
Monday: we had about 23km today mainly along the beach! I walked alone for a bit but then caught up with Miriam. It's not the easiest walking on sand, but we headed inland briefly to go around a power station then arrived at a site of Roman ruins, we were too tight to pay to go in but walked around the edge- you could see the amphitheatre and some impressive ruins, then we reached the aqueduct which is still standing alongside a stretch of the beach and this is where our camp would be! We arrived about 11.30 and so sat between the shade of the aqueduct tunnels and the sun on the beach. I wasn't tempted to swim, but read my book. The truck arrived about 3 and we unpacked it and set up the camp area. I ended up doing dinner and unloading and putting away the new food- I guess people will never change!!
Tuesday- a wonderful day!! I left alone but caught up with Miriam and a few others as we walked a couple of km's along the beach. The beaches here are beautiful- sandy and blue sea! Then we had to walk through an Arabic village- it was a beautiful place, although apparently it's really poor. We walked past the graveyard and saw a fresh grave was dug and a few people sat around it, then as we walked a little more we saw a huge procession of men walking down the street carrying the body wrapped in cloth- over 200 men! Later we saw all the women sat together in mourning. The aqueduct and roman ruins spread for much of the walk- amazing to think its so old and was such a marvellous piece of architecture for the time! Then as we started climbing the wooded mount Carmel I heard Miriam greet someone and them say "is Alex with you?", I couldn't think who it would be?! But it was Femur- the guy originally from Lithuania who lives in a kibbutz here and was with us in the desert! He lives nearby and so I walked with him and he took me to the Rothschild gardens where I learnt about the families wealth and how they sponsored much of the growth of Israel. Beautiful gardens and the tomb of one of them. Then he walked with me to Zicron Yakev- one of the first Jewish settlements in Israel- a pretty little town! He treated me to ice cream and helped me find somewhere to get credit for my phone. Then he had to go back to work but said he'd pick me up at 6 for a shower, etc. I navigated my way to the camp and me and Linda made a cake for one of the guys whose birthday is today- well we improvised as we had no butter and powdered milk and a camping, gas oven. Femur arrived in a car and also offered Linda, Miriam and Eli to come to his kibbutz. So we left the others to decorate the cake. The kibbutz is one of the biggest and most successful in Israel! He showed us around, including the koi ponds, where they sell the fish for up to $5000 each! They have factories and farmland. The cars all belong to the kibbutz, so you go to a room with a computer and the database tells you what number car is free and you book it out and take the keys from a safe. We walked and saw the kindergartens, medical centre, parks and where they take their laundry and then pick it up- each item of clothing has their kibbutz number sewed into it, so once they've washed it then it's left in your pigeon hole! He took us to the dining hall for dinner! An amazing experience and so much food- it is a huge buffet and the hall looks out over the sea! Then we went to his apartment- very modern and two bathrooms!! So we all showered while he prepared ice cream, tea, wine, strawberries, cookies, etc! It was lovely, but I ate so much! He told us a lot about the workings of the kibbutz- it's so interesting! They have commissioners in charge of all areas of the kibbutz, ie cars, education, housing, etc. They get elected but still get the same allowance as everyone else. You can only join this kibbutz if you are born there or marry into it and even then you have to apply and go through a long process, because this kibbutz is so successful. They are not religious and very left-wing! Every day you get given jobs to do and Femur retires next year and can continue living there with the same allowance. The kibbutz provides your clothes and furniture and everything, but you get an allowance that you can spend on whatever you want. He drove us back to the camp about 11pm. The cake we made must have been good because it was all eaten.
Wednesday: about 20km today! I walked alone and took the "scenic route" (got a bit lost), but I still made it before most of the others and I impress myself with my calm composure and rational reasoning as I try to relocate myself even in the face of a dying phone battery! Mainly in the woods and by some fruit plantations. Very humid again! I was rather happy as I saw I had been refunded £280 into my account- I guess it was worth my little tantrum and a better birthday present than a cake would have been! It will pay for my visa and flight to India!!
A guy from the tourism ministry arrived with a camera and wanted to interview some of the foreign tourists, only 3 of us left! So I agreed and got mic'ed up and answered questions about why I did the walk and how I'd describe it, etc. Look out on the Israel YouTube channel in the upcoming months. I helped do dinner.
Thursday: about 20km today- a hot day!! I walked alone coming out of forest and passing several ancient caves that were found to have evidence of 500,000 year old prehistoric man. Then to an art village, where I had ice cream and after chatting to the man in the shop he gave me a free ice lolly too! Then I had a big, steep climb, before passing through a wood of dead trees- very eerie but pretty! I arrived at camp 2nd, although most of the group were going by car today to Haifa.
Show update: the soles of both shoes are flapping a bit, but I'm not tripping over them yet, so hoping they can hold out for another 2 weeks! I hope you are all not working too hard! Thanks for the messages xx