day three. from tiberias to capernum to dan and back again

the day began in tiberias. we began the morning with a short job over to magadelena, boarded the boat to capernum, then took the bus to northern israel 

i thought the morning was especially successful. sam and ben managed to spend 45 minutes on a boat and did not fall in. 

they also did not lose a finger feeding the birds. 

sam likes to lead the way. he’s the leader of every hike. ben likes to find sticks and use them as swords. he almost started an international incident today at the tel dan national park when he started working on pulling a tree from the ground and a park Israeli park ranger came running out of nowhere to kindly inform him that trees stay in the ground. ana likes talking, singing while she walks, and generally providing the cheer and smiles needed to overcome the jet lag haze.

The Dan national park area is fascinating. Ancient ruins are cool. In this case, ancient city from the 10^th century B.C.E, complete with the city gates and an ancient religious altar. The altar area was especially interesting. 

Standing on the top of the altar, you can see three countries: Isreal, where you are standing, Lebanon to the north and Syria to the east. The three countries come together and where people have fought for years and years and years and years for control of the land.

here's lebanon in the distance: 

and syria: 

the river Jordan starts small. Just like every other river, I suppose.

i have a new idea that is sure to make a ton of money: give people the opportunity to lose 10 pounds in 10 days. charge them a ton of money, and then ship them to Israel and have them walk around for 10 days. we’ve done a ton of walking these first two days. and I’m glad: walking away from the well worn path has gotten us to some pristine spots.

to grandpa and grandma, who better be reading this: please know we are safe, your grandchildren are not in much danger, the food is great, I’m not going to lose my figure, many people speak english, those who don’t are able to comprehend my request for coffee with milk, and we’re having a good time. and they have pomegranate wine. you can't get that back home.