Sundays are our fundays!

We work six days a week here in Tabgha, with Sunday being our free day to lounge around. This last Sunday Fr. Basilius took all 11 of us volunteers on a day trip. We packed the little Mazda with 4 and the Jumpy (literal name of type of some Euro van) with lunch, swimwear, and 8 of us. Everyone has his or her own form of meditation. I find that I lose myself when staring out the window at the landscape. The best way to describe it is complete repose. I do not have to many responsibilities or burdens except for making sure I don’t embarrass St. John’s and The Benedictine Volunteer Corps (Br. Paul couldn’t stress it enough before I left “Just don’t embarrass me.”) so far, so good BPR. I do not need to make an income for the next year (my loan agency would hurt me if I did). A lot of my thinking is concentrated on those at home, how amazing all the history here is (Biblical and National), and using what I’m learning and trying to shape my beliefs.

Back to the vistas though, leaving Tabgha (200 meters below sea level-for running it is like the anti-doping) we wound up out of the basin having to slow down to 5-10 mph to take the practically 180 degree turns. Along the drive were many more valleys and ascensions (no religious connotation) along roads that were barely holding onto the steep sloped hills. Some of these roads were extremely narrow, had no dividing stripe, and a guardrail that I don’t think would stop me if I lost control of my bike. We would zip through little towns hugging these hills that were packed with people on the streets shopping at the food markets and shops. It is interesting to “people watch” in this unfamiliar country. On the streets were children playing soccer-mothers cleaning chairs, rugs, and more-and of course the people dressed in religious garb (there is such a large range of sects even in the Jews, Christians, Moslems, it’s neat to see all of them together in one place).

We first visited Yehiam Fortress (built during the Byzantine and Roman era partially destroyed but then rebuilt during the Crusades). Walking through it I thought about how I was touring a site that was used as a tactical point in many wars and countless people died here. Kind of makes my life even more trouble-free.

At last we made it to the great Mediterranean Sea at the city of Akko. I can only imagine that this is what smaller cities on the Mediterranean are like. A busy main street with lots of places for tourists to buy things, eat, and sleep; as you get closer to the sea the neighborhoods become more abundant and it reminded me of some west coast cities in the US. All the neighborhoods are on a hill leading down to the sea. The houses have a quiet feel to them, very small yards with fences, short trees, and old structure (stone or stucco). The streets are also very narrow with some cars parked on the sidewalk and it is hard to see down the street more than 50 yards. Then we came to the end of the block and there it was in front of me, the Mediterranean. It was beautiful. The water started out a light baby blue at the beach then became a dark navy out much deeper. The shore was not sand but large somewhat flat rock. It was hard to see where the sand ended and rock began but once you hit the rock it felt like walking on sandpaper (sounds synonymous but there was no give like on sand).

I love all the time I have spent at the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. The Mediterranean was no different. You can stand at the shore, shut your eyes, and just listen. The sun is shinning on you, you have the breeze in your hair (I am growing mine out again, sorry Grams), and you take into your lungs a deep breath of fresh air with a little hint of salt. We had a great afternoon of lunch, a game of soccer (its fun but I am bad and I swear these Germans start kicking a ball when they are in the womb), some swimming and then off for another scenic drive home. We took a different route home but the view was the same; spectacular, and my pictures don’t do justice.