Jan 1st Banias, Mt Bental, Tel Aviv

January 1st started out with a hike at Banias, the Arab pronunciation of Panias, an area in Israel dedicated to the Roman god Pan way back in the day.


Also, this is our lovely guide Dafna. She was awesome. Is awesome. Very knowledgeable and passionate about what she teaches people about.


This is a rock bunny!! A distant relative of elephants, I forget what they're actual name is but they were all over the place.


Don't kick cacti.
Water is an issue in Israel so these falls are really a magnificent thing to see.


There are some crazy sculptures up at the top of Mt. Bental where we went next for an overview of the Syrian border.
How far, or how close, everything is from Mt. Bental.
We got to check out an old bunker.

Crazy, ridiculous hairpin turns downhill that our magical bus driver Musa navigated. I didn't feel like we were going to die once with him at the wheel.

There are army bunkers everywhere. As well as "secret" military bases that everyone knows about haha.
Finally, we ended the day in Tel Aviv. This is directly across the street from the hotel we stayed at.

Dec 31

Saturday during the day we took a walking tour of Kibbutz Gonen. It has, like most kibbutzim, become privatized.

There are cows, for eating, chickens, some goats, pigeons, donkeys, there is a pony there too.

Dec 30 continued

After Zefat, we drove farther East into the Golan Heights to the Galil Winery. There we were treated to a tour of the winery and tasting.



After the winery we drove to a village at the border between Lebanon and Israel and discussed the conflict between the two countries.
This is a photo of a poster showing a village on the rise of hills that houses a terrorist cell.
And this is that village in real life.
After that we went back to the kibbutz, had a shabbat ceremony and dinner. These next two photos are from the next morning. Another Israeli penguin (it's a peacock, really...) and something that apparently became a regular occurrence among the gymnasts in the group.
Handstands.

Dec 30 2011 Zefat

A little Birthright bio: it was founded about 10 years ago by a Canadian and an American. The trips are funded by them, by Jewish communities in North American and now also by Israeli taxpayers.
I give you the elusive Israeli Penguin.
A door in Zefat, the mystical city of Kabalah.
Water drainage trench in the centre of the cobblestone streets.
Extremely narrow staircase with very tall stairs.
Zefat cat.

Magic camera skills.
Buddhism in Israel.

First Israeli falafel. Fries are not a side.
This is a really famous candleshop. They make candles in the shape of anything.
Like Angrybirds.
Or CaptainJew beating the shit out of HitlerAutomaton.


Of course, here is a photo of a piercing shop. I couldn't find the entrance to the place. That door in the front is only 4' tall and locked.