In the Footsteps of Christ

Since my original weekend plans fell through, I decided to pack my bag and head to the Sea of Galilee. Three of my classmates decided to join me. I'm pretty impressed they decided to come, because I basically gave them an hour to get ready and told them I had no guarantees about what we'd be doing when we got there besides lots of walking. But we had quite the adventure!
First of all, our bus driver told us to get off at the wrong stop, so the hostel that was supposedly 1.5 km away was, um...not. After dragging our bags up and downhill in the heavy sun for a while, we were delighted to find a different hotel that was very nice, except it was a lot more expensive. We were determined to find the original hostel, and we didn't believe the hotel clerk who said it was a 45 minute walk. On my map they looked right next to each other. But a 45 minute walk it was, with our heavy bags to boot.

After arriving at the hostel, we were informed that despite my attempted reservation, they were booked. I had tried to contact them several times earlier to confirm my reservation, but in the end...no room at the inn! Very Jesus-style traveling. But the hostel staff did let us eat dinner there, which was a buffet of endless wonder after our hot journey.

Next we weighed our options: sleeping on a campground with no tent and no bedding, or going back to the hotel. Though the adventurous quality of sleeping outside was tempting, we went the much safer route. I can best summarize the hotel as an oasis - so glad we all stayed there.

Th next day, I got up early with my friend Amanda to watch the sunrise and take a morning dip in the Sea of Galilee, which was just steps from our hotel. People generally aren't supposed to swim in the Sea, but they just ignore the signs and do anyway. But our hotel had its own little "beach" (rocks), so we didn't even have to break any rules. Unfortunately, in my attempt to spare my feet from the rocky shore, I ended up breaking a sandal. Good thing I packed another pair of shoes!

Swimming in the Sea of Galilee was my best moment here so far. Not only did it feel wonderful with the hot sun bearing down on us, but I was in "Jesus water"! Other places here haven't affected me that much, but the sea was so similar to how it would have looked back in the day...there is suprisingly very little built up around the sea. So I could really enjoy it and imagine what it must have been like when Christ was there. Could not stop smiling.

The rest of our day entailed walking to Capernaum and the Mount of Beatitudes. The Mount was special to me because my church has been memorizing the Sermon on the Mount since January. The words are so familiar, and I now have a new perspective from seeing the fields and views from there. I also have a new appreciation for "the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life" because our trek there was a very arduous journey. One would think that such a famous spot would be well-marked, but we asked at least four people and they all gave us different directions. Never once did we see a sign. Apparently everyone takes air-conditioned tour buses up the mountain and hardly anyone walks it, but we eventually found a path uphill (and I mean REALLY uphill) and cut through a field to get there. My guidebook has served me well until this past weekend, but it mentioned nothing about which stop to get off at for the hostel or searching for an unmarked trail.

But all in all, despite our extra wandering, we saw the much of the land where Jesus did most of his ministry and miracles...so it was well worth the adventure.