From Jerusalem to Safed by way of Masada

We did rent a car today and set off on our journey, a little late thanks to Avis. Our first difficulty was getting the car started after leaving Little House in Bakah. It turns out one needs to enter a code into a number pad before the car will start. OK, we're on our way. We get out of Jerusalem, no problem. Our thought was to head north to Tiberias, which would take us near the Dead Sea. When we got close, we decided to at least get a look, then realized Masada site of the defeat of the last rebel stronghold of the Jews by the Romans in 74 C.E. was within 60K, so we decided to go. It is certainly on most tourist agendas and is an amazing place. I would love to have seen it in King Herod's time, with the baths, public pools, palaces on different levels, and all of this on the top of a mountain in the Judean desert. When the Jewish rebels used it as their last stand, there were still large quantities of stored grain, which sustained them for at least 2 years, while the Roman build ramparts to reach the top.  The end is still the same. Facing defeat at Roman hands, at least 1,000 Jews, men, women and children, committed suicide rather than become slaves. 

After Masada, we headed north as planned. It was more than a little disconcerting to be a few big fences away from Jordan for many kilometers along the Jordan River. That area, both in Israel and Jordan is intensely farmed, much of it either under shade cloth or in hoop houses. I was disappointed to see so much plastic waste from it all over the land -we are talking about desert here, but water from the Sea of Galilee and river Jordan, which is not wide and deep, do make it bloom.   This is the Dead Sea.

As it turned out, our only difficulty was in negotiating the road through Tiberias, on the edge of the Sea of Galilee. 45 minutes, and thanks to some helpful Israelis, we re-found our route and headed north, looking for a likely place to spend the night. We pulled off the highway once where we saw a lodging sign, but found none. More traveling and we stopped at a larger city, Safed (also spelled Tsfed, Tzfed, Tifat. After a big shopping center, the road became a residential street and we were turning around when I noticed a clothing store. We stopped and I asked a man sitting outside about lodging. He said, he'd be happy to call around as people often stopped at his shop to ask and there was no central area for lodging. He found several, some too pricey, but one just right. A little chalet way up the mountain, overlooking the Sea of Galilee. It turns out, the local Moussad chief lives near by and there is a monitored electric gate to get to this street. I guess we'll be safe for the night.

The view is stunning, the bed comfortable, complimentary wine, breakfast in bed and we are set to head to Tel Aviv for the next part of this journey.

Deanna