(no subject)
After 12 days of being "Shvilistim" (people who are walking shvil yisrael) I can happily report that Daniel, Hadas & I are healthy, happy and enjoying ourselves.
We finally escaped Saad and our old lives at midnight Tuesday 1st June, we made it as far as the grass outside our house, set up camp and went to sleep. That first week was spent walking from Saad to the shvil by Shikma Forest, getting used to the weight on our backs and discussing what we could do to get rid of it.
Midnight on Thursday we'd reached the Shvil, by Friday morning we were off it again, heading towards moshav Noam to stay in a meshek which specialises in growing rare and endangered tree species. Daniel baked some pitot on a taboon, we picked some vegetables from the guy's garden and steamed them and were ready for shabbat. The guy had some great books, one on raising bees - did you know that drones are hatched from unfertalised eggs, meaning their genes are 100% the Queen bee's? that the Queen bee doesn't really do much to control but her prescence and especially the pheremones she excretes keeps all the other bees calm and reassured?
Parsha that first week was about the chet hamaraglim so it felt an auspicious time to set out, I even got up and went to shul to hear it.
shabbat lunch we were invited to a great family in the moshav (one of those pick ups after shul, this girl saw Poppy and I and invited us home.) they kissed us, hugged us, (Morrocans), fed us a ton and sent us off with a little bag of biscuits for the way. We in turn sparked their sense of adventure a little with the young ones wanting to sleep in the garden and the adults planning to fit some hiking into their lives.
SInce then we've seen so much, doing the shvil means passing many beuatiful fun places without stopping. But it is a great way to get to know what there is to come back to. little picnic spots, good climbs, great views... we're trying to compile a list. and simulaneously we're meeting tons a great people. when people hear you're on the Shvil they tend to be really nice, i can't quite figure out why. Daniel reckons that everyone ultimately wants to be out hiking and therefore they identify with you. Anyway, we've been fed, showered and given shade by a variety of cool people, all of whom have some interesting knowledge to impart - or just a smile. It's like tremping, except we don't need a carseat for Poppy.
Friday was funny, we reached Ein Kerem and were just admiring the place when this guy offered us chocolate becuase 'it was melting in his hands'. We accepted and asked him if you knew anything about this sign 'zarei kiitz'. Turned out there was a hippie festival beginning in about 5 minutes time and he was the DJ. "Follow me" he told us. We followed the chocolate and had a great afternoon relaxing in the hills of Ein Kerem, listening to music and talking to ?fellow? hippies about ecological building and baby massage.
Poppy is happy, it's funny to see her every time she wakes looking at yet another new place.
Highlights of this week
Emek Haeleh, especially Har Rafaim and the walk into Jerusalem through Ein Kerem, I'd never really thought of Jerusalem as makestic till I saw her from there.
Tel Nagila in Yaar Shikma (South of Kiryat Gat)
Kfar bvertigo in Kibbutz Halamed heh - an ecological art studio with very cool mud buildings and events
Ein Chindak just outside Jerusalem - the water there is waist high and SO refreshing.
park britannia - great for day trips with picnic spots and caves.
Damn, facebook just failed to upload the pictures, again
agh! Going back to nature where there's no computers. After I shower one last time. Bye!
We finally escaped Saad and our old lives at midnight Tuesday 1st June, we made it as far as the grass outside our house, set up camp and went to sleep. That first week was spent walking from Saad to the shvil by Shikma Forest, getting used to the weight on our backs and discussing what we could do to get rid of it.
Midnight on Thursday we'd reached the Shvil, by Friday morning we were off it again, heading towards moshav Noam to stay in a meshek which specialises in growing rare and endangered tree species. Daniel baked some pitot on a taboon, we picked some vegetables from the guy's garden and steamed them and were ready for shabbat. The guy had some great books, one on raising bees - did you know that drones are hatched from unfertalised eggs, meaning their genes are 100% the Queen bee's? that the Queen bee doesn't really do much to control but her prescence and especially the pheremones she excretes keeps all the other bees calm and reassured?
Parsha that first week was about the chet hamaraglim so it felt an auspicious time to set out, I even got up and went to shul to hear it.
shabbat lunch we were invited to a great family in the moshav (one of those pick ups after shul, this girl saw Poppy and I and invited us home.) they kissed us, hugged us, (Morrocans), fed us a ton and sent us off with a little bag of biscuits for the way. We in turn sparked their sense of adventure a little with the young ones wanting to sleep in the garden and the adults planning to fit some hiking into their lives.
SInce then we've seen so much, doing the shvil means passing many beuatiful fun places without stopping. But it is a great way to get to know what there is to come back to. little picnic spots, good climbs, great views... we're trying to compile a list. and simulaneously we're meeting tons a great people. when people hear you're on the Shvil they tend to be really nice, i can't quite figure out why. Daniel reckons that everyone ultimately wants to be out hiking and therefore they identify with you. Anyway, we've been fed, showered and given shade by a variety of cool people, all of whom have some interesting knowledge to impart - or just a smile. It's like tremping, except we don't need a carseat for Poppy.
Friday was funny, we reached Ein Kerem and were just admiring the place when this guy offered us chocolate becuase 'it was melting in his hands'. We accepted and asked him if you knew anything about this sign 'zarei kiitz'. Turned out there was a hippie festival beginning in about 5 minutes time and he was the DJ. "Follow me" he told us. We followed the chocolate and had a great afternoon relaxing in the hills of Ein Kerem, listening to music and talking to ?fellow? hippies about ecological building and baby massage.
Poppy is happy, it's funny to see her every time she wakes looking at yet another new place.
Highlights of this week
Emek Haeleh, especially Har Rafaim and the walk into Jerusalem through Ein Kerem, I'd never really thought of Jerusalem as makestic till I saw her from there.
Tel Nagila in Yaar Shikma (South of Kiryat Gat)
Kfar bvertigo in Kibbutz Halamed heh - an ecological art studio with very cool mud buildings and events
Ein Chindak just outside Jerusalem - the water there is waist high and SO refreshing.
park britannia - great for day trips with picnic spots and caves.
Damn, facebook just failed to upload the pictures, again
agh! Going back to nature where there's no computers. After I shower one last time. Bye!