So today was tough! This was not trekking like I had practised. I’d worn my walking boots in with regular sojourns to Hampstead and even ventured onto the rough terrain of Hampstead Heath on occasion. I even crossed a stream a couple of times. But this wasn’t that sort of trekking. This was heavy duty clambering and climbing. The word “ascent” was frequently mentioned in the itinerary and even that understated the effort required.
For those who said I hadn’t prepared sufficiently - yup you’re right. For those who imagined that this was an opportunity to relax and enjoy leisurley stroll through the Israeli countryside - yeah no! For those who expected or even hoped that this might have involved a little more strolling from one sun bed to another (that was actually my hope when I first signed up and heard them mention a sea) - well nothing could have been further from todays trek.
But I did try and prepare better and had breakfast and was clear on what lunch would be. A bit of forward food planning goes a long way in these situations. We haven’t found any coffee bars or cake shops along the way. It we‘re still looking!
I even filled up my water vessel - a new purchase that again raised some scepticism from previous adventurers. And now I know why. My camel (that’s what the vessel is called - though I too had the same image that has just popped into your head) suffered from a leaky bladder. So while I managed to drink some water along the way, my rucksack and back benefitted more than anything. I’m now going through the process of checking for leaks to see if I can use it tomorrow - or if - as I suspect - it was just a case of user error!
But of course all of this comes with a sense of achievement that we got to the top of Mount Meron - Israel’s second highest mountain. (Ok I’ll be honest that the entire group didnt trek the entire way but we did everything except the last 40 minutes out of 7 hours of trekking).
And along the way we were again amazed by the views and the flora we encountered - though it was punctured by the odd “don’t eat that one, it’s highly poisonous!”
or “no, you can’t smoke this though it really does look very familiar….”
And with our foraging tour guide today he took us on a rather darker view of the countryside as we stumbled across - but luckily not into - different animals droppings. “i think that must be hyena…” “quick, look here - wild boar”. his fascination with all things poo became almost comedic. It wasn’t something I felt the need to photograph but it definitely makes you think - more about the possibility of being eaten by a wild boar or a hyena than specifically about their toilet habits, but I won’t linger.
We encountered a tortoise and some cows and a herd of goats and goat herder. And learned as much as we could about the Druze, their village, their lifestyle, their rules.
At the top of Mount Meron we stopped to take in the magnificent view. On a clear day we would have seen Syria and Lebanon but today a foggy haze blocked the horizon.
So while I feel like I’ve done a lot of walking and overcome many obstacles I hadn’t prepared for, we’re not yet at the half way point. So let’s just keep going and see what we encounter tomorrow.