Israel Day 6

Day 6. Bike Ride Day 1.

I slept through the 4 am alarm, but amazingly woke at 4.18 am and was shaved, showered and out in front of the hotel for 4.45 am. My Sherut arrived a couple of minutes later, and off we went to wind our way through Jerusalem picking up our other passengers. Ended up getting into an interesting conversation with the Professor of a Reformed Rabbinical school in London – though I can’t remember much of it now (wonder why?).

As we left the city it grew steadily lighter, travelling through the mountains and into the coastal plain, which is a huge contrast. At the airport I found the group at the door, waiting for someone’s luggage which, it turned out, hadn’t left Heathrow. We all stood around looking a bit dazed at that time of the day. The picture shows me just about to identify myself to the group, who are all standing around ignoring me. Gordon Reid, Minister of Dunfermline: Gillespie Memorial and chaplain to the ride, can be seen facing the camera on the right.

We were introduced to our Tour Guide, Ami, an Israeli who worked for Classic Tours, and then we piled on to the coach, where most promptly fell asleep.

Drove up to Nazareth in the Galileean hills, where we stopped at Nazareth Hospital to see what the money we were raising was going to be used for. The front was a modern, four-story wing, but the rear was the original 1912 building where the operating theatres were located. Although they had been refurbished and re-equipped, most recently with a new extraction system in 2000, the theatres were just not able to meet modern standards.

So our money would go towards a new theatre suite to built on top of the modern wing – and to be bomb-proof, following the rocket attacks a couple of years ago, some of which landed in the hospital grounds. Interestingly, they have recently discovered that part of the hospital land, undeveloped, is actually the site of the original Nazareth village. Jesus woz here!

After our tour of the hospital and a breakfast in the staff canteen we were given a presentation in the large nursing school lecture theatre and then set off to the North, following the rift valley to the foot of Mount Hermon.

This was Kibbutz Ha Goshrim, our first stop and about ten miles from Biblical Dan (and not much further from Lebanon or Syria). Our first task was to get fitted to our bikes: much adjusting of saddles, checking of brakes and gears and inflating tyres. A bang announced that someone was too enthusiastic with the foot-pump.

After dinner, orientation and a short act of worship, it was off to bed, two to a room. Apparently Clive snores, but I never found out – I got my snoring in first.