This morning, we traveled to Western Galilee to visit Rosh Hanikra. Rosh Hanikra is a huge rock formation that was created by the natural elements of the wind and sea. It is situated along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea near the border of Israel and Lebanon. The grottos that we saw were stunning. The water was such a clear blue and we could even hear the cave bats around us. We then walked up to the gate to see the border between Israel and Lebanon. It was interesting to learn that the point where we were at was not actually the official border. They have a total of three checkpoints to ensure utmost security: the point near Rosh Hanikra where we were, a UN checkpoint, and lastly the actual border between Israel and Lebanon. If fighting were ever to occur between the countries, people have less than thirty seconds to get into a shelter once the alarm goes off before they are in danger. In places closer to the fighting such as Gaza Strip, the residents only have about ten seconds to find a shelter.
Afterwards, we drove to the city of Acre where we walked through a traditional Arab bazaar. Everything was so lively and colorful, and each vendor wanted to show off their merchandise to you. There were all kinds of things for sale such as traditional snacks and sweets, handmade bracelets and necklaces, spices, and lots of fish. Because of the fish smell, there were many cats hanging around as always. After walking through the market, we got to take a boat ride along the coast. It was a lot of fun and we even saw some turtles along the way.
In the afternoon, we returned to the village to eat lunch and spend time with our mishpachtonim. We hadn’t seen our families since Tuesday since we traveled on our on for a few days and the children left the village for the Purim holiday break so they were excited to have us back. Then in the evening, we got to meet four students who are coming to volunteer a year of their services to the Pittsburgh community before heading to the army. They were all amazing and were unique in their own way. One high school-er knew six languages, another knew many programming languages, and others were involved in community service groups or organizations. We look forward to working with them in the coming year!