Day #8 Galilee to Jerusalem

Wow! Today was a packed and wonderful day. Yes, the weather did clear up and it was absolutely gorgeous. Our first stop was to Capernaum, the city where Jesus conducted a great deal of his adult teaching and ministry. From there we went to the Mount of the Beatitudes where Jesus delivered the Sermon on Mount (Matthew 5-7). Next we headed down to the Galilee shore, saw a 2,000 year-old fishing boat, and boarded a modern-day tourist boat for a stroll out on the Sea of Galilee.

After lunch we went to the Jordan river. While it's impossible to know the exact spot in the river where Jesus was baptized by John, we can say with confidence that it was that river. Several in our group gathered up Jordan River water to bring back home.

We had a long drive (about 2 hours) from Galilee down to Jerusalem, but the drive was fascinating. It's amazing how different the landscape becomes on the drive south from Galilee. The terrain is more rugged and barren. As we passed through check points in the West Bank our tour guide explained more about the different "zones" within the Palestinian territory.

After a long drive and one camel stop (see pix below), we finally arrived in Jerusalem. Our tour guide took us to the Mount of Olives to give us a wonderful overview of the city. Afterwards our group celebrated communion together. Remembering the Lord's Supper seemed to us all the perfect way to start our visit to Jerusalem.

Pic descriptions:
1. Group at Capernaum, aka "the Town of Jesus"
2. A view from the Mount of Beatitudes looking over the Sea of Galilee.
3. The crew on our boat hoisted the Israeli, U.S., AND Texas flags. Yes. It was quite cheesy.
4. Jolynn draws water from the Jordan River
5. Others being baptized.
6. When I handed my iPhone to the camel's owner to take our picture, the camel literally started running away! Thankfully the guy caught the camel and the pic.
7. Bill doing his best Lawrence of Arabia imitation.