More adventures for the New Year!

More adventures for the New Year! 1/1
After my relatively quiet NYE I enjoyed sleeping in and getting a homemade Israeli breakfast with Christina. She was reading the local newspaper catching us up on all of the latest local and international news we seemed to have missed during our travels. We got a mini education from our host on the election process here in Israel that is due to be in force in just a few weeks.

A local fisherman.

Gorgeous coast!

Christina was headed to Tel Aviv today so I offered her a ride on the caveat that she had to indulge in a few stops before getting down there. She gladly accepted. Taking our leave of the Safed Inn we got on the road heading for Rosh Hanikra, a place Alon, all of my new friends in Rosh Pina, and our host in Tzfat highly recommended. It’s literally on the border of Lebanon at the northern most point of the West Coast of Israel. You take the steepest tram in the world a very short distance down the white cliffs to see these natural sea caves and grottos. For the price of admission you also get a nice 9 minute informational film and if you sit up front it’s somewhat interactive....they spray water on you when they show the water splashing. It’s almost like Disneyland.

The buoys marking the international border.

Christina is afraid of heights and gets a little twitchy in dark small spaces but she promised she would be okay so down we went to explore this beautiful place. When we walked in and saw the first window into the grotto of jewel blue we both gaped. It was so beautiful! Stepping deeper into the caves you could hear the resident bats way up above you. We explored the rest of the caves and took time to absorb the sea air and sun. We took lots of pictures of the cliffs, the water, and the buoys marking the international border.

Steepest cable car ride in the world.

We made our way back to the car, next up Akhzivland (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akhzivland) a micronation within Israel. It was only a ten minute drive down the road and Christina was ready for another adventure. We drove up into this micronation with seemingly no border control until we started exploring the grounds and looking at the beach. Suddenly we were being yelled at and told there was a fee to see everything. For 15 shekels we got to see the grounds, take pictures, get a tour of the 150 year old creepy looking guest house, and get our passports stamped. I was game. She opened the guesthouse for us to view....frankly if felt like the stage for a horror flick, but the views couldn’t be beat. We got to me Eli, the founder of the nation, his wife, his dogs, and his cat. He tried for a good twenty minutes to convince us to stay in the guesthouse and go on a tour with him to another small town. No thanks! I took my passport stamp and we made our leave laughing about how ridiculous it was.

The house of horrors.

Oh what a view!

Christina is oh so happy to be in Ahkzivland.

From there we cruised down the highway to Akko, the Arab port town. We didn’t get there until late in the afternoon and were starving. Quickly finding my hostel and a parking space we went for some local food to help the tummies. Afterwards, I sent Christina off to the train station to catch a train to Tel Aviv. She didn’t want to go...she wasn’t ready to fly home. Frankly, I was sad I wouldn’t have a travel buddy anymore. I was already feeling a little lonely about the prospect of the rest of my trip alone. But alas, I told her she had a blind date she was expected to go on, so she had something valuable to return to. :)

Akko rubble on the coast.

Makes for gorgeous sunsets.

I took advantage of the remaining sunlight and toured the city absorbing the sights of the port and the setting sun. Magnificent! I forgot how much I love being next to the water. I stopped into Uri Buri, a highly recommended restaurant from everyone I talked to and enjoyed a great fish meal, lovely chocolate dessert, and fabulous wine all next to the water. Feeling like I had appropriately seen Akko, I decided that two nights was too much and tomorrow I would leave straight for Haifa and possibly sneak in an extra day of Jerusalem to see the sights I missed. What can I say? I’m still homesick for the place and want one last fix before I leave Israel for good.

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