This morning, our wake-up call was at 6:30. (I admit, I will
not miss that phone ringing!) We left our bags outside our rooms and gathered
for breakfast. We filled up on vegetables and fruits (and more) as we didn’t
know what to expect at the next hotel. After breakfast, we clustered under what
little shade could be found in the parking lot and waited to claim our luggage
and board the bus. “Goodbye Scots Hotel!” several fellow travelers exclaimed as
we pulled out of the driveway. “We’ll miss you!” We most certainly will… a
five-star hotel with delicious food, an exquisite view, and impeccable service
will be hard to beat…
Most of today was spent aboard a bus… which was probably a
good thing, considering how many places we have visited the past few days. It
also helped us stay cool. (Thank goodness for air conditioning!)
Our first stop was at Stella Maris (“Star of the Sea”) on
Mount Carmel. Up until today, I don’t know that I ever truly believed that my
name was a derivative of a Marian title… Today, I did. We celebrated Mass in a
chapel there. I think any group could sound beautiful (amazing acoustics), but
this morning our group sounded particularly lovely… perhaps it was the voices
coupled with a few of my favorite hymns. (It was also the feast of John the
Baptist.) After Mass, we drove up the mountains to look down on the gardens of
the Baha’i shrine. Even though Aunt Kathy practices the faith, I am ashamed to
admit that I know nothing about it. I did learn that there are 19 days in each
of the calendar months- and there were 19 gardens too.
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| Stella Maris = Star of the Sea (on Mount Carmel) |
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| looking up toward the Baha'i house of worship |
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| Baha'i gardens |
Then it was back to the bus to a Franciscan monastery to
commemorate when Elijah killed the false prophets of Baal. We could also look
out and see the entire country of Israel, including Meggido (of fame from the
book of Revelation- Armageddon).
Next was lunch- and it felt like the first authentic lunch we
had- falafel with salads stuffed in a pita… and some fried pita sprinkled with
sugar crystals for dessert topped the meal off.
We climbed back on the bus another time to head to Caesarea… I
am not a history buff, and I probably will remember precious little of what
Youssef, but it was beautiful. We saw the aqueducts right by the beach. Then we
saw some ruins and watched a documentary.
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| Aqueducts |
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| Ruins at Caesarea |
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| Fellow teacher and I at Caesarea |
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| Caesarea by the Sea |
And now we’re on the bus
for a final time… this time heading towards Jerusalem to our next hotel.
Tomorrow we will visit Bethlehem… I can’t wait!
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