Anyone that’s traveled with me knows just how obnoxiously loud my alarm is (but you know you secretly love it). It’s especially painful when it goes off at 3:45am. My new roomie, Michelle, tried to throw a punch at me but instead knocked over a water glass. Can’t say I didn’t warn her my alarm was loud…
Full of energy and headlamps in hand, some troopers from my upcoming Intrepid Tour joined me to go climb Lion’s Head for sunrise.Layz was so devoted to coming on the hike that he crashed outside my room on a bean bag…but unfortunately I couldn’t wake him, no matter how hard I tried!
We began our trek up in the darkness, while stopping to admire the beauty that is pre-dawn Cape Town; it looked truly magical. As we climbed through the fog and above the clouds, the views began to look like something out of a fairytale. As darkness turned to dawn, we were at the base of the rock face of Lion’s Head and knew that our only route was up. And so, we started the rock scramble. Racing the rising sun, we scurried up Lion’s Head to make it in time for sunrise. As we scrambled, the clouds began turning shades of pink and we realized that we were seeing the beginning of what looked to be a promising sunrise. We finished the long stretch up right as the sun was about to rise and watched it ascend behind Table Mountain with the clouds hovering below. I must say, it was one of the more beautiful views I’ve ever had the joy of witnessing, and quite rewarding as, for a bit of time, I was afraid that the sun would beat us to the top.
But then something crazy happened. Within a split second, the clouds enveloped the mountain, completely obscuring an outstanding sunrise. Table Mountain just disappeared. Within the mask of cloud, all you could see was a tiny, fuzzy yellow glowing disc. It was as if I was trying to focus on an image of a sun at the eye doctor before he put it into focus. It was hazy in the distance and remarkable to see Table Mountain just vanish piece by piece.
With the sun covered and a thick fog surrounding us, we decided to begin our descent. We were a little worried about completing the scramble backwards, especially since it was slippery, but as long as you go slowly and watch your footing it’s totally fine. After getting past the scramble, all is easy and you’ll be amazed by the views of Cape Town.
Travelers Tip: When descending, turn right at the big tree rather than left – it’s less tough on the knees.
What’s the best way to begin your day? With pancakes and a gorgeous backdrop of course! With sleepy eyes, we walked faaaaar down the beach and climbed a sand dune to watch the sunrise over the ocean. We sat watching the whales breach in the distance while one of Bulungula’s cooks made us nutella crepes for an early breakfast.
An hour later, we journeyed back to Bulungula and decided to make the most of our thoroughly sunny day (rather than pass out, which is what our bodies would have preferred). It was our first relaxing day since the beginning of our trip, and we so enjoyed spending it on the beach…and burning (Hey Nick, have the tops of your feet recovered yet?).
After spending hours on the beach, we decided to shower off the sand before our next activity. Fun Fact: Bulungula doesn’t have flush toilets or easily obtained hot water. In order to have a hot shower at Bulungula, you have to pour a bottle of paraffin into a small hole at the bottom of a furnace-like shower pole. Then, you grab a wad of toilet paper and shove it in the hole on top of the paraffin. The final step? You take a lighter, light the toilet paper, and hope that you don’t blow up the building. Luckily, my shower stall did not light up in flames, and successfully managed to have warm water for five minutes.
That afternoon, we went on a village tour. Who knew how many hills were in the Nqileni Village?! Forced exercise at its finest…
Some highlights of the tour:
Village Party: We watched part of the last soccer game of the year. The village had a big tent and food for the championship, and much of the village was gathered around to cheer on their friends.
The Local Bar: The local “bar” is far from a bar. It was a room of loud, older women sitting on milk crates and drinking Umqombothi beer. They motioned for us to sit down and pretty much shouted at us in Xhosa for 45 minutes, as we nodded in agreement. We learned that the women speak so loudly so that no one could accuse them of gossip. I can’t say that it was the most comfortable experience, but it was definitely the most cultural. Eventually, the women loosened up and wanted to pose for our cameras. They sang and danced into our lenses, and it was priceless.
Head of the Village: We went into the home of the Head of the Village and learned that he resolves conflict within the community. There is an old head and a young head, which come from different families. We were then shown the spear that they use to kill the sacrifice during weddings and funerals; if the animal doesn’t scream, it is no good and they have to kill another.
The Local School: There are three classrooms that have 14-16 students per class, ages 3-6 (split into classrooms ages 3-4 years old, 4-5 years old, and 5-6 years old). We spoke with the teachers and found out that pre-school is mandatory so that every child in the village attends. The rooms were very well-kept, albeit small. At that level, they only teach Xhosa; it isn’t until primary school that the children start learning basic English. A little boy walked into one of the classrooms that we were in and wanted to play, so we ended up in a full-blown tickle fight. He was absolutely adorable, full of smiles and laughs. The joy in his face warmed my heart – most definitely the highlight of my day. Who knew how exhausting children were?!
Bulungula is an absolute must for anyone traveling to South Africa that’s looking for an authentic, fulfilling cultural experience.
We began the day at Rosh Hanikra, the ocean swept caves of the Mediterranean. The view was absolutely breathtaking. The Bridge and Railway tunnels at Rosh Hanikra are part of the rail tracks Haifa – Beirut – Tripoli that were established by the British Mandate Government during the Second World War. This was done to connect the Israeli and Lebanese rail networks and to establish a continuous rail network from Egypt via Sinai, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey to Europe. Today, the tunnels leading have been sealed for fear of intruders.
The big difference between our birthright experience and other groups was that we had the opportunity to complete the Sea to Sea (Yam l’Yam) trek after finishing up the traditional 10-day experience; we hiked from the Mediterranean Sea to the Sea of Galilee. Upon arriving at Achziv Beach, we were told to choose a rock that we were to carry with us throughout the trek. This rock was meant to remind us why we were setting out on the path – a spiritual journey, a physical journey, a pilgrimage – whatever it may be, this rock was to be our tangible reminder.
The beginning of our hike was beautiful, from Nahal Kziv to Goren Park to Montfort Castle. The hiking was easy enough, but the heat was a killer. Upon arriving at Goren Park we found ourselves trekking up a cliffside then perching ourselves on cliffs overlooking gorgeous forestry.
We went to our campsite and all took part in making dinner. We had a vast array of food – salads, hotdogs, hamburgers, veggies, potatoes, hummus, tahini. After a spectacular sunset, we set up our “beds,” aka a yoga mat and a thin sleeping bag without a pillow, and passed out under the stars. I woke up at 3am to a pack of howling jackals but was so exhausted that I was able to fall right back to sleep.
I awoke with a spider in my hair. Yes, a spider. I was beginning to embrace this new outdoorsy me, although I could do without the spiders. After a nutella-packed breakfast, we visited Hurfesh, a Druze village. We spoke with a member of the community, and he explained that the Druze “believe in all the prophets – Moses, Jesus, and Mohammad.” That days hike was less exciting than the previous day, but fulfilling nonetheless.
The highlight was definitely our visit to the Circassian Village in Rehaniya. While the majority of us unintentionally zoned out (due to fatigue) through the history of the Circassians, we had a delicious homemade meal. We sat down, drank some sweet ginger lemonade, and then an array of food was put in front of us – spicy beets, potato salad, eggplants, carrots, corn salad, warm bread, and noodle soup. We devoured the food, and then learned that that was only our first course. Then they brought out our (entirely dairy-filled) meal – bread stuffed with ricotta (similar to empanadas), something similar to pierogis dipped in a yogurt sauce, and a cheese plate. We could barely move we were so full. But then they brought out some juicy watermelon and we just couldn’t resist.
Stuffed and exhausted, we made our way back to the campsite. By the time we arrived it was pitch black and we had to set up our sleeping areas in the dark. Thanks to Drew, I somehow ended up with a perfectly rockless spot to sleep on. That night was exceptionally cold and, even though I had on sweatpants, a sweatshirt, and a buff wrapped around my neck, I could not get warm. Needless to say, I didn’t get much sleep, however, the view of the stars above me while I was drifting in and out of consciousness was remarkable.
David and I were some of the first up that morning, and the first thing I saw was someone’s very empty food bags spewed across the entire campsite. Turns out, my darling Casey forgot to tightly secure her food before passing out, so a wild boar got into her food. David then went on to tell me that he heard the wild boar growling next to him while he was trying to sleep; he just went deeper into his sleeping bag and tried not to move until the boar went away.
We left to climb Mt. Meron from our campsite at 7:30am and we were climbing straight uphill from the get-go. A very good morning to us all. It was truly a beautiful hike. When we reached the peak, we had a Hebrew naming ceremony for those that didn’t already have one. I chose “Ezraela” which means “God is my help” and David chose “Raphael” meaning “God has healed.” We, as a group, chanted our names in the direction of Tzfat (remember, it’s one of the four holiest cities).
It was a long path down, and an even longer path to our next campsite. With painful shin splints, parts of the rocky path were tough but manageable. After 9.5 hours of hiking, we finally reached our campsite for the night.
We were greeted with watermelon and more importantly…bathrooms! We had a scrumptious pasta dinner and made s’mores by the fire before passing out early.
David woke me up at 5:30am to watch the sunrise on the final day of our trek. As he nudged me awake, I sleepily sat up and felt something itching my chest. I looked down to find a huge creepy-crawly nuzzled between my boobs! Within seconds I ripped off my sweatshirt and stood there topless laughing at myself (covering myself as much as possible, of course). We got ready, ate breakfast and took off for our fourth, and final, hike.
It was straight downhill for a while, so we moved pretty quickly before coming to a pretty little lake surrounded by some cliffs and ruins. We kept on trudging, entered a valley, and continued our trek. It was uphill for a while, and then we were virtually scaling the rocks which was just incredible. I was loving every second of it. It was brutally hot, to the point where all of the trails got shut down due to the intense heat.
Lucky us, we were stuck in the middle of the trail already and, thus, had to complete it no matter the heat index. We were drenched in sweat, bodies aching, and soaked in the view. When the end was finally in site, some of the group jogged there … until we realized there was a barbed wire fence blocking us in. We couldn’t figure out how to exit the trail. We looked around and realized that the only way out was straight up. So straight up we went. Another fence. This time, the barbed wired fence had a very small hole in it. Well, there was our solution. We crouched down, one by one, and slid through the tiny gap in the barbed wire fence.
We ended at the Sea of Galilee. Remember the rock that we chose four days prior? Here, we threw it in the water. Despite the heatwave, we completed Yam l’Yam and I couldn’t have been more thrilled.
We then relaxed in the hot springs in Tiberias. We immediately went into the mineral water pool, which stung our scrapes from the hike but felt so lovely. From there we jumped in the main pool and ultimately settled in the outdoor mineral pool, which felt like a hot tub. After a relaxing evening, and another great meal, we sat outside to discuss the trek.
Before doing so, we realized it was our guide, Itay’s, 13th birthright trip, so we gave him a Birthright Bar Mitzvah; it was so heartwarming. After a beautiful goodbye sunset, we took off for the hotel and were so excited for our first post-trek shower.
After 9.5 sleepless hours on the plane, the sun began rising in an astonishing display of blues, oranges, and yellows, getting brighter and brighter under the wing of our plane. Witnessing such a beautiful moment, while approaching the Promised Land, was moving – leaving my eyes welling with tears during the sun’s ascent and our descent. David and I made it, made it to the City of David. As the sun began to rise higher and higher in the sky, it met us eye-level above the clouds. The beams of sunshine began to pierce through the clouds; they reached far away from the distant sun and shone directly into our window. God’s way of wishing us a beautiful good morning.
Upon arriving in Israel, we grabbed our bags, boarded our bus, and took off for Neot Kedumim, the Biblical Landscape Reserve located between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. We stepped off the bus at Neot Kedumim and realized just how hot it was in Israel. The landscape was beautiful, and we learned about the history of Israel and it’s connection to the Bible. After wandering around the trails for a while, we were taken to plant our own trees. David and I each decided to plant two trees, so that our four soon-to-be trees could represent our immediate family. In planting a tree, we were solidifying our roots in Israel.
“Just as I found the world full of trees that my grandparents planted for me, I am planting for future generations” (Babylonian Talmud, Ta’anit 23a)
After Neot Kedumim, we headed to the Haas Promenade for a Panoramic View of Jerusalem. It finally felt real as we stared into our destination and saw Temple Mount/the Walls of the Old City in the distance. We stared in awe for a bit, snapped some photos, and played a quick ice breaker with our group.
We left for the airport at 5:45am Wednesday morning and were on-the-go nonstop until getting to the hotel Thursday night, making for quite an exhausting first day. Hitting my pillow at 21:30 had never felt better.
As midnight approached, 2.3 million people arrived on Copacabana. The main stage and smaller stage were pulsing – people were dancing, drinking, and chatting, all while trying to avoid stepping on pieces of broken glass and smashed beer cans. Time was flying by and, suddenly, everyone started the countdown: “dez, nove, oito, sete, seis, cinco, quatro, três, dois, um…” FELIZ ANO NOVO!! Cue the most spectacular fireworks that I have ever seen. With a boom, fireworks filled up the entire sky – spanning the length of the beach. All colors, all shapes, all styles. Nonstop for 30 minutes. Through sips of champagne, we all hugged and cheered and listened to the Brasilians singing what I could assume to be their equivalent of Auld Langs Syne.
It’s another tradition in Rio de Janeiro to increase your luck by jumping over 7 waves while making 7 wishes. Our whole group was aware of this notion so, as the fireworks ended, we took off to the water’s edge, going completely into the water instead of just jumping the waves at our feet. What we didn’t know was just how strong the waves were – we were laughing hysterically as we were repeatedly tumbled, which led to some of the funniest moments of my life. The view from the water blew my mind; there were thousands of people standing on the beach jumping waves in front of us, and eight cruise ships beautifully lit behind us.
Some of our group passed out soon after, others wandered home, but a few of us were determined to make it until sunrise, and we did! The music blasted and the dancing never stopped. At the first signs of sunrise I became giddy like a five year old – it was the beginning of one of the most beautiful mornings I’ve ever witnessed. The sky turned outstanding colors of purples, oranges, yellows, and pinks. The deep red colored sun finally made an appearance and it looked as if flames were coming out of it. We packed up our things, grabbed some empanadas for breakfast, and finally climbed into bed around 8am.
The Five Foot Traveler 
