Hard Hikes and Falafel with Friends

Thursday, May 1st

By Sidra Isenberg

First thing in the morning, we drove to the Golan Heights, which overlooked both Israel and Syria. We learned about the importance of the Golan to Israel and the Six Day War.  It was incredible to see how close the countries were, and how easy it would be for Syria to bomb or attack Israel if they were at war.  

Old army outposts on Mt. Bental in Golan 

Next, we went to De Karina, the chocolate factory at Kibbutz Ein Zivan. We watched a video of how the factory got started, saw the inside of the factory, and had our own chocolate seminar, where we made little truffles and a chocolate bar.  Then we got to shop in the De Karina boutique, where they had everything from little chocolate "Mount Hermons" to milkshakes. After the chocolate factory, we traveled to Katzrin, where we had a choice of where to go for lunch. Some people got their first falafel in Israel, and others got some Israeli fast food from a restaurant. 

Falafel time!

After lunch, we went on our afternoon hike at Nahal Gilaboun, where we hiked through rivers, mountains, and rocks. The three hour hike was incredibly hard, but it was worth it when we got to see the beautiful waterfalls and mountains. We got to swim in the freezing cold river, and then we drove to dinner at Havat Gilaboun restaurant with a few soldiers. We gave them our assorted Philadelphia gifts, and got to talk to them about life in the Israeli army.   

Hiking in the Galil