Shevil Israel, Day 4

Hiking on the beach.

Another long day, twenty-three miles in fact, but at least it is pretty flat. In fact after a few miles along a river, I find myself back on the beach, looks like I'll be on it all day.  No problem then, the sand is firm and easy to walk on, and I make excellent time for lunch at the pleasant seaside town of Netanya.

As the afternoon wears on though I grow disenchanted with the beach, walking with one leg slightly higher is getting painful, and at times the surface is more like a fine gravel that makes for very heavy going.  It doesn't help when I realise I should have been up on the cliff for the last few miles... explains the nudist beach I suppose.  So, at the point the INT rejoins the beach, I take a look at the guide, and it says something about taking the cliff path if rocks block the beach.  So I head up, anything to get away from the beach... of course this is a bad idea.

Netanya.

The cliff path zigs and zags, and then a deep gorge opens up before me.  Looks like I could scramble down it to the beach, but on the other side I can see houses and streets, presumably another resort town.  So, I head inland, aiming for a road... annoyingly there's a fence between me and it, but I find a gap, get to the tarmac and sit down for a breather.  I haven't been there two minutes when a black 4x4 turns up, and the occupants politely explain I am on private property.  Oh good, a gated community... well, nothing else for it, I backtrack, descend the gorge and return to, yay, the beach.

Well, another couple of hours, including bouldering by headtorch for a bit, I reach my hotel - four star luxury today, very nice too.  I consume some excellent fish, a few Goldstars, and retire to an actual honest to goodness bed.

Sunset over the Med.

Photos to go with this post can be found here.

Shevil Israel, Day 3

Al fresco gaming outside Zikhron Ya'akov.

Only eighteen miles today, but after yesterday I feel rather broken and resolve to take things slowly.  At least the going seems easier.  The history of this land is now showing, I pass Herodian and Byzantine ruins, then a small aqueduct which impressively is still running with water.  Then I reach, and walk along a much larger Roman aqueduct, which once fed the town of Caesarea.

Caesarea amphitheatre.

After eating my lunch on the beach, and dipping my toes in the Mediterranean, it's not far to Caesarea itself.  It is certainly well worth the trip, I marvel at the Crusader fortifications, the Byzantine palace, and the still functional amphitheatre.

From here it is a short schlep to Hadera, where after the 30 Shekel (£6) beers yesterday, I worry I don't have enough cash.  A helpful young man lets me get some money through his till - as it turns out I don't need it of course.  Food comes from a fast food style place where despite limited English they supply a tasty kebab with many pickles.  And next door a 'bar' will sell me a bottle of local Goldstar beer for 12 Shekels, provided I sit outside to drink it...

Carmel cliffs.

Photos to go with this post can be found here.

Shevil Israel, Day 2

Slopes of Mount Carmel.

The first real day of walking, and certainly a full one with twenty-five miles to do.  After an hour climbing through the desirable districts of Haifa I reach the Mount Carmel National Park, and immediately decide it was a good idea to come here.  The view is glorious, spring has come and the hillsides are covered in wild flowers.  Funny to think it was snowing on me yesterday morning.  The paths are well maintained, and I'm sorry to leave the park, not least as I now have several miles of busy road before joining the INT.

The trail makes itself felt with a steep climb, interestingly there are no signs, rather there are orange, blue and white 'blazes' painted on rocks every fifty yards or so.  Soon I'm in Ein Hod, an artists community charmingly decked out with examples of the residents' work.  Better yet it has a store where I buy cheese, biscuits, beer and chocolate...

With an INT blaze.

Sadly after lunch things go downhill.  Basically my route is South along the coast, but perversely the INT regularly detours off to find a rocky scramble halfway up a hill.  The blazes are little help, I rely on my GPS and still keep going wrong - a couple of times I find myself on a nice flat track alongside the banana plantations at the foot of the hill, not sure why the INT couldn't follow these.  Progress is slow, and when the sun sets I still have a long way to go.

At least now the route is along dirt roads through forest, easy enough going... The trees mean that the full moon isn't much use, but my head torch works well, even when I'm faced with a sudden mad scramble up a cliff, in the dark.  On all sides I can hear the howling of what I assume are dogs, in these darkened woods though they sound very like wolves.  Finally I reach Zikhron Ya'akov, a nice little place.  I get food from of all things a Domino's Pizza, and a few pints of Guiness from an Irish pub which is having a fancy dress disco - the Israelis do seem to love their fancy dress.  Refreshed, I walk back to the trail and pitch my tent.  The wolves are still howling...

Stone age habitations.

Photos to go with this post can be found here.

Shevil Israel, Day 1

A new adventure then, this time a long distance walk in the holy land.  Well, I was feeling in need of exercise after Christmas, and getting away from freezing London sounded good too.  The plan then is to hit the Israel National Trail, or Shevil Israel, a six hundred mile long distance path inspired by the Appalachian Trail.  I'll be doing a 150 mile section between Haifa and Jerusalem over the course of a week.

Hotel Marom.

So, a four and a half hour flight from Luton, and I'm facing Israeli border control.  I'd read stories of single male travellers, particularly those with passport stamps from arab countries, being detained for hours... I worry a bit about my stamp from Morocco, but in the event it is like any European airport.  Next, a train to Haifa, where I head to a mall to buy gas for cooking.  After getting through the mall security, I struggle a bit finding the store, it is only signed in Hebrew, but succeed in the end.  Now I just need to get to my hotel...

Of course this is not simple.  It is around four miles away up Mount Carmel, and I am at sea level.... still, it is only a thousand feet or so, can't be too bad even at night.  And indeed the first mile is fine, turns out to be a gently sloping dirt bike track, well lit by the full moon.  But then I go the wrong way, and soon am fighting through thorny thickets on a steep hillside... doh.  I manage to backtrack, and after ten minutes or so of steep ascent I reach a road.  There is even time for a beer or two before heading to the hotel, how civilised. Although it has been a while since I had my bag searched before getting into a pub... mind you I probably do look a bit rough after scrambling up here.

View across Haifa from the hotel.

Photos to go with this post can be found here.