Shvil Israel Day 10
Starting km: 253
Finishing km: 279
Distance walked: 26km
Another day that was kind of a mixed bag.
The morning was glorious. After I said goodbye and thanks again to Noa, Ofer and Roi, I walked out the door, down the street and straight into the lovely Hanadiv Gardens, through which I rejoined the Shvil proper.
From there it was a lovely walk along the clifftops set a couple of kilometres back from the Med, then on through the town of Jisr Al Zarqa, the only Arab settlement on the Mediterranean coast. There were lots of yummy looking snack shops (still haven't had my first felafel yet!) but it was still too early for them to be open.
I took off my shoes, dipped my toes in the sea and walked most of the 4km down the coast to Caesarea barefoot.
Caesarea is a fabulously historic place, originally founded by Herod it became one of the grandest Roman ports in the Eastern Mediterranean. During the crusades it was the seat of a number of Frankish lords and was later turned into a major fortress by King Louis IX of France during the seventh crusade.
Today most of the ancient city is either under restoration or has already been restored and turned into a group of bars restaurants and gift shops. Louis' walls are still there, and still impressive though. And while not as impressive as others we've been to, the Roman amphitheatre down the road looks to be in decent shape.
The afternoon was some long, hot walking through industrial estates and along empty roadsides (with one oddly sited but very pleasant park in the middle of nowhere across from the big Hadera coal fired generating station).
No comments:
Post a Comment