At the bus station information desk I bravely asked how I could get to Golam Heights---the farthest point belonging still to Israel that I could think of. (Of course, Eilat is farther---but I didn't want any sun-bathing and swimming, I was prepared for a real adventure!) To my great disappointment, I was issued a very complicated proposed route, with 3 changes at some strange places whose names I was forgetting the next moment. When I asked "Is it possible to come back the same day?" the employee looked at me with such big eyes that I understood that the correct question should be "Is it possible to arrive there same day?"
After this decided to go to Nazareth; in order not to be put off I decided not to ask the Information but go to the ticket office directly. Everything went wonderfully: I bought a ticket (printed in Hebrew!), boarded a bus leaving in a five-minute time. I enjoyed my trip greatly until the moment when I saw some big amount of water to the west?!
Of course, I arrived at some strange place which after some effort and
investigation (I was ashamed to ask local people the name of the town!)
was identified as ... Haifa!
| So I had a stroll around Haifa. Actually, it is quite an interesting place, situated on a peninsula, with a decent hill placed in its centre. Half-way up hill there is some temple (see photo) but unluckily I couldn't get inside---it was apparently closed. | |
| Then I decided to climb the hill and have some "aerial" pictures of Haifa, but by Murphy's law a rain started as soon as I reached the first picturesque point. Still I managed to make a few pictures but, unluckily, the Mediterranean Sea is practically hidden by mist. |  |
| When I took my last "aerial" picture I started descent. Somehow their
drainage system didn't work correctly: imagine me literally "swimming down"
along muddy streams that had been ordinary streets before the rain!
By the way these strange devices on roofs are not roof-to-air missiles but only sun-powered water-heaters. |
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| Down, on the earth, I decided to go and greet the Mediterranean Sea. (Which I saw so close for the first time in my life!) It wasn't very friendly, though. When I naively stretched my hand to toucht it, a big wave came ... and I was wet all over again!.. |  |