After breakfast, we headed off in our shuttle bus to Mt Arbell. A dominating 400 metre mountain overlooking Lake Galilee and with 360 degrees views all round – to the Golan Heights and beyond.

Mt Arbell on the left, overlooking Lake Galilee.

Dug into the mountain on the cliff side are cave dwellings expanded from natural caves. There are Jewish cliff dwellings dating back to the Second Temple period in the area.

Herod the Great with the help of Roman soldiers, defeated some of the last Jewish rebels who had taken refuge in the cliffs there. Some say they lowered the soldiers down in baskets as it was the only way they could do it. And then slaughtered them all.

Many of these caves have been used down the centuries and millenia by different groups of people. For refuge, escape, as a fortress.

On the slope leading up to the mountain are the ruins of a Jewish synagogue probably used from 4th to 8th century.  So it would have been in the centre of a village here once. Our group looked over the synagogue ruins.

Then walked up the road to the top of Mt Arbell. Magnificent views. Looking down over wide Lake Galilee. Mountains beyond.

The tour plan was to then take the bus back to the kibbutz for lunch, and then back again to Mt Arbell for another walk.

But I needed to do more than that. So I twisted Philip’s arm to let me do a really difficult trek from the top of the mountain down the very steep sides of the cliff, using metal pegs. Down to a path part way down the cliff that that then wound round past the caves and a fortress.

It was fun and challenging. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I clambered down the cliff face and walked right round the path, walking past some of the caves that were high up the cliff. Other caves were lower, so that you could walk up to them and look in. Often with cows in them now. Obviously very agile cows who’d walked up from the ravine at the bottom.

I walked on the path all the way to where there was an ascent back up the cliffs to get back to the car park. This cliff ascent was again using metal pegs.

But there were scores and scores of high school children coming down the metal peg ladder as it zig-zagged down the cliff. Some of them moving very slowly. I waited at the bottom for a long time. One of the teachers told me they had 200 children. But after waiting so long, and no end to the children coming down, I finally asked if they could call a short halt to let me and some other hikers ascend. But the teacher said there were more schools with their kids to come down. That they wouldn’t halt the kids and that these kids had to come down. And that if I wanted to ascend I would have to retrace my steps and go all the way back  from where I came to I came to get back to the top of the mountain.

There were a few of us hikers waiting to ascend. But we had to turn round and go back the way we came. Back along the steep path. Now going uphill. Back up the cliff face using the metal pegs. By this time I was worried that Philip would be worrying about me because I was gone for so long. Waiting for me at the top. So I was going as fast as I could. I’d run out of water and it was getting hotter. It was tough going. Praying that Philip wouldn’t think to worry.

Huffing and puffing. Heaving and panting. Hauling myself eventually up to the top of the cliff. To find that Philip wasn’t worrying at all. So that was wonderful. But the cafe at the top in the car park only sold soft drinks and ice-creams. Not appealing enough for my hunger. But there were water taps so I could drink lots.

If you look, you can see the parts of the fortress, circular towers & a wall.

Then Philip and I walked back down the sloped mountain to the path to wait for the tour to return from the kibbutz. Then we walked down a different path. A steep descent down a stony, rocky path with lots of thorns and prickles and huge stone outcrops. Some rectangle holes were chiselled out of some of the rocks for dead bodies. It was an old abandoned Jewish cemetery. From the nearby Arbel village of the synagogue ruins.

A difficult path down a steep hill with ankle-turning loose rocks and scree. Down, down down. To the bottom. To a narrow ravine or Wadi with just a trickle of a muddy stream, sometimes just a puddle. Thickets of trees growing along the mud and puddles with cattle happily grazing and tramping in the puddles of the stream.

All the way back to the waiting bus. Tired, sunburnt, hungry, thirsty and with aching muscles. But with such an exhilaration surge. Sometimes I think I need a challenge as much as I need to breathe. I loved it. It was a great adventure.