We arrived here in the cover of darkness as lightning flashed across the northern sky.  I still have not slept yet, but I plan to in a few minutes.  While I certainly should have went to bed last night, we instead sat up chatting until not long after the sun rose, Jeff & Phil showed up.  Well, obviously it was then time to paddle.

The interesting story for me today was not that we went out and paddled with no sleep. . or that Hadas got some great video of Jeff looping. . . which was all good, but no what was most interesting was my little side track into the Kabutz of Sdot Yam which is right next to our rooming house. The simplest way to explain a Kabutz is that it’s a communal neighborhood where everyone who lives within the community works together to provide for the needs of the community as a whole.  Not everyone in Israel lives in a Kabutz but many do. 

Sdot Yam is a little beach side paradise filled with beatiful homes and towering palms.  Walking the streets reminded me of many of the tropical places i’ve roamed in the past.  Yet the roads were narrower and the homes while mostly modest were emaculate. I set out to find a little shop that I was told would be some 300 or so meters down the seaside road. My goal was to buy all those little personal items you can’t take on a plane.  Along the way I came across three women who were chatting in the narrow street. 2 of them talking while holding up their bycycles.  Most everyone here speaks English, so I asked the group if I was getting close. Next thing I Knew I had a personal escort!   The price paid for a personal escort of course is the full story as to why an american finds himself wandering the side street of a little Kabutz by the sea. Fair enough.

I went into the little shop which luckily took plastic and purchased my goods.  The man at the register asked where I was from, I said “the states” never sure if the details of what state actually mattered.  This time it did so I found myself holding up the line as I explained where Wisconsin was, and what I was doing in this tiny little shop.  Leaving the shop I found a small park and path (shown above) which led off to the anchient ruions of Ceaserea.  I plan to nap a bit, then have an evening wander back in time. 

At the moment the rest of the gang are off to Jeruselam which is about a 2 hour drive from here, so that Phil can see a bit of the old city before he returns home. (Phil will only be here a couple short days).  For my part I will head to Jeruselam later in the week, for now I must sleep. 

Israel is an amazing place.  You don’t sense the sort of havoc that you often see in the news, however every loud sound in the distance immediatly makes people at least ponder the what ifs.  For a traveler like me dropped into a sea side Kabutz, there is certainly a sense of culture shock and isolation.  Not a negitive feeling, but one of knowing you are certainly far from home.

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