I went to Israel on a 10 day trip; our days were just packed with activities! We visited ancient cities of Acre, Jaffa and Tzfat, climbed Masada at sunrise and floated in the Dead Sea. We also rappelled from Ramon Crater, visited Tel Aviv’s Hall of Independence, took a tour of Jerusalem, and lastly we snorkeled in the Red Sea.

Israel is country amazingly oversaturated with history, and the amount of it per square foot was at times it was overwhelming. I’ve always felt a little strange studying ancient history in school: even when I liked the stories told by the teacher they were always a distant reality. Well, ancient history came alive to me in Israel. I was finally able to touch the stones of ancient cities, see the walls of Jerusalem, and climb the fortress Masada in the footsteps of the Romans.

Israel is not even 60 years old yet but all the Israelis with whom I’d spoken sounded very patriotic. It seems that when the environment is hostile and life has to be fought for almost daily, people work harder and treasure what they have much more. Overall, the people in Israel seemed to be kind, open, loving, hardworking, and although it might sounds strange, very happy.

I also fell in love with Israel’s nature – its deserts, seas and rocky hills. I couldn’t even imagine that this tiny place contains so much diversity! It was a fun and educational experience.

Natasha

The city of Acre:

The Negev Desert transportation:

Streets of Jaffa:

City of Tzfat:

Hiking in the Red Canyon:

A Bedouin preparing coffee:

In the middle of the freezing cold temperatures we’ve had lately around the Bay Area it can definitely be hard to imagine a warm and tropical place. We’ve been fortunate enough recently to have the opportunity to take a trip to just such a climate. Jamaica!!

Natasha and I usually prefer a backpacking style of travel and to really try to see as much of each country as we can. With the busy holiday season coming to an end it was definitely nice to have a few days to unwind, spend some time sightseeing and really trying to get a sense of the people and customs of this foreign culture.

The locals there speak a dialect of English called Patois which can definitely be hard to understand. It’s not so much the words they use that are different but their accent and manner of pronunciation. To give an example of the dialect from our Lonely Planet guidebook here’s how a Jamaican would say “I just dropped my plate” - “Dat wurtless plate jump right outa me hand!” :)

It seemed the people are a lot more forward and the most random of a stranger had no problems coming right up to shake hands and ask us where we’re from. While a bit disconcerting at first, it was nice to be able to not have the social barriers often present in our culture.

Cottonwood tree in Treasure Beach:

Boat tours in Negril:

Callaloo vendor on the streets of Negril:

Pelican Bar, mile out at sea, Treasure Beach:

A quick self-portrait on a boat tour: