Our first view of the Sea of Galilee, also known as Lake Kinneret. It is in the Galillee province and looks very tropical from this side of the lake. The Bible describes many miracles that happen with Jesus along the whole lake. The main source of water is the Jordan River that is just around the corner of this photo. Flooding rains recently north of here in December raised the lake water level by three inches.
As a part of our tour we stopped at St. Pete's Fish Food to eat talapia. There are always great salad sections to choose from with the Mediterranean flare.
This plant flourishes along the highways in Israel. They are also growing in some of the National Parks as well as near this restaurant.
The afternoon sun shines on the opposite side of the lake causing the glwing color. Sailboats and other fishing boats are on the lake.
At the south end of the lake we were allowed to take a boat ride across the lake. The sun was going down behind mountains to our west so it did become dark by the time we finished our journey.
An American flag was hoisted for us along with the flag of Israel. It was a larger boat built especially for these tourist cruises.
It was amazing to be able to look out over the water and to be able to watch the waves. This was taken about five minutes as the sun immediately sat in the west.
The land of the west shore of the lake hid the setting sun. Once out on the water it went down pretty fast. You can see the hotel spots along the shore. I didn't realize the moon in the sky until I posted this photo. The one planet that tags along with the moon sometimes was up there on the right of this partial phase. I found it personally amazing to be able to see the same moon that I see at home on the opposite side of the earth.
Once out on the water Jewish songs with dancing took place. The seating was all around the sides of the boat so this festive dancing could take place.
Elin Gev was across the lake and we did end up sailing beside the shore before we returned to our original dock. It was a wonderful experience of being on the Sea of Galilee. Land that runs a narrow band along the lake is still Israel country. It is a narrow strip and we did travel along it the next morning. Syria sits probably twenty miles to the east all along the country in northern Israel.
As we left the shore we walked by a harbor of private boats, off of the Sea of Galilee. The lights and setting sun made it into a wonderful shot.
