Back to Palestine, Back To Israel Day 5

Yesterday was an early morning, as we had to get up early to be able to make it back to Israel in time before the borders closed at noon. After the prior evening's fiasco about overcharging for booze, it was quite the buzz of the bus.

We had breakfast, and then ventured off toward Israel and Jericho. Once at the border, we managed to be there at the same time as several other buses, and proceeded to wait about 2 hours on the bus waiting to just get through the gate. Once through, the group of us (after a thorough check of the passenger list) were whisked through security. It was probably the most stressful part of the day, but really all things considered, the Israeli border people were quite nice.

We then went to Jericho, the oldest city in the world....well, besides Aleppo.

We were able to see the spring, and parts of the wall, had some lunch, and then ventured up to see the mount of temptation where Jesus was tempted by Satan. From there, we went to our hotel, which sits high upon a mountain overlooking the valley. The views are breathtaking, and you can see the kibbutzim in the valley. Everyone has commented that it's nice to see green again.

Once checked in, the group of us were given a big conference room to decompress, talk, and pray....and have a few drinks. After the long trip, and late lunch, we weren't very hungry. But afterward, a couple of us stayed and talked at the bar lounge that has a beautiful view of the valley.

Not much to report as of this particular day, but it's still amazing, and looking forward to seeing the things to come!