We drove directly to Gonen via the Lebanese border after leaving Rosh Hanikra. The picture on the left is the asbestone where my family and 5 other families were housed sharing two bathrooms in 1970's when I made Aliyah and moved to Gonen. The cottage on the right is the place where Avishai and Rivka placed us for two wonderful days in the Gallilee. They met us in the office, pointed out our cottage, the chadar haochel, the store, the pool and many places to visit during our stay. We made arrangement to Kayak down the Jordan River the next morning. Then we went swimming, went to the store and had a restful evening.

      In the morning we drove seven miles from Gonen the pre 1967 Syrian border to Bental a combination nature preserve, volcanic mountain, restaurant and entrenched fortress protecting the post 1967 Syrian border. On the walk from the parking lot to Bental, dozens of metal sculptures dot the landscape.

      At the top is a restaurant, a flat area and a higher plateau covered with trenches and filled with tunnels leading to slits overlooking the Syrian Border. Bental had been the site of one of the most bloody battles of the 1967 war. That morning a group of young soldiers were graduating from Boot Camp. Music played as we toured this place of war, now protecting the Peace.

      After returning to the Kibbutz, we had a wonderful Gonen Breakfast in the Dining Room they had been building back in 1971 when I lived there. We then drove to Kfar Blum, parked and took two busses to the source of the Jordan River where we entered our Kayak for a leisurely cruise down the first 7 kilometers of the River.

      After changing, we spent the afternoon touring around the Upper Gallilee. first we returned to Kfar Blum to pick of a picture of our trip. Then we drove to Banias where we hiked through Pan's Grotto and to Banias Waterfalls. Afterwards we drove to Kfar Szold where we took time to look at the natural sculptures. Finally we returned to Gonen for a swim, dinner, a short rest and preparation for the evening.

      In the evening we picked up Ofrir at the office. Ofrir had made reservations for us at the evening tour of Nimrod's Fortress on Mount Hermon, the farthest northern border with Syria. When she found that the tour was only in Hebrew, she decided to go with us. In fact, she drove us back down the mountain. My driving eyes go to sleep with the sun. The fortress tour was wonderful as we walked through the place armed with lanterns.

      The next morning, we packed, ate breakfast, said goodbye to Gonen and drove next door to Kibbutz Shamir where we visited the apiary, saw a movie about bees and bought some honey.

      We also learned that shortly after my Yeridah, terrorists has murdered three women at Shamir. At the left is a small part of the memorial for these three women.

      Upon leaving Shamir we drove south through the Gallilee passing many JNF forests, fields made from the drained Hula Swamp and a monument to the soldiers who had died to achieve peace in the Gallilee.

      A few moments later, the Kinneret appeared on the horizon, swiftly growing into the Sea of Gallilee where we swam and snorkeled for awhile before continuing back to Tel Aviv and onto the Negev.