Day 16 - Misgav Am, hike and biking in the Chula Valley (Netzach)

I was woken up by a loud knocking on the door by the teachers and was immediately filled with excitement realising the amazing day we have in front of us. The girls and boys prayed separately and headed off onto the buses. 

We arrived at the Lebanon border in Misgav Am and as we peered through the wire gates I hear someone next to me say "it's amazing how these trees right in front of us are a part of a completely different country to where we are standing right now". We were amazed that less that than a few metres away, stood a completely different country to us at that moment in time.

We walked into a nearby room on the kibbutz allowing us to see a 180 degree simultaneous view overlooking Israel's neighbours; Lebanon and Syria. We were immediately greeted by Yaakov, a strongly political man who has fought in many Israeli wars throughout his lifetime. He was a very interesting man who was strong in his Zionistic ideology who moved from America in his early twenties.  

After speaking to Yaakov we headed to a nature reserve called Nachal Ayun which borders Lebanon where we did a light hike and observed the beautiful waterfalls that were there along the way which water was fed from Lebanon. Some boys went for a quick swim and we then headed out of the reserve and went to another park for lunch. 

Shortly after we went to the Chula Valley where we were geared up and ready to go for a 9 kilometre bike ride while bird watching along the way. It was an interesting experience due to the varying bike riding skills of our peers and definitely had moments to remember! Once the ride was over we loaded back onto the bus and went back to our hotel on the kibbutz. It was a jam-packed day and certainly one with many highlights.

Hannah