Tuesday - Sea of Galilee

We had a leisurely start to the day.  Breakfast in the hotel, then great cappuccino in a local coffee shop a few steps from the hotel.   At 9:30 we loaded onto the bus to head north to Galilee.  The site includes the St Peters home,  the Synagogue and the shore of the Sea of Galilee.   We took time for individual meditation around all that we have experienced over the past week.  The weather was hot and sunny, so time spent at the lakeshore was thoroughly enjoyed as was the time of quiet.
We then headed a short drive away where we had a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee.  During this interlude we heard two stories.The first was the story of Jesus calming the storms and the second was the story from John in which Jesus tells the disciples who have not had any luck fishing, to caste their nets on the other side and when they return with full nets he is cooking them breakfast on the shore.   Jim and Jean added to the experience with their wonderful music.

Our next stop was lunch of St Peter's Fish in a restaurant attached to a church.  The income from the restaurant goes to charitable work with children.   We enjoyed the attractive grounds around the church, then we headed to a beautiful valley that Jesus would have traversed in his journeys.   Here we celebrated a very meaningful Holy Communion under the shade of a beautiful old tree. At the end of our service we were joined by a herd of goats who came down from the hills, then retreated back up to whence they came.
Heading back to Nazareth we were delighted by a magnificent sunset.
Traffic was a bit heavy as we neared Nazareth, but gave us time for reflection, meaningful conversations, rest or writing about our experiences.
We also witnessed a group of young people touring including this very young female soldier.  She said she was 21, but she looked about 16 to us.