This morning after breakfast we drove North towards the Golan. The bus rolled through the fog and freezing rain until we arrived at the top of the Golan plateau. We had a small reprieve from the weather to explore the bunkers that protected Israeli soldiers during the war against Syria.
When we made our way back out to gaze down on Syrian land, the students noticed there was a small amount of snow on the ground. None of us wanted to linger long as the wind whipped around us, so we took our token camera shots and headed to the bus to seek shelter.
Next we went to see a short movie that told us more about The Golan. The film, shot in 180 degree panorama, was a true sensory experience. Fans and mist blew over us in our seats, imitating the winds and waters of The Golan on the screen.
Unfortunately, the rain washed out our afternoon hike. However, the tour guides quickly improvised by taking us to a chocolate factory owned and operated by a third generation chocolate maker. There, we saw the process of how the various types of chocolate are made. Meshuly even went behind the scenes to help Katrina, the owner, mold one of the sweet confections. And, of course, we were all able to try some of the sweets and even buy some to take home with us at the gift shop.
Pumped with sugar, we made our way to a lookout spot over The Kinneret. On our way, the sun came out leaving a perfectly arched rainbow in the sky. In fact, though, it only highlighted the rainbow of colors all around us. The hills are splashed with yellow, white and purple flowers along with various shades of green. Spring has definitely spread it's brilliance across this part of Israel.
When we got to the lookout, the students put on their creative hats and took inspiration from what was before them to paint landscapes in watercolors. Afterwards, we returned to the hotel for dinner and some team building games.
These full days have left all of us pretty tired. We'll be turning in early so we can get an early start out to Tel Aviv tomorrow.
