Israel, the holy land. Origin of the three monotheistic faiths and place of much diversity and events in its early existence.
Israel also boasts an incredibly unique topography and bodies of water.
To the north lies the Sea of Galilee, the lowest fresh water lake on earth, and the Jordan River.
If you follow the Jordan River you will end up at the Dead Sea, the lowest saltwater lake on earth with such a high salt content that one is able to float effortlessly.
The southernmost point of Israel is home to the Red Sea, the premier home to coral reefs and scuba diving.
Israel is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea on its West side.
For us, this was a trip back home to visit our families and friends except that this time we had a goal: to ride our Focus Surfboards SUPs in Israel from the North to the South.
Our trip started in the Sea of Galilee, also known as the Kineret Lake.
Located in the city of Tiberius under the Golan Heights, the Kineret is refuge for many locals and tourists who come to dip in the cool fresh mountain waters and relax in the sun. Seeing us on the SUP boards was a brand new experience for them.
The children kept asking us about the SUP boards and if we could give them a ride… we ended up spending 30 minutes taxiing kids from point to point, they refused to get off the boards!
Just below the Kineret the Jordan River began to flow southbound. Located near the start of the river is a very unique and holy place called The Yardenit. It is here that John the Baptist baptized Jesus according to the Gospel.
This is undoubtedly a holy place for Christians and Catholics throughout the world as well as an amazing place to paddle.
The Yardenit is about 30ft wide and is laced with tall trees on both banks, creating a shadowy cover from the heat.
The water is green and cool with a very slow current. We paddled against the current enjoying the serene waters and met people camping on the banks. Local kids were swinging on a tree swing straight into the water.
The baptismal site is located upstream and once we got there we saw an actual Baptism taking place. This was a new and exciting experience for us, being Jewish we had never witnessed this ritual and were fortunate with our timing.
The day ended with a fish dinner in Tiberius, sitting on the lake side and reflecting on our amazing day.
Our next stop was a demo day for people to explore Stand Up Paddling in the Mediterranean Sea.
The SUP scene in Israel is very young; there are some other brands in the water but most people have no clue what is SUP.
We held our demo day at Neve-Yam beach in the city of Atlit. With water temperatures at 88F and outside temperature much hotter, the sea is refuge for most Israelis in the summer.
We had about 50 people attend the demo day and all were amazed at the SUP boards. Some surfers rode the waves for the first time on a SUP board and did pretty well.
With BBQ and drinks, the demo day lasted until sundown, we left burnt from the sun and happy in our hearts.
The smiles on peoples’ faces when they tried and rode the SUP boards were so rewarding and made everything worthwhile.
The next and most challenging part of the trip was the drive and ride in the Dead Sea.
It is a 5 hour drive from Haifa, our home town in the North, and with temperatures reaching 115F and no shade it wasn’t going to be easy.
The Dead Sea, as the name implies has no life in or around it. The salt level is too high for life to exist. We had to count on the local hotels and lifeguards for some shade and a place to rest.
Quickly people gathered around us asking questions about our boards, the carbon paddles and pretty much everything SUP.
The lifeguards typically use the SUP “equivalent” called HASAKE, a very large and bulky deck style vessel. It uses an aluminum paddle about 10 feet long with double blades. Once they grabbed hold of the carbon paddles they were amazed by the strength and lightness of them.
We had a two hour session with several SUP’s and the HASAKE; the floatation is unreal and most of us will never get to experience it anywhere else in the world. The Dead Sea delivered a great day in the blistering hot sun.
Next was the tourist city of Eilat. The city is on the banks of the Red Sea near Jordan and Egypt. A world renowned vacation spot especially for scuba diving and wind surfing.
The city and its large hotels have a canal system running thru its large harbor area.
We paddled the canals during sunset hours; the red sky was coming down on the Desert Mountains with a peaceful wind.
During the canal paddle a police officer asked us what we were doing, it must have been a sight to see us standing on water next to yachts and fishing boats.
In summary we spent 14 days paddling up and down the coast and the rivers of Israel, experiencing spots that are rare and exclusive to this part of the world. Being in the birthplace of three major religions was a new and exhilarating experience for us.
If we learned one thing from the trip it is that people will always welcome you in and treat you with respect if you do the same.
