Very little sleep, but we do not mind! Rather than give you a complete blow-by-blow of the day, I am going to try and summarize our day and my take-aways.

We made at least 10 stops in the course of the day in and around the Sea of Galilee. The first thing you notice is that it has a rugged beauty. Not many trees but rather erosion carved hillside that cascade into the Sea of Galilee. 14 miles long. 6 miles wide. 150 feet deep. This place is not big at all. Would say the entire region is about the size of 1 US county. 75% of Jesus’ ministry took place in this region which is to say that he was very at home in a rural, agricultural and fishing community. Many major events took place within eye shot of one another which is hard to grasp.

The people are friendly even when they don’t know I am a tourist. On my run this morning I passed about 5 people who either said hello or made positive eye-contact with me. The look and feel of the cities are like any other place I have traveled (very commercialized and somewhat congested.) This is a relief on one hand and exciting.

There are of course too many things to possibly do and see without cutting time. How I wished we could have lingered upon a hillside where Jesus gave us the Beatitudes or in the ruins in Capernaum. My favorite places so far have been the sites that resemble the original places. While there is not much left except ruins, it has been powerful for me to be in the midst of them.

We head to Nazareth, Meggido and Caesarea tomorrow before heading to Jerusalem. Will post more pictures when internet connection is better.