Nazareth to the Sea of Galilee

Hello to all from the Sea of Galilee! We travelled to today from Amman, Jordan and first to Nazareth. The crossing at the border near Jericho is an interesting experience, to say the least. Presenting your passport to six different individuals, some of them with machine-gunned guards is a little disconcerting. Yet, like Dorothy to Toto, “We’re not in North Dakota anymore!”
The travel from there to Nazareth is a breath-taking drive through the Jordan River valley. We could first see it as we passed Mt. Nebo and shared a moment with Moses, looking into the Promised Land. Jerusalem was very much in sight as you gaze up the Judean hills.
To most in our group, the journey indeed is far more than a vacation; it is a pilgrimmage. The entry to the Church of the Annuciation in Nazareth presented most pilgrims with an appropriate sense of tingling awe. to gaze into a small cave where Gabriel may indeed have visited the young Mary is a somber and holy moment. We should have removed our sandals, for we were on holy ground.
I expect many more such moments in the days to come. The unreal and overwhelming sense of awe cannot be underestimated.
Now at the Sea of Galilee I have a room that overlooks the sea. Sight, sound and smell of the lake is right there. Before dinner I couldn’t contain myself and grabbed bible and journal and headed to the water, soon up to my knees where, somewhere close, Jesus called those first fishermen.
You could almost hear it; certainly with soul if not ear, “Follow me.”
More to come…