The last site that The Idiot visited in Lebanon, not too far north of the Lebanon/Israel border, was Tyre, which Alexander the Great had trouble conquering in 332 BC.

Then he MedTrekked directly from Lebanon into Israel, right?

Wrong.

The Idiot relived Alexander the Great’s lengthy campaign to take the walled city of Tyre in 332 BC.

The borders between Lebanon and Israel are closed — Israel troops on one side, Lebanese troops on the other, UN peacekeepers in the middle — and it’s impossible to simply MedTrek from one country to the other.

Instead, The Idiot flew to Amman, Jordan; went through the laborious customs procedure at the King Hussein/Allenby Bridge at the Jordan River; and then bussed to Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa and Nahariya before reaching the seaside border at Rosh HaNikra.

No wonder he caught his breath before beginning the MedTrek down Israel’s coast to Gaza.

Looking down Israel’s Mediterranean coast from the closed Rosh HaNikra seaside border crossing between Israel and Lebanon.

Signs and soldiers made it clear that this, and all other, land borders with Lebanon are out of business.

These signs indicate that the road to the border is closed. “Border Ahead No Entrance,” says one.

Want to sneak around on the cliffs or perhaps swim from Lebanon to Israel?
“Our water patrol will be happy to see you,” said an American-educated Israeli soldier at the border. “Trust me, trespassers are prosecuted.”

Despite coping with political reality, it’s refreshing, after MedTrekking on garbage-filled and mostly empty beaches in Lebanon, to walk on Israel’s comparatively clean seaside filled with Tabernacles holiday campers and bathers.

A typical public beach near Nahariya (the name means “rest and recreation”) in northern Israel.

The Idiot LOVES visible recycling containers that, though primarily for security purposes, give him an idea of what Israelis drink on the beach.

The Idiot frequently worked out at seaside exercise stations.

It was also a MedTrekker’s delight to visit Acre, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the Middle East, and see what changes have occurred since the Crusades.

Looking for something to make the out-moded moat around your citadel a little more utilitarian? Acre has the answer.

Hungry for a delicious view of the Mediterranean?
Walk around the sea wall in Acre.

Acre is at the northern tip of the Bay of Haifa and it’s a straight shot along the sandy seaside into Haifa, Israel’s third largest city and now a center of shipping, heavy industry, high-tech (the Google offices are on the beach just south of town) and education.

The Idiot was alone on the stretch of virginal seaside between Acre and Haifa.

During the hike through and beyond Haifa, The Idiot was joined by former London Times correspondent Michael Knipe and his Israeli wife Michal.

Three MedTrekkers take a break in the German Colony district of Haifa. (Photo: Michal Shor-Knipe)

And they kept MedTrekking until the beaches and sun spoke to them.

A frequent sign — in Hebrew, English and Arabic — on Israel beaches.

Sunset on a Haifa beach.

Next Week: The Idiot arrives in Tel Aviv and explores the possibilities of MedTrekking along Gaza’s 40-kilometer long Mediterranean coast.

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About Joel

Joel Stratte-McClure has been a global trekker since the 1970s. He lived in France for over 30 years, working as a journalist, before he turned his attention to a unique life-time-project of walking the shores of the Mediterranean. The first 4,401 kilometers are explored in his inspirational and entertaining first book "The Idiot and the Odyssey: Walking the Mediterranean." The next 4,401 kilometers are covered in the gods-filled sequel, "The Idiot and the Odyssey II: Myth, Madness and Magic on the Mediterranean,” published on Valentine's Day 2013. The last 4,401 kilometers will be discussed in the last book of the trilogy currently entitled "The Idiot and the Odyssey III: Alexander the Great Walks the Mediterranean."