The Idiot couldn’t enter Israel after walking down the Lebanon seaside because the borders between the two countries are closed.
Instead he flew from Beirut to Amman, Jordan, and proceeded overland into Israel. He then bused through Jerusalem and Tel Aviv to Rosh HaNiqra at the seaside Israel-Lebanon border. It took a few days to travel a few kilometers and kick off the MedTrek down Israel to Gaza on the sandy and bustling beach in late September and early October, when Sukkot and other Jewish holidays brought thousands of serious campers to the seaside.
Here are some north-to-south Idiot-ic memorable moments from the 2015 MedTrek in Israel.
The Idiot at the Israel-Lebanon border where he’s ready to start the MedTrek down Israel’s Mediterranean coast to Gaza. Instead of walking directly across the border from Lebanon, he had to fly to Jordan and come overland through Israel. A few days instead of a few kilometers.
Looking south on Israel’s Mediterranean coast from the closed seaside border crossing between Israel and Lebanon.
A typical public beach near Nahariya (the name means “rest and recreation”) in northern Israel.
One reason that beaches in Israel are cleaner than those in Lebanon are because there are numerous containers for plastic and glass.
A view of the Mediterranean from the sea wall in Acre, Israel.
A stretch of beach in northern Israel near Netanya.
A plea for a cup of coffee led to a breakfast of shakshuka (a dish of eggs poached in a tomatoes, chili, peppers and onion sauce) and an hour-long discussion of the Israeli penchant for communal tent life on the beach.
(Photo: Michael Knipe)
The Idiot stopped in Caesarea, built by Herod I in 12 BC, to meet the ghost of Alexander the Great and discuss the wisdom of walking into and down the coast of Gaza.
Compulsory service in the Israel Defense Forces is a rite of passage for almost every young Israeli. A few words with this 20-year-old soldier conveyed the confidence that Israel’s youth has in their country’s future.
Happy to be with MedTrekkers Sara Stratte, 21, and Michael Knipe, 76, strolling on the beach south of Ashdod, Israel.
The Idiot points to the Gaza border where, depending on security concerns, he’ll begin MedTrekking in late February 2016.
(Photo: Sara Stratte)
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