When something unusual or unexpected happens at the start of the day, one's usual prayer is that the whole day doesn't continue like that...and then there is Sunday's Road Trip in which anything that could happen, did happen. The original plan was to take the train from Jerusalem to Haifa and rent a car from Hertz upon arrival. After picking up the car, we intended to see Mt. Carmel and then proceed to Tiberius, Capernaum, Megiddo, Nazareth, and Caesarea, and then home again to Jerusalem. Sure, it was a purposefully packed & busy schedule. I, Bonnie, even assigned maximum time limits to each location, so that we could see as much as possible in our final week. Its best to move through the day chronologically. Also, for your reading pleasure, the blog includes various sub-chapters.
Time is of the Essence:
7:03 AM: Leave the apartment and hail taxi.
7:05 AM: Realize that the all-important video camera is at the office & that Bonnie forgot extra
batteries.
7:06 AM: Jump in front of moving taxi to rush to the office.
7:13 AM: Arrive outside office and haggle w/ taxi driver over price.
7:19 AM: Leave office, hail second taxi, and race to train station.
7:21 AM: Taxi only travels about one-half mile.
7:21:30 AM: Bonnie begins increased stress levels (she hates being late).
7:25 AM: Taxi travels a great distance at a decent clip in the WRONG direction.
7:27 AM: Taxi driver pulls over & picks up third passenger. There are now 3 passengers in the
taxi headed to two DIFFERENT locations.
7:27:30 AM: Man hands driver 100 shekels; Bonnie experiences pangs of desperation of arriving in time to purchase train tickets.
7:32 AM: Taxi driver drops off third passenger.
7:32:30 AM: Bonnie remarks loudly to Kim that they may not catch the train on time.
7:32:41 AM: Taxi driver senses heightened urgency and feels flames of impatience flowing freely from the backseat.
7:33 AM: Driver asks when the train departs.
7:33:30 AM: Bonnie responds flatly, "Seven minutes."
7:40 AM: Arrive at train station.
7:43 AM: Train departs for Haifa.
We've been to the central train station in Tel Aviv before, and this station happens to be where the train to Haifa switches. We made this switch with no difficulty. In fact, the train ride to Haifa was quite pleasant and full of cheerful conversation. Bonnie studied the maps and figured out exactly which station was needed to reach Hertz. Apparently, the Haifa train doesn't continue to that station. Additionally, the station employees do not know where the Hertz office is. We can also assure you that even the taxi drivers don't know how to find the address where Hertz is located.
"No Car For You" (the car rental Nazi's):
After we finally reached Hertz, we waited 30 minutes to speak with someone at the counter. We prearranged the car rental at the Jerusalem Hertz office, so we expected no problems. Kim handed the lady her credit card, which by the way is a debit card, which by the way, NO rental company in Haifa accepts. (Kim's note: The same card was used to rent a car with the same company in Jerusalem for the Dead Sea trip.) Kim then handed the lady her Discover card, which by the way, NO rental agency accepts, because, by the way, Discover card is not accepted in Israel- period. Oops.
Bonnie & Jenna only had debit cards with them. And when we say that NO rental agency accepts these--trust us; we visited most of them.
Cold Cash and New Israel Shekels:
At this point, 3 HOURS later and 1.5 hours behind schedule, we realized that we would need shekels should we seek additional transportation. We walked to the mall, which, by the way, is undergoing massive construction and re-modeling. This construction, by the way, has resulted in most of the walkway to the mall going through the construction site. Without becoming discouraged, we gracefully inhaled the cement dust and made our way to an ATM. That particular ATM (the ONLY one in the mall) doesn't accept our cards, by the way.
We proceeded a few more yards until we reached the Central Bus Station, which by the way, is just a parking lot full of 14 buses and completely devoid of any machinery resembling ATMs.
At this point, Bonnie started getting rather stressed...and moody. Is it too much to ask for a little cooperation from the locals? All we need is a car and money...and a new plan, since B's schedule is now a joke. The Lord heard our prayers - or at the very least our complaints. As we walked out of the bus station, we met Benny the taxi driver.
Benny the taxi driver:
Benny the taxi driver is a Haifa native and a frequent customer at the nicest ATM in Haifa (it has a shade canopy). Benny the taxi driver is the proud father of two grown children who have traveled the world. Benny the taxi driver drives a nice cab and makes pleasant all-Hebrew conversation. Benny the taxi driver plays disco music. Benny the taxi driver occasionally sings along and intermittently requests B to practice her Hebrew pronunciation. B entertains the taxi party with her hideous Hebrew accent.
Mt. Carmel is Closed, Please Leave & Come Again:
Our first stop of the day was Mt. Carmel, the site of many Elijah stories. On top of Mr. Carmel is a world-famous monastery that contains beautiful paintings of the stories. The monastery is pronounced "Muhraka" in Hebrew; ask B if you don't believe us...she spent the 20 minute taxi ride practicing with Benny the taxi driver. By the way, the monastery is closed on Sundays, although the view of the Jezreel Valley is quite nice (don't ask about the paintings because we couldn't see them).Drive us to Kafar Nahum please?:
Benny the taxi driver was kind enough to come pick us up at Mt. Carmel and drive us to Kafar Nahum (Capernaum is Kafar Nahum in Hebrew; we know because B practiced pronouncing this too). During the hour-long ride, Bonnie chatted with Benny the taxi driver about his children and their travels. They talked about the country side and good restaurants along the Sea of Galilee.
Jenna & Kim slept. This was the second time during the day that the girls got to sleep, and Bonnie had to stay awake. The first time the girls slept was on the train to Tel Aviv while she stayed awake planning the schedule. We arrived to Capernaum in the nick of time: the site closed less than 30 minutes after our arrival.
Umm...girls? There's no taxi!:
When you visit any sort of location in Israel, it is best to plan transportation getting to and from your desired location. By the way, taxis in the Galilee region only drive until 5 PM. Apparently, NO ONE needs to travel after this time. If one does have to travel, their timely arrival is doubtful. B called for a taxi, but the taxi driver (not Benny, by the way), said he quit driving at 6 PM. B sweetly reminded him that the time was only 4:45 PM. The not-so-nice taxi driver hung up. At this point, B turned to face the girls announcing, "Ummm...girls? There's no taxi." God blessed the girls again despite their murmurs and complaints. (Kim's note: I don't remember Jenna ever murmuring or complaining. And I only complained when Bonnie murmered.) He sent a lovely 4 year-old whose parents both worked for the UN to give us a ride to the nearest bus stop. By the way, the bus stop is a lonely bench in the middle of no where in a highly unpopulated region with a lovely view of the Sea of Galilee. We were able to hail a taxi to take us12 kilometers to Tiberius for only 65 shekels (a $21 cab ride for 7.5 miles).
Sheirut to Jerusalem?:
A sheirut is a shared taxi that carries passengers to a specified location. It leaves only when full, and usually holds up to 13 passengers. By the way, the Tiberius sheirut drivers frequently stop for random smoke breaks. We know this from personal experience. The 45-minute drive took 1.23 hours and contained 12 stops along the way, including one 15-minute smoke break. B's stress levels started to rise again, but by this point she was really just too tired to care. She finally slept while the other two stayed awake. Unfortunately, Bonnie was so tired that Kim's video camera managed to capture a speckle of drool glistening in the sunlight.
We made it to the Tel Aviv central bus station where we could grab a sheirut to take us to Jerusalem. By the way, in order to catch a sheirut there needs to be a sheirut. Apparently, some mysterious black hole was making all of the ones headed to Jerusalem disappear. Normally, there are 10 sheiruts waiting in line at the bus station to take passengers to the capital. Normally, there are more sheiruts than passengers. And normally, a passenger never needs to wait to hitch a ride. By the way, Sunday's road trip was far from normal. After the sixth sheirut arrived 37-minutes later, and after we worked up the nerve to shove other would-be passengers out of the way (Jenna said, "Alright, we've got to get Israeli here, girls!"), we climbed to the back row of seats and got comfortable for the 45 minute drive home.
Later that night:
9:04 PM: The girls arrived at Ben Yehuda Street in Jerusalem.
9:18 PM: The girls obtain some semblance of dinner in the form up pastry and croissant at a
nearby bakery.
10:24 PM: The girls finally make it back to their apartment for some nice, well-earned shut-eye.
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