Raz and I spent the day in the Bet Shemesh region hiking, visiting Stalactite Cave and searching for the Twin Cave. It was a perfect day for hiking, a mix of clouds and sunshine with a chilly breeze blowing on us keeping us cool. First we stopped for a picnic at a little park in the mountains. Turns out funding for the park had been provided by some people in Kansas City... it's a small world.
After lunch we took a tour of Stalactite Cave which was amazing. Unfortunately we were stuck in a tour group with some of the loudest, most annoying and apathetic teenagers I've ever seen. I was really appalled by how disrespectful these kids were, but thankfully half way through the tour our guide told the teachers to take the kids on ahead so she could give the rest of us a decent tour. The cave was really breathtaking, formations sprouted out of the ceiling and epic columns loomed throughout the cave with so much presence they almost felt alive. We were only allowed to take pictures at the end of the tour, there were so many amazing formations I wish I could have captured!
We stopped to visit a goat farm, but most of the goats had been taken to pasture for the winter and weren't back yet. We got to see a few goats though and a lovely little donkey who brayed so loudly when we walked up to him it made Raz jump.
We started our search for Twin Cave in this meadow and continued to hike for at least an hour before we were fairly sure we'd begun the trek in the wrong area. We never found the cave, but the hike was so marvelous we didn't really mind.
The landscapes here are so beautiful. Ever time we're able to get out of the city I'm amazed at natural beauty of Israel. We're hoping to come back and find Twin Cave on our next hiking outing.
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