Palestine: Day 5, Part 1: Galilee, Jordan River Valley and Jericho

From the lush Galilee to the parched Negev Desert

After the blinding light and barenness of the desert, Galilee green soothes the eyes and lifts the spirit. Much of the water that drains out of the south end of the lake and used to replendish the Jordan River's flow is now diverted for irrigation, causing the Dead Sea's level to drop.

Sea of Galilee
Galilee is the name of a huge lake and lush agricultural area in northern Israel and Palestine. It and the Jordan River Valley are the two nation's breadbaskets. Olive trees grow in dry, rocky soil, but just about everything else needs water and therefore grows in the Galilee. Christian pilgrims head for the Church of Beatitudes, an octagonal church set amid beautifully landscaped grounds on the north end of the lake. This enchanting locale was were Jesus is said to have given the Sermon on the Mount, Nearby, in the fishing village of Cana, he performed the Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes.

The Jordan River Valley and Jericho

Continuing south and paralleling the river, we passed into territory controlled by the Palestinian Authority. The farms looked ever rougher and less sophisticated. Eventually we entered the desert (below) and later drove up and over a sandy hill and here was the oasis where Jericho is located. It lays claim to being the oldest city on earth. It intends to celebrate its 10,000th anniversary on 10/10/2010, a clever date. No plans are in place yet, however, so it might come off --- and maybe not. Jericho is the lowest city in elevation on the planet. We experienced searing desert heat at 1,200 feet below sea level on a sunny day in almost-July.

As always, stay tuned for more.

RIP: Hawaii Superferry

Hawaii Supreme Court decision scuttles high-speed, interisland ferry service

I cheered when I first heard about the Hawaii Superferry. It promised fast, reasonably priced passenger and vehicle transportation connecting the islands. That seemed like good news for both visitors and locals. Besides, I just plain like ferries. But when I heard the backstory and side effects of this service, I had mixed feelings. To borrow a phrase from Peter Pan, I still believe in ferries. They are efficient mass transportation, but there were disturbing aspects to this one.

The $85 million "Alakai" had problems from the beginning. Inspection delays. Environmental concerns about the big high-speed catamaran's interference with humpback whale migration. Local protesters on Maui and Kauai -- some on surfboards and traditional outrigger canoes -- who objected that an additional 866 people a day could land on their shores, adding to traffic and overdevelopment problems. The 2008 spike in fuel costs. Rudder cracks. Unexpected vulnerability to rough winter seas. Legal challenges because of flawed or missing environment impact studies. Ridership that was less than one-quarter of projections. The list goes on.

The "Alakai" had been scheduled to begin service on August 28, 2007, and finally took its maiden voyage on December 13. It lasted just over 15 star-crossed months. It was supposed to begin service on August 28, 2007, and finally took its maiden voyage on December 13. On Monday, the Hawaiian Supreme Court ruled that Act 2, a November 2007 state law permitting high-speed ferry service to commence before the environmental impact study study was completed, to be unconstitutional. The case was sent back to Circuit Court, but Hawaii Superferry president and CEO Tom Fargo threw in the towel, laid off all employees and after one farewell trip to return all vehicles to their islands of origin, pulled the plug on this service.

Fargo's statement:

"We are hugely disappointed with the Supreme Courts decision that Act 2 is
unconstitutional. After a year of operations, including a successful winter
season, we looked forward to the upcoming spring break with great energy and
enthusiasm. The problem before us today is there appears to be no short-term
solution to this ruling. To conduct another EIS, even with the work done to
date, and move it through legal review might take a year or so. Other options
don't provide the certainty necessary to sustain a business. As a result, we are
going to have to go out and find other employment for 'Alakai,' for now.
Obviously, this is not even close to our preferred outcome. We have believed
from the start and continue to believe that there is a clear and unmet need for
an Inter-Island High Speed Ferry System for the state. My hope, our hope, is
that the conditions will eventually be such that we can realize that vision in
Hawaii."

When I heard the news, I was a little glad and a little sad. I'm happy for islanders on Maui and Kauai, and I'm happy for the humpbacks. But I'm sad about a little trip I won't ever take that sounded splendid when everything went well. The "Alakai" is reportedly available, so if you know anyone who can use a 340-foot-long catamaran, have them call Fargo. He has one he'd like to lease out or perhaps sell.

Palestine: Day 4, Part 2: Nazareth

Nazareth remains one of the world's major Christian pilgrimage centers, plus it's got a disco

As the site of Christ's birth and, equally important, a Palestinian town in Israel rather than in the Occupied Territories, Nazareth is set up for day-tripping tourists from Jerusalem, including the Nativity Village I wrote about previously.

Nazareth

As is so often the case in the Holy Land, Nazareth boasts a number of sites built and maintained by various denominations celebrating the appearance of the Angel Gabriel to Mary telling her that she would give birth to a very special child. Nazareth is also the city of Jesus' early years. Our group had time to visit only two -- and in the context of this land of old stones and ancient buildings, both are quite new.

The Basilica of the Annunciation, an enormous two-level Roman Catholic church on the site where Mary's home is believed to have been located. Consecrated in 1969, it is a contemporary structure with a large lower level built where many people can mill about. Small groups can reserve a sunken chapel-size area to hold their own services (below, top photo), and there is also an opening in the floor to reveal a beautiful mosaic floor from a fifth-century Byzantine church, one of several at that location. The nave of the upstairs church (middle photo) features depictions of the Madonna and Child that were given by Roman Catholics in countries from around the world -- each in the style of the country (bottom image, Japan). Outside, ruins of a Crusader church are also visible.

St. Gabriel's Church is an alternative site where the Angel Gabriel told her that she was pregnant with the Son of God. Work on this opulent Greek Orthodox church began, was stopped for decades, restarted and completed in the late 20th century. Visitors can sip water hand-drawn from a 125-foot deep well in a grotto under the church or buy items in the tiny gift shop.

My guidebooks indicate that Nazareth, the largest Palestinian town within Israel, is lively and has a great old market. But we were on a tight schedule, so we never saw it, but we did pass several other denominations' churches in the town where Joseph had his workshop and where Jesus grew up.

Another opulent dinner -- this time with whole St. Peter's fish from the Sea of Galilee as the entree -- was at La Fontana de Maria Restaurant, a large, attractive eatery. When we left, we heard blaring music from a disco down the street that demonstrates that not everything in the Holy Land is ancient or restrained.

Then, up up the mountain to the St. Gabriel Hotel, once a convent or monastery, with small, simple and dim guest rooms (below). The foot of the bed and the desk are so close that I had to lift the chair over the bed in order to work at the desk -- and I had to climb over the bed to sit on the chair. Who says travel writers always are accommodated in shameless luxury?

United Ceases E-Mail Fare Alerts

Shift in cyber-promotion in the air as United discontinues E-Fare alerts

Even if no one else loves me enough to send me an E-mail, I have been able to count on fare alerts from United and Frontier, which between them operate a lion's share of the flights at Denver International Airport. Now comes word that United is dropping its weekly E-Fare updates for special weekend fares and other offers. United's E-Fares will still be posted twice a week on united.com (Tuesday and Friday) in the websites News and Deals section or Special E-Fare Deals page. To make them easier to find, United's websters show these fares in blue and highlight them with stars. I'm not sure whether or not I'll miss United's E-Fare blasts, but at least I'll know that Frontier still loves me enough to write.

Palestine: Day 4, Part 1, Sebastia, Checkpoint Hassles and Nazareth

Excursion into antiquity marred by arbitrary stop at Israeli checkpoint

What should have an easy trip from Nablus to Nazareth via modern highway was marred by a one-hour delay at a sizable checkpoint and an unexpected detour.

Sebastia
Sebastia, now a sleepy rural town in the hills above Nablus, traces six cultures spanning some 10,000 years: Canaanite, Israelite, Hellenistic, Herodian, Roman and Byzantine plus "modern." It was destroyed and rebuilt several times. Herod the Great -- a great builder but a cruel and blood-thirsty ruler in other respects -- created the city of Sebaste on the site. On the outskirts are drive-to ruins of a grand public building with a shuttered cafe next to it. So many ancient sites are understandably roped off to protect them from crowds, visitors can roam freely among the remnants of walls and columns.  A short loop trail leads up a hill past a Roman amphitheater, a small Crusader chapel and other ruins.

In the small village itself are the remains of a Crusader church , where John the Baptist was supposedly beheaded. The grotto is currently being stabilized.

A deep excavation shows an ancient Roman cemetery (below). The wooden frame remains from a pulley system used to hoist up artifacts that now reside in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. We did not have time to descend the stairs to see the cemetery more closely.

Checkpoint Hassles
As we were heading to Nazareth in Galilee, we were held up for an hour at a highway barrier checkpoint near the settlement of Ari'el, one of the hundreds of Israeli checkpoints that erupt from the Palestinian landscape like festering wounds. I often have been critical of the US Transportation Security Agency, but TSA screeners are amateur hasslers compared with the Israeli Army.,Often young, always armed soldiers are empowered to make arbitrary decisions about who may pass and who may not, who is searched and who is not. At small checkpoints, there are often only two soldiers, immediately answerable to no one. At larger checkpoints, there may be more soldiers and some kind of chain of command.

At the checkpoint near Air'el, our bus -- 14 American visitors, one Canadian, three Israeli Palestinians (including the driver) and one West Bank Palestinian with a permit to enter -- was diverted to a special screening area. We were asked to get off the bus and bring all our luggage -- the bigger pieces under the bus and all of our carryons -- to be X-rayed. Laptops were checked twice. We had to open our suitcases, and one of the guards poked around every one, riffling through the pages of books and generally wasting time by looking for things that were not there. We had to walk through a metal detector. In the end, our West Bank friend, who I repeat has a permit to enter enter Israel, was denied admittance through that checkpoint. We were ordered around politely. I suspect that Palestinians are not treated politely at all.

Our friend waited at the checkpoint while the driver continued to the next exit, turned around to pick him up and then took a long detour to another smaller checkpoint where the soldiers glanced at our assorted passports and IDs and let us through. The detour through stark and arid Bedouin country reminded me of Navajo Nation land. It was interesting to see, but it was not because the Army wanted us visitors to go sightseeing in an area we would have missed. It was simply to harass the Palestinians.

Nazareth
When we finally arrived in Nazareth in time for a late lunch and truncated tour at the Nazareth Village, an excellent living-history recreation of life in the this area at the time of Christ. It is the brainchild of the Herschend family, key developers in Branson, Missouri, and therefore is done very well. We sat on rough benches and ate food from that time brought by servers in period dress. There was soft round, chewy unleavened bread similar to a tortilla, delicious, lentil soup, chicken and vegetables all served rough pottery vessels.

The interpretive tour was guided by a young theology student from California, who was not in period garb. He took us through the recreated home, meeting house that served as a community gathering place and synagogue, workshop and showed how olives were pressed back then. We were so late that we didn't have time to visit the agricultural area.

More later on the Church of the Annunciation, lodging and dinner in Nazareth.

Links to 100 Great Travel Sites

Online resources for travel writers summarized on one long blog post

My friend Josh Berman's The Tranquilo Traveler made the Graduate Degree Blog's post called "The Art of Travel Writing: Tips, Tools and to Get Paid and Get Published." Although Travel Babel sadly didn't made the unidentified blogger's list, it's really worth checking out for anyone who writes about travel or wants to. The categories are Advice for Travel Writers, Writing Tips, Tips for Breaking into the Business, Travel Writing Blogs, Travel Blogs (where Josh's was listed and I wish this one had been t00), Meet Travel Writers, Travel Websites, Groups and Organizations, Travel Made Easy and the all-important Find Writing Gigs.

"Lifetime Trips" Reads Like a Tour Brochure Anthology

Travel anthology is a surprising yawner

I love to take anthologies on my own travels. If I put a book down and don't pick it up again for six months, I haven't lost my place. Houghton Mifflin's Best American Travel Writing of Fill-in-the-Year and its companion series, the now-suspended Best American Food Writing...., are my favorites. Travelers' Tales anthologies, each of which follows single destination or subject as seen by many writers, are a close runnerup. These collections are filled with gorgeous prose by some of the best writers in the land who make their topics spring from the pages.

Therefore, I was looking forward to Once in a Lifetime Trips, subtitled "The World's 50 Most Adventurous, Luxurious, and Memorable Travel Experiences." The author, Chris Santella, certainly comes with impressive credentials. His byline has appeared in top publications (including The New Yorker for which he wrote a "Talk of the Town" piece back in 1995). His numerous books include Fifty Places to Fly Fish Before You Die (and also ...to Play Golf, ...to Dive and ... to Sail Before You Die) and spinoffs from several of them.

My hopes for a great travel read were dashed when I actually plowed through the review copy. Santella's writing is curiously devoid of passion or insight. In fact, the book reads like a compendium of 50 tour brochures. The opening sentences to many of these adventures are real snoozers. But he does know how to craft a run-on sentence.

I wouldn't travel to Cape Town, South Africa, to fly a fighter jet based on the lead for that chapter: "There are no exact figures that speak to the increase in the number of U.S. Air Force and Navy recruits after the 1986 release of the Hollywood blockbuster Top Gun, through the military acknowledges that there was a significant bump and even staffed recruiting booths in select theaters where the picture was showing." Yawn.

Nor would I feel motivated to spend $20 million, if I had $20 million, to visit the International Space Station based on this book. Santella starts his description this remarkable adventure with, "In 2001, American multimillionaire Dennis Tito became the first civilian to travel in orbital flight, thanks to the Russian Federal Space Agency and a U.S. Company called Space Adventures, which has a partnership to purchase a seat on the Soyuz spacecraft and a ten-day spot on the International Space Station (ISS) every six months." Yawn.

The occasional lead sentence reads like a term paper rather than a tour brochure. Consider, "While the number of Bengal tigers is dwindling worldwide, populations in north-central Nepal are stable." Yawn.

Have I bored you enough? The press release accompanying the review copy boasts that the "vacations...are so unusual that you can't just search for them on the web or find them in travel magazines," and that the author's "detective work" has unearthed them for us. In truth, most of the them on the web (no surprise), and Santella's own "If You Go" appendix lists outfitters, their phone numbers and/or websites. However, unless the list was fact-checked between the printing of the review copy and the May 12 publication date, there are errors. For example, the review copy gives Abercrombie & Kent Space Travel for the Capetown fighter jet flight, when in fact, A&K handles reservations the Soyuz. If you want to fly a jet in South Africa, contact Incredible Adventures. The hardcover book will cost $24.95. Save your money -- unless you're in need of a good sleep.