Sleeping with the hippos

 One of the things I love most about Africa is the terrible cell connectivity as my family gets fully present, but, it does make it challenging to keep our readers updated on our fun. The last two days have been a contrast of exhausting and relaxing. 

Two days ago we crossed the boarder from Malawi to Zambia. This should have been a piece of cake, but one of our fellow travelers ran into a snag with her Visa. We waited five hours at the boarder for her to be rejected. She and her boyfriend had to leave our tour under some really unfortunate circumstances. After the five hour sit around, the Zambian DEA decided to search our truck for illegal drugs. They targeted only the four males on the truck, including Alastair and Dave. Stressful, yes. Dave’s daily multi-vitamin was in question and Alastair’s carved wooden elephant that was wrapped up tight was in question. Dirty underwear, no problem. We were all glad to be on our way in spite of leaving two fellow travelers at the boarder.

We arrived so late at our campsite that it wasn’t until the next morning that we could confirm that the sounds we heard all night were the hippocampus that live in the river next two our campsite in property grazing all night long. They make a very distinct chuffing noise. Don’t worry, the campsite had a security guard who walks the property all night armed with a flashlight. He also has a slingshot, but it is for the monkeys, not the hippos. You would be surprised at how well we all sleep in our tents with so many creatures walking around us at night. We feel pretty invincible inside our canvas tents.

Yesterday we did an early morning game drive in South Luangwa National Park and the highlight were the elephants. We found two males playing in the river who rolled around and restless the entire time we watched them. We also watched the females and babies cross the river just in front of us and we LOVE the babies the most.

The afternoon was just what the doctor ordered. The girls and I snoozed by the pool, Dave napped in a hammock and Alastair watched a show in the shade. All of this next to the river which is home to the hippocampus, crocodiles, and every other animal that needs a drink of water during the day. Keep in mind, all of this relaxing takes place under the trees were a couple dozen monkeys are playing and creating chaos. So amazing!

Night game drive was highlighted when we found a pride of lion’s feeding on a Cape buffalo. It is hard to watch and also so fascinating. Dagny didn’t love it, but it was good fun for the rest of us.

This morning we were pleased to learn that our friends had cleared their visa challenges and we were able to pick them back up at the boarder before continuing our overland trek south. 

Highlight of our drive today were the kids along the way that tried to sell us a stick of roasted rats for twenty Kwatcha (about a dollar) and a raw goat leg. No thanks.

Nice campsite tonight with two resident emus which are kind of interesting. Alastair and I spend some time each day talking about which foods from home we miss the most. For me, it is blue cheese salad dressing. Salad dressing is not a thing in this part of the world. I’ve looked. Today our chef opened canned tuna for part of our lunch. I taught him how to make tuna salad. It was well received by him and most of our group. Australians and Africans learned something new today. 

Not expecting wi-fi tomorrow so be patient for our next update. We are having a great time.

Jll

Malawi Catch Up

Throughout our time in Malawi, our internet connection has been close to nonexistent. Here’s a summary of our activities for the last 3 days since we’ve entered the country.

Day 58 - We woke up at 4am in our Tanzanian campground to begin our longest driving day yet. We “pitched off” our tents and ate eggs on toast for breakfast. We were on the road long before the first call to prayer. The morning was fairly uneventful until about 11:30am when a window in our truck spontaneously exploded. We pulled over to try to cover the open window with garbage bags and packing tape while local kids took pictures and laughed. However, the repairs didn’t last long once we hit the road due to the wind. We stopped at a gas station for lunch and our driver, Dan, pulled out a spare window to replace the shattered one. As we ate our sandwiches, kids gathered to watch us and wave. A money exchanger guy joined us since we were close to the Malawi border. Then, the local police pulled up in an unmarked car with no uniforms and all of the kids scattered as the money guy dropped a huge stack of cash and ran. We were slightly worried but it turns out the police just wanted to shake down the money guy for a bribe and then let him go. We packed up the truck and drove 10 minutes to the Tanzania-Malawi border where it took 3 hours to get through customs on both sides even though we were the only group there. We don’t think that the Malawi office had a single computer. Once in Malawi, we drove a few more hours until the sun had set and we arrived at our campground. We set up tents in the dark and there were thousands of small bugs swarming the lights in the campground which almost made eating our dinner of fried fish and mashed potatoes impossible.

Day 59 - After such a long drive day yesterday, we were not excited to have another day of driving today, although we got to sleep in. Our chef, Emmanuel, made veggie omelettes for breakfast and we packed sandwiches for lunch on the road. For the first few hours of the drive, my siblings and I played card games with an Australian guy from our group named Rob. We played palace, hearts, and Alastair taught us euchre. At lunchtime, we stopped at a mall so that Emmanuel could restock foods. The 6 of us grabbed some drinks and cookies from the grocery store and then ate lunch together on the truck while we waited. I spent the afternoon drive chatting and laughing with my sisters. In no time, we arrived at the Kande Beach campsite next to Lake Malawi. We were disappointed to find that there was no Wi-Fi AND no service but it led to the chance for more quality time as a family in the end. Mom, Dagny, and I all took showers but both of them got good water pressure and warm water while I got neither. Dagny and I borrowed tubs to hand-wash some laundry and then the 4 of us played foosball with dad. At 7pm, we had dinner which was a traditional East African dish called ugali which was served with mixed veggies, beef on the bone, corn on the cob, and spinach. We ate dinner without utensils since you have to knead the ugali by hand. 

Day 60 - As much as I would have loved to sleep in today, I was up with the chirping birds at 6am. Dad and I spent some time wandering the campground and then mom and I played smashball as we waited for breakfast. We invited Michael, our guide, to play and he got so into it that he dove for the ball, rolling on the ground, accidentally snapping the handle off of the paddle. We had Nutella crepes for breakfast and then most of our group decided to go on a walking tour of the village surrounding our campground. We visited the Tonga tribe of the Mbamba village and it was incredible. We learned about casava cultivation and how it is pounded into casava flour by the older women of the village. We learned about the brick making process which starts with a communal mud pit. We learned about the school system, community values, and lifestyle of the Tonga people. Our favorite part of the tour was the people that we met. As soon as we left the gate of our campground with our local guides, Robert and “Sweet Banana,” we were greeted by a bunch of local artists in an experience which I can describe best as sorority rush adjacent. When Robert wasn’t teaching the whole group about the village, we were  each walking with a different artist and they all had adopted nicknames: Sugar Spice, Baby Giraffe, Mr. Flavor, etc. Lots of little kids joined our group and wanted to hold hands with us as we walked. At the end of our tour, the artists taught us how to play Bao, a local board game, and all 6 of us worked on our negotiation skills to purchase something. Magnolia got a carving of two giraffes, Dagny and I both got Bao boards, Alastair got a carving of an elephant, Dad commissioned a canvas painting of Africa with all of the destinations from our trip and the McLains on the Road logo, and Mom commissioned a new set of personalized smashball paddles. We were all very impressed with the quality of the paddles and had a great time teaching our new friends how to play. We had spaghetti for lunch and then the 4 of us spent some time at the beach with mom while dad smoked a cigar. We played some smashball, foosball, and pool before we had delicious steaks and french fries for dinner. We’re going to bed at 8pm because we have an early start tomorrow morning.

-Adelaide

July 22

Waking up early in the morning has been our new normal. Every day it get just a little easier. This morning we woke up at 5 and had breakfast at 5:30 and we were ready to go by 6. We started our day with a game drive mikumi park. We saw many of the same animals we’ve seen in other parks. Lions, hippos, gazelle, giraffe, and zebra. We learned a couple fun facts about the animals that we’ve never heard before. Like if a crocodile bites you you have to poke him in the eye to get him to let go. we learned how to tell the difference between make and female giraffes based on their horns. We drove around for four hours and then ended back at our campsite where we ate brunch. It was sausages and crepes and fruit. We pitched down our tents and loaded everything into the beast. The drive today was supposed to be six hours but I think it’s turning into eight. We’ve mostly been driving through small villages and towns but a little while ago we were stuck in some mountain traffic. All along the roads were baboons just hanging in the trees and on the ground. We were well entertained watching them. Once we get to our camp site we’ll set up dinner ouch the tents eat dinner and head to bed. That’s all.

-dagny

From Zanzibar to Mikumi National Park

We have been on the go for so long, and have seen so much, that unstructured time makes us hyper-unproductive.  We arrived at the Amaan Beach Bungalows in Nungwi on the northern coast of Zanzibar on Tuesday afternoon. We promptly spent the next several days on vacation from our travels. Other than lounging by the pool, spending time on the beach, reading, and sleeping, we did not have a lot going on.  The north coast reminds me of Tulum in that there are nice resorts along the beach, with local activities, guides, merchants, and boat captains all trying to help you spend your money and time.  Most of the folks selling on the beach were Masai (or dressed like Masai anyway), mostly polite but pushy and persistent. We did take the opportunity to find a nice dinner spot, overlooking the beach, which boasted of good food and great sunsets. 

Yesterday we journeyed back to Stone Town, and back to the Shangani Hotel. The hotels on this trip, either those organized through G Adventures or Intrepid, are billed as “clean and safe.”  To both of these descriptions I would add -ish. They have been clean-ish and safe-ish. Not the sort of places we would normally stay when not trying to survive Africa for a summer, seeing as much as possible, and not going bankrupt. That said, they have been serviceable and as long as they have WiFi, the little ones are satisfied.  Once back in Stone Town we headed to a local cafe for a late breakfast/lunch, followed by a walk through town until we reached the point of the walk where everyone agrees, based on the decrease in tourists and increased signs of plight, “maybe we should head back the other way.”

Instead of dinner last night, the best we could do was find our way to the local gelato shop.  That’s how we roll sometimes. You are so hot and tired that gelato comes first. After that, dinner seems superfluous.  It was an early night as we were booked on the first ferry back to Dar es Salaam this morning and breakfast started at five.  The ferry was more of a roller coaster this morning which didn’t bother me at all until the crew started handing out barf bags in a frenzy. All I could think of then was Vince Vaughn’s character in Four Christmases (https://youtu.be/0mKZgC8J5AE) and how I might have a problem after all. 

We made it safely ashore and through some sort of security screening during which everyone getting off the ferry pushes each other, elbows each other, and scrambles to get their bags onto a conveyor belt/x-ray machine. The then walk through a metal detector, which always beeps, and you push the same people out of the way again to reclaim your bags. I don’t think the x-ray machine was on, at least I never saw anyone looking at a screen. Today’s lesson - McLains need to learn to be pushier. Luckily we still have time to work on that. 

A short bus ride to the Millimani City Shopping Mall and we were reunited with The Beast, Dan the Man (our driver), and Emmanuel (our chef). We are now on our way to the Mikumi National Park and the next adventures, whatever they may be. I am happy to be back on tour and to a structured existence in which someone else, in this case Michael (our Julie McCoy), is responsible for keeping me active and entertained. The last few days in Zanzibar have convinced me that I do not currently possess that skill. 

• Dave

Spice Tour and the Northern Beaches of Zanzibar

        We woke up and had breakfast at the hotel on the roof, I had cold french toast which was actually pretty good and then Dagny, my mom, and I got on our bus to the spice tour. The rest of the family stayed at the hotel to head to the next city later on. 

       The spice tour was a walk through a plantation where we smelled the leaves and bark of different trees of the spices and we learned about a plant growing on the ground called a mimosa plant which has leafs that move and shrink when you touch them. We also saw star fruit and jackfruit and then very large snails on our walk out of the plantation. Then we tried fruits and tea made and grown on the plantation before we drove to lunch.

       We had lunch in a house in the community and we ate spiced rice and chicken with cabbage and salad and it was pretty good. Then we drove to the other side of the island to our next hotel on the northern beaches. We put our stuff down and then my mom and I went to the beach and I then the pool. The beach on our hotel’s property is very small and there is very little dry sand so we got in the water and walked to the larger beach along the shore. There were horse rides in the water for people on the beach on the other side of us so we saw a lot of people riding horses through the water and one of them got loose from the handler after the person riding it got off and we helped them get it back. Then Dagny and Addie got massages before we went to dinner and watched people dancing and doing acrobatic routines on the beach. After dinner we went back to our rooms and went to bed. 

-Magnolia 

July 17

When we sleep in the tents we have to have two hours in the morning to take them down, pack our stuff, get ready, eat breakfast, clean dishes, and clean the camp site. This morning we had a fairy to catch at 6:30. Which means that we had to leave the camp sight at 5:45 to drive to the dock. This morning we didn’t have to take down our tents. Our driver and cook offered to do it once we left to let us sleep a little extra. We woke up at 4:50 and packed our stuff. I’m not sure anyone actually ate breakfast because we new we would be spending the rest of the day on a boat but we had some coffee. Then we were off. The first fairy was not very long it was only about a thirty minute ride. When we showed up at the dock and scanned our tickets we were immediately packed onto the dock with all the other people. We shuffled towards the boat and found space to stand in between parked cars. We the shuffled off of the boat thirty minutes later. There was a bus waiting on the other side to us and all our luggage across the way. We noticed that in these countries where we’re staying that lines are not nearly as they are in the states. You have to stand directly behind the person in front of you or you get cut in front of. We were trying to stay all together while we were going through a security check point at the second dock with a crowd of people all around us it was really quite funny. We were running late so we hurried to the boat and the only spots left were on the front of the boat looking at the water. I felt bad for mom she had to wear a patch and everything. When we finally got to Zanzibar it was only about 9:30 so we dropped out stuff in our rooms and hung out for a second. We were hungry so we left and walked half a block to this really good breakfast place. I had toast and scrambled eggs and lots of coffee. We planned a walking tour of the stone town at two so we hung out until then. The tour was supper cool at first we were talking about why it’s called stone town and it’s because of the way the houses were made out of coral stone. We also looked at the different kinds of doors in all the homes and the meanings behind the carvings. Like a chain around the door meant that the house belonged to people who were a part of the slave trade, or different flowers meant that they traded different spices. Then we went to the old slave market and visited a small center that explained Zanzibars involvement in the slave trade. Basically slaves would be brought to Zanzibar to be actioned off to slave owners and then sent all around the world from there. We also visited a church built on top of the cite of the whipping post. We learned a little more about the city stopped for coffee and then headed back. Then some of us stayed at the hotel and some went to dinner.

-dagny

Chicken Fights

 The number one thing I love about Tanzania are the children. Never have I ever seen kids so joyful and happy. As we drive along the road they can see our giant “beast” rolling along and they are eager to wave and have us wave back. On any given day a hundred kids will wave at us.

They make and play with hand-made toys. Usually the wheel and stick run down the road type toys or homemade cars on sticks they can run behind. They have a lot of fun and they play so well together. Little girls no older than 5 taking care of 1 years olds all the while holding out a hand for a high five and “hello”.

We ended the day in Dar es Salaam with a campsite on the beach. After chopping some vegetables for our dinner the kids and I grabbed a quick swim in the Zanzibar Channel in the Indian Ocean. The McLains and several hundred locals. We ended up swimming in a group with about 40 local boys. Pretty soon Dagny, Alastair, Magnolia, and Adelaide are engaged in a chicken fight which the locals think is hilarious. The kids taught them all how to chicken fight and Dagny and Magnolia battled at least 10 boys each. Most of the time the McLains won. We have a great story for a lifetime and so do all those little boys.

Tonight we sleep to the sound of the ocean. For the next three days we get a needed break from the “beast” and we get to explore Zanzibar.

Nighty night. 

Jll

Dances with Chameleons

Readers, 

Our day started with what we consider a relatively late start, what our standard of waking up late has become, about 7 in the morning. We were lucky enough to not have to break down our tents and were greeted with a welcoming spread of sausages, crepes, and bananas, which gave us the adequate fuel to hike up into the Usambara Mountains in inland Tanzania. The greenery that surrounded the trails were reminiscent of the forestry in a state such as North Carolina in the great smoky mountains, however, the shanty villages that peppered the hillsides did not draw such similar correlation. What remained was a shared understanding of the beauty of the landscape and a curious ambition to see this new ecosystem. We hiked our way through several villages and picturesque farms before we found ourselves on a cliff overlooking the valley the mountains held on its outcrop. It was beautifully picturesque and offered itself to be a great spot to take some photos and rest for a couple minutes. 

From there we descended back into the villages of the mountains, where after cutting into the center of a settlement, we sat for a lunch of local cuisine in a straw-roofed building. The spread was similar to much of the cuisine we had experienced in Africa so far, but was dotted with flavors of local intricacy that made it something entirely brand new at the same time. After our delicious meal (made incomplete without the available for purchase sprite) we walked outside of the hut to watch and participate in a local dance. Consisting of marching in a circle, leaving money in front of the drummers, and then having the locals split down to pick it up with their teeth all in rhythm, it was quite a fun experience, except for I was pulled in to dance by a local woman, who’s rhythm I could not match. 

We continued our hiking back towards our camp but we’re delighted to be interrupted several times along the way by chameleons. Now these were no ordinary chameleons, these were unlike any chameleon we could have dreamed of seeing before, no, these chameleons, were those endemic to the Usambara Mountains. Now as much as we tried to spot these six inch creatures in the trees, the duty faltered to our local guide to spot and point out the lizards, a skill none of us could quite get the hang of. It was fascinating to see these creatures morph their appearance as they inched from a green leaf to a brown stick, and to hear them hiss when they felt threatened by 20 curious faces looking on to them. So after marveling at a few specimen, we began more diligently hiking back to camp wherein we spent the rest of our afternoon. 

Alastair

Goodbye Serengeti

Yesterday we woke early for a quick breakfast and early game drive in the Serengeti. Serengeti is the Swahili word for endless, and at 5,700 square miles it sure felt endless. Our guide and driver was Emmanuel, who had worked as a ranger in the park for 6 years before becoming a commercial guide. It was nice to have driver that knows his way around and when certain animals will be active in certain parts of the park. We made it back to the campground for a brunch and a few hours of rest before our afternoon game drive. We lost track of all of the animals we saw. I can say that the only animal for which we looked with no success was the leopard. At one point Maggie was the first to spot a cheetah and her three cubs. Emmanuel made mention of the sighting on the CB and Land Cruisers started descending on us from all directions. 

Last night was a bit cold in the park which always leads to good sleeping, until the lions and other animals become active and you start wondering how close they are to your tent. 

This morning we broke camp for one last game drive on our way out of the Serengeti. We saw a pride of nine lions this morning just walking up for the day. It was fun watching them yawn and stretch just like house cats. Out of the park, we drove along the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater again, this time being able to see the view as there was no fog this time.

We made it back to Mto wa Mbu and set up camp before a much needed shower and some down time. This evening we met up with a local organization starting up efforts at cultural tourism. We visited a rice plantation, banana plantation, and banana brewer.  After a short walk through town, we were hosted to a dinner of local dishes. Not being an adventurous eater, I stuck to the rice, beef, and bread. 

The only down side to the last few days has been coming to the realization that we will have to cancel our plans to visit a health clinic and orphanage supported by our church in Zimbabwe. Apparently there is an election coming up and everyone assumes it will not go smoothly. When the conversation starts with the fact that we should stay very near the airport so we can leave in short notice and that the needed private security will be expensive, that’s all the discussion we needed to decide to change plans. I’m not sure what that will look like, but I’m sure we’ll figure it out. 

Tomorrow is a long drive into the mountains, with an early start, so it’s an early evening. Goodnight from Tanzania. Incidentally, I learned that we mispronounce the name of the country. 

- Dave 

Border crossing to Tanzania and entering the Serengeti

From yesterday (connectivity’s a little sketchy out here)

    We woke up and ate breakfast after we got our suitcases stowed in our lockers in our new van. Then we started our 10 hour day to get to our campsite in Tanzania. It didn’t take very long to get through security and a passport check to get into Tanzania and then we had lunch at a Chinese restaurant in a strip mall in Tanzania after getting baked goods at the super market. 

       Eventually we got to our campsite which was way nicer than we expected and we got assigned to our really durable tents and our comfortable sleeping mats. We set up and then we helped prepare dinner which was chicken and macaroni and cheese which was very good. Then we cleaned our dishes and got ready for bed.

       The next morning we woke up around 5, took down our tents, and moved our bags into jeeps for the next few days. It was just the 6 of us in a jeep with our tour guide and a driver and the roof of the jeep popped upward so we could look at and take pictures of animals. We drove through the Ngorongoro crater and we saw zebras, hippos, buffalo, warthogs, wildabeasts, elephants, gazelles, and rhinos. Then we drove to the Serengeti national park and we saw lots of gazelle, elephants, and giraffes. Then we got to our camp, set up our tents, and rested before dinner. 

- Magnolia

Nairobi Kenya

 We have experienced a blog gap because we had a massive travel day on Friday. We left our hotel in Jerusalem at 5:30am to get to Tel Aviv. A while back our connecting flight through Ethiopia was changed by the airline resulting in a 9 hour layover. Not a one of us was excited about it. When we checked in we were given vouchers for our layover in Addis Ababa for a day stay at a hotel and dinner. We still are a little unsure as to why they bus passengers out of the airport for long layovers. One of three explanations: no on-site services like dinning or enough seating for thousands of people to hang around all day, better passenger rights in Ethiopia, or something about visa requirements for stays in the airport over 8 hours. We really don’t know why we were bussed to a really nice hotel and given three rooms and a meal, but it was way better than sitting in an airport all day. Of note, social media banned in Ethiopia. We all felt a bit disconnected without it.

We fly in Saturday and land in Nairobi at 1:30am. No biggie, except the airline lost all 6 of our bags. Such a drag. You could literally see the shoulders of all six of us slump. We are pretty easy travelers but we were all instantly deflated. Took at least an hour to start the claim. To our hotel about 3:30am. Needless to say, none of us slept very well. First time the kids have seen a right side drive car and been driven on the left side of the road. That always feels odd.

Saturday morning Dave and I started pounding the phones, email, texts, and What’s App. In addition to Dave and I dialing every number we could find I had our travel insurance company working on it, our Israel tour company, Kenya tour company, and the receptionist at our hotel. We waited around the hotel most of the day hoping for word on our luggage. When no news came by 4pm we hoped in an Uber with the intention of replacing our most critical items: sleeping bags and camping pillow, long pants and warm jackets (as much as a 50 degree difference from Egypt/Jordan/Israel to Sub Saharan Africa). Luckily, text alerts started to roll in on our way to the mall that at least our bags had been scanned, somewhere, so we only bought toiletries and sweatshirts and grabbed some dinner. By the time we returned to the hotel we got news that the bags were found and Dave and I had a personal escort back to the airport to pick them up. Such an answer to prayer.

We attended worship at the International Christian Center this morning. We worshiped for two hours and were filled up with all the singing. Always fascinating to witness worship in a new community.

We hustled to a 1pm showing of the new Indiana Jones movie. Three thumbs down from me, Dave, and Alastair. The girls were indifferent. Not a raving review. I say skip it.

We leave in the morning for a long drive to Tanzania. We have a lot of unknowns about this second half of our summer. We are a little nervous and excited. Journey mercies as the McLains hit the road again.

Jll

That's a Wrap ... on North Africa and the Mid-East

We spent our last full day in Israel visiting some of the remaining Holy Land sights, completing the task of turning the kids into pilgrims. Among the sights today we covered: the Western Wall, Temple Mount, St. Anne’s church (birthplace of St. Mary), the Pools of Bethesda, the Way of the Cross, Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Jewish Quarter, the Upper Room, King David’s Tomb, St. Peter in Gallicantu, Gethsemane, Church of All Nations, St. Mary’s Tomb, the Grotto of Gethsemane, Chapel of the Ascension, Pater Noster Church, and Dominus Flevit. Obviously, we did not spend a tremendous amount of time at each site, but we would talk about why the location is important and what happened at each place.

Over the last few days I was able to visit with my family the locations where Jesus was born, where John baptized Jesus, where Jesus met and asked his disciples to follow him, where He lived and taught while living with Peter in Galilee, where He preached the Sermon on the Mount, where He multiplied the loaves and fish, where He taught his disciples the Lord's Prayer, where He wept for Jerusalem, where He healed a lame man at the Pools at Bethesda, where He shared the Last Supper with his disciples, where He prayed at Gethsemane was betrayed by Judas and arrested, where He was tried by the Sanhedrin at Caiaphas's home, where He spent the night in the pit before being taken to Pontius Pilate the next day, where He was condemned by Pontius Pilate, scourged, and given his cross to bear. We walked the Via Dolorosa, following Jesus's steps through the Old City from the Antonius Fortress to Golgotha. We stood where Jesus was stripped and nailed to the cross. We knelt at the rock where Jesus was crucified and died. We knelt and touched the stone where His body was prepared for burial. We spent time together in the tomb, from which Jesus was resurrected. We stood on the shore at Galilee where Jesus was seen by his disciples after His resurrection and saw the table where Jesus made them breakfast. Finally, we again knelt and touched the stone from which Jesus ascended into Heaven.

While it was a whirlwind tour through Israel, I am happy to have been here again, as a family, to experience this as a family, and to have this become part of our children's faith.  While I do not expect them to remember every fact or figure about what we've seen, I hope that as we sit in church listening to stories from the Bible, or when they read the Bible, they remember that they were there.  I want them to remember what it looked like, what it smelled like, what it felt like to walk in Jesus' footsteps.  

I am grateful beyond words to have had the opportunity to be here with my family to experience this as a family.

Dave

The Life and Death of Jesus

To start our first full day in Jerusalem and nearby Bethlehem, we started at what our usual departure time has become, 7:30. We started our day by driving up to a viewpoint on the old city of Jerusalem from which we could see such sights at the Dome of the Rock, Temple Mount, and The Church of the Holy Sepulcher. From there we departed to Bethlehem during which we passed through the wall which separated Israeli controlled Israel from Palestinian controlled Israel. There was a stark contrast between either side of the wall as it quickly went from the ancient city of David on one side to a refugee camp on the other, as well as a Banksy owned hotel accented by his own protest work on the wall across the street. We worked further into the camp and were met by simple concrete buildings, muted and inform, while still being cut through with works of Palestinian art calling for justice. After a quick stop in at a local artisans store, featuring jewelry crafted from the tear gas canisters that Israeli forces frequently litter the Palestinian area, were a nice sentiment to making the best of a very harsh situation. 

From there our day kept us inside of Bethlehem, but showcased to us a very different element that the city has to offer. We first drove and embarked from our van in the garage of a mall, before walking up the Main Street to The Church of Nativity, where Jesus Christ was born. It was a very powerful experience to have heard the story of Jesus’s birth in a manger for eighteen Christmases and be able to stand in and touch the place where he was born on a fated December night. The church was fairly quiet, and all of our sights in Israel for that matter, caused by recent unrest and militancy in the country. We continued on from there back through the checkpoint separating Israel and Palestine before having lunch in an organization for  the gypsy populations in Israel, whom served us a delicious spread of traditional Palestinian cuisine. 

The day, to this point in the day, it had been primarily uplifting seeing how challenged people in Israel were managing to make the best of a very difficult situation, coupled with the uplifting religious experience.  But from that point in the day we set off for Yad Vashem which is the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem, which offered a very difficult but necessary part of the Jewish story is Israel to understand. After an hour and a half of diligent learning and trying my best to understand the situation as fully as I could, we departed for The Church of the Holy Sepulcher. We were lucky enough to go at a point in the day where we were greeted with short or no line for the rocks on which Jesus’s body was prepared to be buried and on which he was crucified. We continued on through the church to see the tomb of Jesus, and after about a fifteen minute wait outside of the tomb, we were able to make it inside. 

This part of the day was exceptional, and exceptionally moving for the soul, as the Christian faith is built upon the resurrection of Jesus, and I was able to see the tomb in which this happened, in which my faith is based. It was an astonishingly powerful day spiritually, as I could experience the birth and the death of Jesus Christ within the same ancient city that he had strode thousands of years ago. After that, the rest of the day was much more mundane comparatively, as we went out for a nice calm dinner before retiring to the hotel for the night. 

Alastair

The Jordan River is chilly and cold.

Every time I feel the spirit 

Movin’ in my heart
I will pray
Every time I feel the spirit
Movin’ in my heart
I will pray
Up on the mountains my Lord spoke

Out of His mouth came fire and smoke
Looked all around me, it looked so fine
I asked the Lord could it be mine
Every time I feel the spirit
Movin’ in my heart I will pray
Every time I feel the spirit
Movin' in my heart I will pray
The Jordan river is chilly and cold.

It chills the body but not the soul.
There ain’t but one
train upon this track.
It runs to heaven and then right back.
Every time I feel the spirit

Movin’ in my heart I will pray
Every time I feel the spirit
Movin' in my heart I will pray

Dave can’t help but sing this very old song every time the Jordan River is referenced. Today we visited the site of Jesus’ baptism and tried to imagine the Jordan River a whole lot wider and cleaner than it is today. The Jordan River shrinks in size every year and gets a bit more polluted, but our appreciation for the chance to stand on its banks was heartfelt. 

Next stop for the day, Masada National Park. Herod built two palaces for himself on the mountain and fortified Masada between 37 and 31 BCE. The siege by Roman troops from 73 to 74 CE, ended in the mass suicide of the 960 rebels who were hiding there. 

Dave and I visited this site 3 years ago so it was fun to come back and share it with the kids. I am certain it was hotter this time with temps in the 90s. I loved hiking around with the kids but we were all worn out by lunchtime.

Day ended with a few hours at the Israel Museum which features the Dead Sea Scrolls and a walk around the Machane Yehuda Market in West Jerusalem. Good times had by all.

Jll

 

Blessed are the…

Blessed are the McLains. It is such an amazing thing to be in the Holly Land as a family and walking in the same footsteps as Jesus and the disciples. 

Today we visited the same holy sites we visited three years ago, but today the kids were present. We saw the Mount of Beatitudes where Jesus gave the sermon on the mount. The church of the multiplication (the loaves and the fishes), Peter’s Primacy (Mensa Christi) and Capernaum. I am grateful that I can see these ancient sites again. I am hopeful the impact will cause the Bible stories my children have heard to come alive for them the way they have for me. Being here is such a gift.

Some fun things about today included a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, water slides in our hotel pool which launched us halfway across the kiddie pool, and spoons (with straws) with our new friends. For those keeping track, we are up to 4 seas visited; Red, Dead, Mediterranean, and Galilee. 

This region is in conflict tonight and I go to sleep with the Beatitudes as a reminder.

• Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
• Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land.
• Blessed are they who mourn: for they shall be comforted.
• Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill.
• Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
• Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God.
• Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
• Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

July 2

 We started our day with a visit to an underground crusaders city named Akko. When the crusaders left the city local Arabs filled the town with dirt and built another city on top. We took an audio guided tour through the town and visited some of the common spaces. In its time it was the center for trade. We had lunch at a local restaurant. We visited a local mosque called Aljazar masque. We walked around and learned about bits of the religion. We then headed the the city of Nazareth where we visited the basilica of the annunciation. This church is built on top of the city of Nazareth. In the center of the church is the cave in which the angel Gabriel told Mary she was pregnant. It was a very beautiful church with mosaics of Mary from many countries. Also under the church was a room above what is believed to be Joseph and Mary’s house. We then got back into our bus and headed towards the Sea of Galilee where we are staying tonight. That’s all

-dagny

Tel Aviv, Gelato, Haifa, Gelato

 We woke up this morning in Tel Aviv and ate breads, bad cereal, and coffee/tea before loading into our van and beginning our drive to Haifa. Our first stop along the way was in Jaffa, a historic part of town from which the city of Tel Aviv sprouted from the original 66 homes. We were able to see Saint Peter’s Church where a service was being held. We visited Simon the Tanner’s House which is mentioned in the Bible and saw the ancient port where we found some gelato and coffee. I chose mascarpone and strawberry flavored gelato. We walked back up the hill to view the old clock tower and then reunited with our van.

We made our way to a Druze town where we were hosted for lunch by Elaina and Tahsin. We had pita, hummus, rice, chicken, and Harissa which is a cake. We got to see their property on Mount Carmel and Alastair dipped his toes in their pool. We continued on to Haifa where we visited the Baha’i Gardens before getting to our hotel.

We had some downtime and then we went out with our group to a restaurant named Take It Iza. We had really yummy foods, laughed a lot, and then we found more gelato. This time, mom and I shared some salted caramel.

Adelaide