Wednesday, November 5th
Day 3
The next morning we were up at 5:00 am in order to shower, dress, pack our bags, and be at breakfast by 6:30 for our first full day in Israel. We brought our bags down to the lobby, leaving the handles extended, as our tour guide had advised us to do yesterday. That was meant to signal the porters to load them into the bus. There were three busses for our tour group of approximately 150 people. We were assigned to the “blue bus.” Everyone was told to be on their designated bus by 7:45 am.
Each of the busses had their own guide. Our Jaffa tour guide was now the blue bus guide. However, many of today’s bus-mates had not been on our tour bus the previous day. Shelley and I had befriended two couples in Jaffa (Dave and Kelly, and Dirk and Joy) who were not assigned to the blue bus. However, we were able to stay connected with them, and with other people we had met, over meals and at tour stops throughout the journey.
In what would become a recurring theme, a few late arrivals delayed the blue bus departure by 20 minutes. While we were sitting in the bus waiting, a porter called out my name. He informed me that I had failed to load our bags, but that he would take care of them. That seemed strange to us, as it did not align with what our Jaffa tour guide had previously told us. We checked with people seated nearby. They had been told to simply bring their bags to the bus. This was very different than our instructions.
Our route began along the Sharon Plains (1 Chronicles 27:29; and Acts 9:35) and the Mediterranean Sea. We headed north into the Galilee region, to the ancient city of Caesarea. This is where Paul stood before governor Festus, king Agrippa, and Bernice (Acts 25:23-26:31), and where Peter baptized Cornelius (Acts 10: 47-48). We saw a restored Roman theater (see first two pictures below), and visited the shore near where Paul was taken to Rome (Acts 27:1-2). We rode to the top of Mt. Carmel where YAHWEH used Elijah as He destroyed Baal’s prophets (1 Kings 18:19-40). Next, we journeyed to the ancient city of Jezreel (see 2 Samuel 4; 1 Kings 18, 21; 2 Kings 8, 9; and 2 Samuel 2). We also viewed the Naboth vineyards (1 Kings 21; and 2 Kings 9), the Jezreel Valley (Joshua 17, 19; Judges 6; and 1 Samuel 29), and the region of the town of En-dor (Psalm 83:10; Joshua 17:11; and 1 Samuel 28).
Throughout the day, Shelley and I noticed that our tour guide seemed to be struggling to find the correct words to complete some of his statements. We ended the day’s tour with relevant teaching, praise, and worship overlooking the Sea of Galilee. See the beautiful picture below of the moon that evening and its reflection on the Sea. Eleven hours after our day had begun, we enjoyed another dinner buffet, then spent the night in our second hotel. This one was near the Sea of Galilee.
Ceasarea Entrance
Ceasarea Theater
Worship at Sea of Galilee
Copyright 2025 Rich O’Brien
Israel – Day 3
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Posted: December 6, 2025 by OBrien Rich
Wednesday, November 5th
Day 3
The next morning we were up at 5:00 am in order to shower, dress, pack our bags, and be at breakfast by 6:30 for our first full day in Israel. We brought our bags down to the lobby, leaving the handles extended, as our tour guide had advised us to do yesterday. That was meant to signal the porters to load them into the bus. There were three busses for our tour group of approximately 150 people. We were assigned to the “blue bus.” Everyone was told to be on their designated bus by 7:45 am.
Each of the busses had their own guide. Our Jaffa tour guide was now the blue bus guide. However, many of today’s bus-mates had not been on our tour bus the previous day. Shelley and I had befriended two couples in Jaffa (Dave and Kelly, and Dirk and Joy) who were not assigned to the blue bus. However, we were able to stay connected with them, and with other people we had met, over meals and at tour stops throughout the journey.
In what would become a recurring theme, a few late arrivals delayed the blue bus departure by 20 minutes. While we were sitting in the bus waiting, a porter called out my name. He informed me that I had failed to load our bags, but that he would take care of them. That seemed strange to us, as it did not align with what our Jaffa tour guide had previously told us. We checked with people seated nearby. They had been told to simply bring their bags to the bus. This was very different than our instructions.
Our route began along the Sharon Plains (1 Chronicles 27:29; and Acts 9:35) and the Mediterranean Sea. We headed north into the Galilee region, to the ancient city of Caesarea. This is where Paul stood before governor Festus, king Agrippa, and Bernice (Acts 25:23-26:31), and where Peter baptized Cornelius (Acts 10: 47-48). We saw a restored Roman theater (see first two pictures below), and visited the shore near where Paul was taken to Rome (Acts 27:1-2). We rode to the top of Mt. Carmel where YAHWEH used Elijah as He destroyed Baal’s prophets (1 Kings 18:19-40). Next, we journeyed to the ancient city of Jezreel (see 2 Samuel 4; 1 Kings 18, 21; 2 Kings 8, 9; and 2 Samuel 2). We also viewed the Naboth vineyards (1 Kings 21; and 2 Kings 9), the Jezreel Valley (Joshua 17, 19; Judges 6; and 1 Samuel 29), and the region of the town of En-dor (Psalm 83:10; Joshua 17:11; and 1 Samuel 28).
Throughout the day, Shelley and I noticed that our tour guide seemed to be struggling to find the correct words to complete some of his statements. We ended the day’s tour with relevant teaching, praise, and worship overlooking the Sea of Galilee. See the beautiful picture below of the moon that evening and its reflection on the Sea. Eleven hours after our day had begun, we enjoyed another dinner buffet, then spent the night in our second hotel. This one was near the Sea of Galilee.
Ceasarea Entrance
Ceasarea Theater
Worship at Sea of Galilee
Copyright 2025 Rich O’Brien
Category: Blog