110 Degrees

Today was 110 degrees, so naturally, a great day to spend outside. (Hey, did I hear you complaining Evan?) So off we went to find a desert oasis to take a break from the heat. The Sachne (Gan HaShloshim) is one of my favorite places in Israel. The cousins agreed to take us (and join us), but only if we agreed to get up by 6am to find a parking spot and grab a shaded spot under a tree. We have no idea what time it is anyways so didn't matter much to us!

The pools at the Sachne are fed by a natural spring and flow through the park via the Amal Stream. It is a really beautiful place to see with Mt Gilboa in the back and greenery surrounding it. It was actually named one of the most beautiful parks in the world by Time Magazine. Some people even believe that the Sachne is the real-world location of the garden of Eden. (I guess no one knows where it actually was?!)

So off Sophie went to find a snake and apple. While we didn't find either of those, but the kids were in for quite a surprise. There are many beautiful fish to see under the crystal clear turquoise water. What they were not expecting though, were the fish, known as Garra rufa. These fish are known for nibbling on dead skin on your feet and many refer to it this a "fish pedicure" experience. Evan and I actually paid good money while in China for this experience!

Once the kids got over the fact that the fish would be cleaning their feet, we explored the grounds. There are deep pools, shallow pools, waterfalls, rivers, caves and lots of nooks and crannies to explore. We left not one untouched. After a good few hours, we broke for lunch.

Israelis know how to picnic like none other. We're not talking a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and chips here. They come with full meals; schnitzel, potatoes, green beans, pots of corn, smoked pastrami, jachnoon, grapes, plums, humus, pita - the list goes on and on. The kids tried a few new things again today, smoked pastrami and Kabbanos (a thin, dry, smoky sausage snack.) Neither of them will be making the strict cut of foods they will eat. Yesterday they tried a sabra, jachnoon and zatar. Sabra is the only one that made the cut (and only for Theo.)

After lunch we headed down the river to explore more and Sophie started collecting rocks. These rocks, however looked like nothing we had seen before. Each rock had multiple layers and colors of stripes and designs. We even found what looked like petrified coral. We spent some time collecting the most beautiful ones and headed back to the shade for some ice cream.

We later learned that what we found was in fact petrified coral and sedimentary rock layers, often limestone and dolomite  from the Cretaceous period deposited in thin layers over millions of years when the area was covered by a shallow sea.

This was the moment I had been waiting for. Chocobo time! My absolute favorite ice cream, only found in Israel. We headed over to the snack bar and each got a frozen treat. You had exactly 2.7 seconds to eat the entire thing before it would melt in your hand. Challenge accepted.

We headed back to Nira's house in Tzur Yigal, happy to be in the car with AC going to their home with AC. Sophie and Theo took a nice nap on the way home. Once back, Sophie sorted through her petrified rocks, Theo went straight into the AC, Evan stretched himself out passed out on the grass and I went to check out the fruit trees in the backyard: mango, pomegranate, avocado, lemon, and orange! Quite an array. 

The heat finally caught up to us and inside we went.