Coming to Cana (Where Jesus Turned Water to Wine at a Wedding)

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It was just after midnight when I awoke, very much awake, and rose and spent about three hours writing the blog from our first full day in the Holy Land. I had slept quite soundly, and after finishing the blog, continued with some sound sleep, anticipating another 6 AM wakeup call that had been placed for our group. We’d missed the excitement of one of our fellow travelers who had managed to get locked in the bathroom late during the night and needed to summon help by pounding on the wall. I’m thinking that this being a pilgrim is pretty rough stuff. At about a quarter to six I awoke again from a sound sleep and asked myself, is that really a jack ass braying at dawn? They have a wakeup donkey here in the Holy Land! We never did get a real wakeup call over the phone, and we almost convinced ourselves that we didn’t have a phone so it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. My handy smart phone did alert us when it was time to rise.

The accommodations are plain and simple. There’s a bottom bed sheet on each of our twin beds. Then there is the European style combination comforter/sheet/top thing, but no top sheet to tuck in. And one plump down pillow which Sharon had managed to reach over and remove from my twin be before I returned from writing the blog. The sliding shower door doesn’t move easily (or at all) for our shower stall. This morning the water took forever to get to tepid, and at first I told Sharon there was no hot water at all after trying all positions of the single action water control lever on the flexible shower attachment and hand spray. This was quite a change from the ultra-modern shower with overhead rain fixture at the Ramada Travel Inn the night before (although even it was just tall enough for me to fit completely under without too much concern for bumping my head at a fraction over six feet. This shower wasn’t that, and really showed its age. With the single exception of the shower, I will say that everything looked clean and well maintained, but the shower definitely gives this place for me that popular youth-hostile look. And so far there are three door issues our group has encountered.

Breakfast is officially served starting at 7 AM, but this seems to be the open on or before time. The door to the buffet opens when the food is ready to serve. They had lots of many kinds of cheese, some served in triangle wedges, some in blocks where you cut off a small slice, some in bowls because its runny (e.g. Cottage cheese) and of course popular for this region Feta Cheese. There was sliced ham, scrambled eggs and plump hot wiener dogs, all of which I tried a small helping of; while, Sharon samples some eggs There were a couple kinds of bread, and then I saw the do-it-yourself self-serve, self-squeeze orange juice machine. The lady ahead of me told me that it took two oranges to fill the small juice glass (both of which I had to slice myself on the marble slab with the serrated bread knife. Just place the half-orange over the orange-squeezer insert that was riddled with tiny holes to allow the juice to drain through to the glass beneath the unit when you pressed down on the squeezing lever in one movement (but watch out for those fingers centering the orange in the press). The juice came out very watery looking compared to what fresh squeezed orange juice looks in the States, more like lemonade, and it wasn’t nearly as sweet as I expected (or hoped). We sat with Erin and Dennis, who had obviously come in earlier and were already cleaning their plates. I decided to go and supplement my meal with a bowl of cereal. The choice seemed to be corn flakes, raisin bran flakes, and something that looked like milk duds. The cereal was dispensed from tall cylindrical glass containers using a rotating portion control. I tried “two scoops”, then added some pumpkin seeds and sun flower seeds before adding the only choice whole milk. There were other fruity supplements as well which I opted to skip, as well as brown sugar. I will have to look to see if they have honey tomorrow because what I had was very good, but it needed something to get to that muesli-like dish I enjoyed last time Sharon and I where on a cruise. Everyone was commenting on being awakened to the sound of hee-haw in the morning. It somehow seems appropriate on a pilgrimage with that whole barnyard and manger thing in the Holy Land going for it. Out the dining room window we were catching our first daylight glimpses of the Sea of Galilee, a fresh water lake actually, that we were to learn later this day is actually 700 feet below sea level. I commented to Dennis that somehow the Sea of Galilee wasn’t as big as I’d expected, with the far side clearly visible and really not so far off. It did really look like just another typical small lake; but, then “The Lake of Galilee” just doesn’t have that ring that conjured up so many impressionable stories from the Bible. Dennis nodded in agreement, and chuckled when I said, “I mean it really does look like anybody could walk on that.”

One couple on the other bus obviously didn’t hear the donkey, and didn’t wake up until two minutes before eight when we were already on our bus. We’re starting out today visiting the site of the first Luminous Mystery where Jesus turned the water in wine. His mother Mary and he were attending the wedding of one of his friends, when Mary informed Jesus that there wasn’t enough wine to serve all of the wedding guests, which, back in the day was a very big faux pa. Jesus told Mary to tell the servants to fill each of six jugs (each holding about thirty gallons) with water and then to give some of that to the steward who deemed it the finest wine.

We entered to courtyard in front of the Church of Cala after walking down some vendor lined side streets where our guide informed us local wine can be purchased, although it tends to be sweet and Israel makes better wine elsewhere. The church is maintained by an order of Franciscan nuns. Chairs were arranged on either side of the alter, and the twenty-one couples renewing their vows were asked to wait in front of the church until the archbishop and priests and donned their vestments. There was much pomp and circumstance as we strode hand in hand down the aisle. Dennis had been charged with taking pictures with Sharon’s camera. This was the first time we’d seen the archbishop in his colorful robe and tall formal pointy archbishop hat. He gave a very nice and meaningful vow renewal speech. Each husband the repeated the vow to his wife; and, then she to her husband. The Archbishop then blessed the rings. Although not specifically sanctioned in Catholic wedding ceremonies each couple then also kissed, and who am I to stand on ceremony. Each couple then got the chance to have their picture taken with the archbishop. I was surprised to see one of the grooms wearing cargo shorts, since Sharon’s comment to me when I was packing was that I probably wouldn’t get a chance to wear those (my cargo shorts) where we were going.

We headed to Nazareth to visit the site of the first Joyful Mystery, the Church of the Annunciation. This is the place where the Holy Spirit visited Mary and informed her that she had been chosen to be the mother of the Son of God. Some people mistakenly believe that this is where the Immaculate Conception if foretold; but, in fact the Immaculate Conception has already occurred because it is in reference to the birth of Mary and not Jesus. This church also has a courtyard and the inside wall is lined with many mosaic or other works of art donated by various nations. I was surprised to see one from China, and also one from Vietnam and another from the Vatican. After getting inside we discovered that was to be held in a level just a few steps to get upstairs. Dennis and I were planning to carry the scooter up the winding stair case believing it to be just a few steps. Someone who didn’t speak English was gesturing what we thought was an alternate way that the scooter could make by being driven; but, Erin had already left with a monk to take the elevator up. Those few short steps wound around and around and Dennis commented at the top “That was more than a few steps.” Okay, that was my workout for today. Finally getting a chance to catch our breath at the rear of this massive church we discovered that its walls two were lined with even larger works of art from other nations, including a very modern looking sculpted piece of the Virgin Mary. Sharon and Erin walked around to the front section separated from the rear by a wrought iron divide to attend the mass. I decided to stay back with Dennis and take pictures inside this impressive church and modern looking concrete walls. Presided over by the archbishop, the mass was quite impressive, and a number of groups came through the rear to watch. Mary, who was in charge of the music, had her hands full playing the organ with its massive overhead pipes. I talked with her after the mass and asked her how she enjoyed playing such an instrument, and her eyes rolled, having had no time to practice, and unsure how the stops would work. During the closing hymn she had to contend with the church chimes informing all within its range that it was noon. I noticed that the groom from earlier with the cargo shorts was now walking around with a blanket draped around him like a skirt.

Lunch was just across the street at the Holy Land Restaurant. Oh woe to me, there are many more steps. I grabbed the front of the scooter and managed to pinch my ring finger nail quite badly. We did manage to get the scooter downstairs though. Our group filled the entry room with its many tables for six. Before us was a large plate, atop that a smaller plate and atop that a bow. The server came around with a cauldron and ladled large helpings of soup into everyone’s bowls. It looked and smelled like lemon orzo soup; but, it was very light on the orzo and soup was quite more a thin broth. Sharon ate half of hers; but, I finished it. The bowls were bussed away and then spaghetti plopped on everyone’s plate, and the kind of spaghetti Sharon could eat: noodles, a tiny bit of meat, only a smidgeon of beef sauce with virtually no hint of tomato. Sharon cleaned her plate not realizing that this was just the start of lunch. I don’t know what she thought the purpose of the plate was to be. It was for potatoes, carrots, and beef (and plenty of each). A plate of macaroons was brought by for the table. Since Sharon and the other couple seated with the four of us didn’t like coconut, Erin, Dennis and I each enjoyed what I believe to be two of the best coconut macaroons that I’ve ever had.

It was now time to drive back down to the Sea of Galilee. I was puzzling over the sign I saw while we were headed towards the body of water below about the sign that said “Sea Level”. The monk then informed us about the Sea of Galilee being over 700 feet below sea level. Our first stop was at the location where the Primacy of Peter was announced by Jesus after his resurrection. Here there are beautiful gardens and green tree lined areas by the sea, and a shrine containing the stone where fish were barbequed for the apostles. This is where Jesus charged Peter as the one responsible for continuing his ministry. This is a point of contention with Orthodox Christianity, and the subject of Pope Francis’s recent visit to Turkey to try and resolve these differences. The monk gave a very nice talk, combining his story with excerpts from the Bible and only occasionally referencing his smart phone for passages. I decided to go down to the water’s edge and touch the Sea of Galilee. Sharon was going to join me, but stopped when it got rocky with stones near the water. She did take a picture of me, however.

Our final stop of the day was at the Church of the Loaves and Fish, on the site where Jesus fed the multitudes with two fish and five loaves of bread, and there was much to spare. This site is part of the Pilgerhaus property, with the modern church built in the 1980’s on the ruins of the older church. The church contains an interior courtyard with a koi pond and placards on the wall showing the chronology of major socio-political changes in the region over the last two millennia. For someone like myself from the US whose country’s history goes back just a few hundred years, it’s something to appreciate what it must be like for those living in places such as this whose richly diverse history stretches back multiple thousands of years.

We got back to the Pilgerhaus with more than an hour before dinner. We joined Erin and Dennis outside .on a very pleasant evening at a table by the outside bar. Dinner really did start at 7 PM tonight (well maybe a couple of minutes earlier). Sharon had not expected to see any pork during meals in Israel. But as the guide pointed out yesterday, not everyone in Israel is Jewish. He had noted that Tel Aviv is an extremely secular community, focused on business (and not religion). Most countries have moved their embassies to Tel Aviv (from Jerusalem) preferring to hedge their bets on what any future settlement of Palestinian claims in disputed territories. In addition to Jewish areas, there are also Christian, Muslim and Armenian areas or neighborhoods. Tonight’s main entrée was pork chops, and I also mentioned the ham served for breakfast. I sampled some pickled garlic beets (I’m really getting adventurous). And I also picked on of those pickled green chilis, only tonight there was no puree of the green chili. It really packed some spicy heat that stayed with me for some time. I also enjoyed the turkey with curry over rice. For dessert, the chocolate mousse pie was very good; although, I’m sure Sharon will argue that it was a chocolate pudding pie. Okay, so I also got the tapioca pudding, but I needed to do something to chill the after effects of that chili pepper that I ate.

Bandwidth is still too slow here to upload photos so will post this without them and hope to get them uploaded tomorrow when we'll be at a new hotel.

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Comments

[julie]

sweet
Awwwhh, so very sweet, memorable (& very clever) to have your wedding vows renewed on the trip - always a reminder to Sharon during an argument that you are too sentimental about her & your marriage & OMG but thank you for not wearing shorts - geeze - that groom needed his mother to dress him - I've been concerned (unless I missed it) about the singing nun getting her guitar back -