Our first stop today was the oldest Kibbutz in the Golan, where we had a big discussion with a couple living there (Dror and Ronnie) about the political situation in the Golan. Ronnie was a moderate, saying she was prepared to give up her home for peace; but Dror was as hard-right as they come, saying: "let the Australians give their country back to the Aborigines; the Americans give it back to the Indians, etc; then maybe I'll give up my land".
Banias vulture parkI was extremely outspoken (as usual), saying vehemently that we can't have peace without giving Syria land. The fact that Syria has already been offered the Golan twice, and has refused it, does not help the situation.
Manara cable carAfter this debate at the kibbutz, we travelled to a natural park: I slept on the bus on the way there. [We hiked through the park] We stopped at a vulture lookout on the way back, and saw a few vultures wheeling in the sky. Nim explained why their numbers have declined, and how feeding stations and the preservation of their nesting cliffs has helped to reverse this situation.
Hula valley from atop ManaraIt started pouring with rain, and we had lunch undercover just when it started bucketing. Then it was back on the bus: I slept again on our return journey. We went to the Naot shoe factory, where we shopped around and had a look at shoes.
Gee, I wonder what that sign means?Our last activity of the day was the cable car. We went all the way up the ridge overlooking the Hula Valley, and took some photos at the top. I got a photo with a really funny sign of a person falling off a cliff.