Hamat Gader
Thursday night was awesome! Some friends and we went out to Hamat Gader, some ancient natural hot springs. It was loads of fun, though if you're imagining us in nature, well, think again. The water was piped into pools, and when I say "pool" think the city's public pool you paid $1 to get into during your childhood. Granted we paid more than that, and granted in some ways it was nicer, but not by too much.
It was on the edge of the Sea of Galilea - not at all far from Jordan. There are actually ancient Greek ruins there as well - that's how long the spot has been known for its hot springs. We packed dinner for ourselves (well, Krisia did - thank you!! she works in the gardens - starts work earlier than ourselves, and therefore gets off earlier, too.)
There were three pools: warm, warmer, and hot. The first two were outdoor pools, with a few 'side attractions' - a jet stream you could lie in, a 'bubble' pool, where the air bubbled up from the floor & a waterfall you could sit under. Those were all fun. We decided to try the hot pool, which was indoors. We walked in, and wow - well, it was obvious that few women went in there. And here we were, 4 women and one man ... and few of us looked like we were Israelis (Me & Mark from the States, a woman from Mexico, another from New Zealand and one from Bermuda). Yeah, we got stares - a lot of them. In fact, somehow after we left the hot pool those stares followed us. I don't know if they were the same people, but the stares continued. It didn't stop us, but I really wanted to walk up to a few and slap 'em upside the head.
I remember my younger brother, Mendon, coming home in about 8th grade enraged. I asked him what was wrong, and his reply was this: "Hasn't anyone ever told these guys it's rude to stare at girls?!??!" He was absolutely incredulous. Mendon, you rock! No, they haven't, and apparently no one has told these people, either. Ugh.
Anyway, in spite of the stares we had loads of fun. I was in the changing room afterward and it was really a study in contrasts. They had showers with private changing areas, and then a large open area with benches. At one end were women changing in the open - taking off their bathing suit and changing back into clothes, and at the other was a woman totally covered from head to foot - robes, headscarf ... the whole kit'n'kaboodle. Each set of women seemed to be equally shocked by the other. It amused me.