Shvil Yisrael -- Arena Mall to Tel Baruch

It's raining and nasty out today, but last Thursday we did another 2 kilometers of the Israel National Trail. Yeah, at 2 kilometers a stretch we'll be doing this for the rest of our lives, but at least it's something.

The Israel National Trail detours from the coast for a kilometer or so to scoot around the Herzliya marina and the Arena Mall. Following the sidewalk, you pass a memorial to a parachutist, Yossi Cooper, who crashed and was killed. Roadside memorials are not uncommon in Israel, but they can vary from a pile of rocks with a makeshift sign, such as you'll see at the bus stop outside Ariel, to elaborate constructions calling for metal thieves to plunder them. In other countries I've visited, such as Greece, they are much more uniform and institutionalized.


It feels odd to be doing a "nature hike" at the edge of a city, though the edge is not very busy.

After about a kilometer you go back onto the beach. Very soon thereafter you're walking the separate-sex beach. I'm not sure what Trail walkers are supposed to do during the summer--is there an alternate route, or are they expected to only use the Trail during non-daylight hours (or winter, as we did)?

Just because The Spouse wants me to post this:

The separate beach has bathing and bathroom facilities. No, they are not open in the winter. note teh man and the car on the top of the bluff to the left of the picture. I wonder if he could also get so close during the summer, and if so, what's the point of the separate beach?

The end of the walk. You can see the buildings of Tel Aviv in the background.

And once you turn around, you can see teh Herzeliya marina in teh background. Like I said, short walk.

Obviously, after last week's 1970s style lifeguard stand, you can see that there are no standards when it comes to the stands.

Did someone forget to bring in the last of the laundry at the end of last season?

Sunset over the Herzliya marina.