We spent our morning hiking in the Golan Heights, swimming in a freshwater spring, and taking in the beautiful views of the vast desert.

We made our way to a shimmering pool of water fed by a picturesque waterfall.

We then trekked up to the bus on a short and sweet climb up broken rocks that served as a natural staircase. It was beautiful.

The highlight of the day was when we were surprised with a trip to the home of an Israeli participant who lives on a Kibbutz nearby. It was so special to learn about this aspect of Israeli life and get the inside scoop of what it's like to live on a Kibbutz up North.

I'm learning so much about Israeli culture from the Israelis on our trip.

The hike to the waterfall was my favorite part of today. There were so many canopies full of more flowers than I had ever seen at once protecting streams beneath that were so captivatingly beautiful, it was hard to keep moving at times; all I wanted to do was stare and stare and stare. It's hard to think of a more blissful moment I've felt than floating underneath that waterfall, hearing only my breath and the sound of pouring water. I was with a group of people who took their time getting to the waterfall, but although we may have held up the group a bit, it was worth it. I have never shared more laughs or felt so inexplicably happy.

We spent a magnificent hour singing, splashing, and heading down the waterfall. Just when we thought the day couldn't get any more eventful, it was time to dance. An evening filled with laughter, dancing, and most importantly schvitzing, we had successfully learned 4 dances of our Jewish heritage whereby the majority of us made it out unscathed (one of us got a bit overly excited and hit the deck). 

There are certain things in life that when you finally reach the pot at the end of the rainbow, you know the journey was worth it, and this was one of those things. Words just can't truly describe the waterfall and my attemps to describe it will not do it justice, but I felt so lucky watching my new and old friends dive in to refresh in one of nature's amazing gifts. It was honestly a perfect afternoon. 

Hiking and seeing the beautiful scenery was my favorite part of today. I can't wait for the beach tomorrow!