Haifa Trip (1)--The ZOO!

(AKKO)

So by now this was actually two weekends ago, but it is certainly worth sharing...I think it was my favorite weekend in Israel so far. We took the midnight bus Thursday night from Eilat to Haifa....that is a 5 and a half hour ride. We didn't want to waste daytime getting up there so we thought this was a good idea. Ultimately it was a good idea, but when I was squirming around trying to get comfortable on the bus I wouldn't have said that. Usually I am amazing and can sleep as soon as I sit down, but this time...no such luck. Well anyway, we made it to Haifa, took another bus to a different station where Ben's family friend Eli picked us up (7:30am). We then traveled by car to Akko, which is the next city north of Haifa (well, maybe not the very next, but it is north), where we proceeded to eat a breakfast of...Hummous. Hummous Said (pronounced who-moose Sigh-eed) is supposedly the very best in Israel, I beg to differ. I didn't even like it that much. Really the whole place had a weird feel to it...all the other hummous places I have been to are small and kind of intimate, but this place was like a diner. Super busy, mass production (they did make everything though, even the pitas), and a quick in and out meal. However, this is not what Ben experienced the first time he went there (although he agreed with me on this visit) so perhaps it was the early morning grogginess of the bus ride or the fact that we were eating it for breakfast. If I make it up to Akko again..I'll give it another try.

Anyhooo, after our breakfast we ran into someone that Eli knew and he gave us a boat tour of the beach at Akko..what a nice surprise. Actually, the surprise was this...don't look too close.

After Akko, we took a sheroot (van/bus/taxi) to our hotel back in Haifa..Hotel Eden. This hotel used to be a hostel and in reality still had the feel of one...I liked it a lot. We had a nice room with a shower and our toilet was in a little room out on the balcony. Coming from our tiny Eilat apartment most rooms we stay in feel rather large, and this one had plenty of windows. It was a pleasant place.

The big adventure for the day was the Haifa Educational Zoo. We went soon after we got to the hotel so that we couldn't get too tired before continuing the day.

Highlights/Comments from the Zoo

1. It was fairly uncrowded because it was Friday afternoon. It was an Arabic holiday so most people that were there were Arab.

2. Most people just disregarded the signs and fed the animals! Ben stopped one man from letting his kids feed the otters Bamba, basically peanut puffs filled with preservatives...it was good of him.

3. Cats can be HUGE!! Their paws are bigger than my face, yikes.

4. The bird area was enclosed but you walk through it..out the open....available...unprotected.... BAIT! Needless to say, I went through that area rather quickly. Actually there were two such areas, one much scarier than the other. The flamingos were alright and got distracted easily, but the vultures (yes again) and eagles, and big, big, (ugly) birds, just kept their eyes on you as you moved from one end of the area to the other...and unfortunately, back again. However, it was in the first area, the one I thought was safer, when we went back through to head out of the zoo, that a huge pinkish pelican swung its head around quickly in our direction and I ran...didn't even stay long enough to find out that soon after it started nipping at the hem of the woman's skirt who had been standing next to me! These things are not small creatures.

5. The lemur exhibit was rather interesting. We made sure to get to the zoo just in time for the opening of the area, when you are allowed to have the animals touch you. Not the other way around though...kind of like stripping I think (not that I would really know):) Unfortunately, the lemurs were rather lazy that day and none of them really wanted anything but the food that they were being given. They were pretty cute though. They grabbed fistfuls of food out of the bowl and then ate it out of their hands. It was very human somehow..kind of creepy and cute at the same time...hmm.

I think the pictures that Ben took can explain the rest...he did a good job and caught some animals in ridiculous positions!

Mom, now would be a good time NOT to look :) I was hesitant at first, but it really wasn't that bad!

The rest of Friday was relaxing. We made our way back to the hotel where we napped for a few hours and then wandered around Haifa for a few hours looking for food, which we finally found in the form of another hummous place (they had other things, we couldn't stand the thought of more hummous at that point, well at least I couldn't). It was a fun evening exploring on a Friday night when most people are not out on the streets.

Part 2 will be coming soon as we explore the Baha'i Gardens!