Today we spent the day mostly around Galilee. We saw the place in Cana where (tradition tells us) Jesus worked his first miracle. We went to Sepphoris where there was a Roman city inhabited primary by Jews. Lots of interesting mosaics (these weren't apparently the most devout Jews). We went to the Basilica of the Annunciation (right across from our hotel), and celebrated Mass there. We saw Mt. Tabor (eventually we'll visit it), Mt. Hermon, and Caesarea Philippi, where Peter made his confession of faith ("You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God"). As it turns out, the actual place this happened, which we visited, was a shrine to the god Pan. There were other pagan shrines in the area, and a monument to Caesar. Puts a new spin on the whole context of the thing. We saw the Sea of Galilee, and the Mount of Precipice, where the Nazoreans tried to throw Jesus off the mountain when he read the scroll and pointed out that the Gentiles are worthy of salvation.
By the way, did you know that goats, when they eat, will attempt to shred and destroy the bush they're eating when they are done with it, so that no other animal may eat it, and they will muddy the waters when they are done drinking, for the same purpose? Puts a new light on the idea of judging between the sheep and the goats.
Here's a first photo: Eric on a camel.