Israel: Hammat Gader

Hammat Gader was perhaps the most curious place that we visited. I tend to think that hot springs and alligator farms and parrot shows should be housed in separate venues, but that's just me.

Even the drive there was interesting. We had to go through the Golan Heights, where a lot of fighting has taken place with Syria and Jordan (which could be seen to either side of us). There were short cement walls every few miles that were meant to hide behind if either of the two countries started shooting at you while you were en route. There were also 2 fences with minefields in between. There used to be 11 bridges connecting the countries, but the Israeli army blew them up all in the same night because they didn't want to be connected to Arab countries. The blown out bridges really contributed to the ambiance. Once you get through the war zone, you end up at Hammat Gader, a hot springs that was the second largest Roman bath during the Roman Empire (after Naples).

I'll tell you something about hot springs. They stink like rotten eggs, therefore you stink like rotten eggs for the rest of the day.
I'll tell you something else. They are not chlorinated. I am kind of afraid of public bathing facilities that lack chemicals. If I die from a strange illness sometime in the near future, I'll bet I picked it up in the cloudy water.
Once we were done in the hot springs, we headed to the alligator farm. In the true spirit of the Middle East, there were very few safety considerations, and no officials to keep us from jumping over the waist high floating walkway into the water with the alligators. There were, however, signs.
Most of the alligators looked like this. Obviously, they've gotten lazy, and are hoping that if they just lay around with their mouths open, something tasty will wander in.
At the end of the alligator farm there was a parrot show. Hammat Gader just kept getting better. It was perhaps one of the most entertaining events I have ever attended. I love the fact that it was entirely in Hebrew. I also loved the fact that we beat all of the kids to the front row seats so that we had a good view. Despite my dislike of birds, I had to admit that these birds had skills. Like roller skating skills.
And scootering skills.
They also did puzzles, gave kisses, rode bikes, and myriad other things. Unfortunately, we ran out of time for the petting zoo that we found on our way to meet the bus. Because really, what's a hot springs/alligator farm/parrot show without a petting zoo? Maybe next time...

P.S. I've got videos of the birds in action, but I am too technically challenged to post them here. I guess that means that you'll just have to visit me if you want to see them. Did I mention that I'm moving to Tampa, FL? Probably not, because I am trying to post about Israel before I move on to other things. I leave Bahrain in 4 days, but I will probably be posting about it well into March.