Hiking Day 4 (10.2 mi, 16.4km) Tabgha to Capernaum

Today we joined the company of Abraham (Gen 19:27), Moses (Ex 34:4), David (Psalm 5:3), and Jesus (Mark 1:35) by waking early enough to spend time with the Lord early in the morning. We started with a sunrise over the Sea of Galilee and then did our family Bible reading before heading in for breakfast.

After packing up our bags and leaving them at the front desk of our accommodation, we set off for the day around 8:30AM. Our first stop was the nearby “church of the multiplication” which remembers the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand. There were some beautiful restored mosaics from the 5th century depicting the miracle. From there we hiked up the mount of beatitudes. Did Jesus need to catch his breath before preaching the sermon on the mount? We sure did. No wonder he sat when he taught… (okay that was probably cultural, but it sure felt good to sit when we got to the top).

“And leaving Nazareth Jesus went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali,” – Matthew 4:13

From there we headed to Capernaum, Jesus’ home during his years of ministry. That was the end of the gospel trail (notice the stray cat photobombing our picture). After exploring a bit, we returned to Tabgha, briefly stopping at the church of Peter’s primacy to appreciate the pretty view.

If you want to hike the gospel trail, we highly recommend WalkInnIsrael. Alon made excellent arrangements for us. He reserved guest houses each night, had our bags transferred to each place, gave us an easy to follow map on our phones so that we never felt lost, met us for dinner to explain the hike, dropped us off at the starting point (it was possible to hike from our first accommodation but we got a late start) and even lent us a phone with a local SIM card in case we didn’t have internet. But most of all, he was always available. We messaged him frequently while hiking and always got prompt replies. It was nice knowing that there was someone in country that could help if needed. If you are thinking about using them, feel free to contact us directly for a recommendation. The hike itself was a pleasant one. We never felt unsafe. It really helped us appreciate the land that Jesus hiked.

Hike the good hike,

Sherpa and Porter (and Cheerio)