Strategies to cool down

I think that we have spent most of this crazily hot weekend in the best way possible - submerged in water in different ways. On the Friday it was Ziv's 10th birthday, and just as last year we went to kibbutz Nir David in the Beit She'an valley. However, this time we did not go to Sachne, but stayed in the kibbutz. As we drove from home in the afternoon and descended down in the valley the outdoor thermometer showed 45 degrees! The actual birthday party we celebrated inside the dinner hall, cooled down by the air condition, but me and Yoram grilled the meat outside and the air was really burning. When the party was over and we were supposed to leave, we said goodbye to everyone and strolled over to a dark spot, stripped butt naked and slid into the cool Asi river. Yoram surprised me by without hesitation remove all his clothes, although we were right in the middle of the kibbutz, but I was not late to follow. Later he admitted that it was the first time ever he skinny-dipped in an Israeli kibbutz. Maybe I have some liberating influence on him after all. When we got back to the car to head home it was a bit after 22.00, and the temperature was still 37 degrees.

Yesterday we brought only Ziv with us to the Hula valley in the upper Galilee to do kayaking with some friends. The boys needed some time off from each other and although it was our free weekend we brought Ziv. Fortunately, he had other boys to play with there, so we got a lot of time for ourselves. In Kfar Blum there is an attraction centre that among other things offer kayaking on the Jordan river. I had a sun hat on and a piece of cloth that I constantly dipped in the cool water and then laid on my shoulders. Nevertheless, it was soon so hot that we spent more time swimming beside the kayak instead of sitting in it. All along the river bank people were camping or just spending the day to be close to the water, and we definitely got inspired to come back here for a camping weekend on the Jordan river. Maybe in September, for Rosh HaShana or something like that. If we bring the dogs, and especially Barak, we can sleep safely at night without being afraid of intruders.

After the kayaking we tried to find a picnic spot along the river, but it was very crowded with people and too hot to search for free spots, so we headed back to kibbutz Gonen instead, where our friends live. We went to the kibbutz pool and had our picnic there. With temperatures around 45 degrees the only place where we found comfort was in the baby pool, that for some reason was cooler than the large, deep pool. We were all floating around like seals in the shallow water, which was also shaded by a zula. When we returned home in the evening we were totally exhausted, but content. The temperatures right now are said to break all records, and it is safe to say that it is the highest temperatures that I have ever experienced too. But you will not hear me complain.

You have to go to some remote upper-Galilee kibbutz

to get a canned vodka/redbull kinda' drink in the pool bar