Gimzo to Petah Tikva on Israel National Trail: Day 33

Rain today, some historical sites and a late change to a 4 star hotel.

A shower (of rain) kept me in my tent a little longer this morning eating a cereal bar or two. On the rain ceasing I packed up and joined an early morning crowd jogging or on bicycles in the Ben Shemen forest. By a road junction a series of stalls were selling orange juice and the flat bread coated with sour cream and tabouleh that I had tried before. So I had a second breakfast prepared by an Arab lady on her stove.

Lady preparing my flatbread on top of her stove.

Ruins of some sort are common on the trail, I passed a couple before reaching the remains of a Byzantine church in Bareket woods. In addition to some low walls sections of the original mosaics remained, some of them rather good I thought. Later there was a memorial to the fallen in Israeli armoured units with suitably wrecked armoured vehicles on concrete plinths.

Remains of a mosaic from a Byzantine church

Following lunch from a petrol station by a Nestle factory it was more woods before the path was squeezed between the town of Elad and a busy highway. Much of the day was spent close to busy highways, or "bustling" highways as they were described by the commentary at Bareket woods. The Mazor Mausoleum was by Elad, a fairly complete Roman structure fronted by columns, the portico supported by wooden frames. It was fenced in for some reason but people had squashed the fencing down at one place to gain access, making entry easier for me.

A lengthy trek on a reasonably straight route partly beside the railway among agricultural land brought me to Tel Afek. An Ottoman fort set in part of the Yarkon National park, it was closed today. There should have been a Night Camp but I saw no sign of it. A little further on was a National Park campsite (maybe it was the same as the Night Camp I was looking for), but I discovered it opened for the season on 9 March, I was three days too early. (Update: it seems somehow I had missed the sign for the night camp despite looking carefully, more details of its location can be found on tapatalk). Walking by a railway line, I disturbed a grey heron in an area of tall reeds and water, also part of the National Park. My final historic site of the day was a circular pill box built by the British to protect the railway. 

Pillbox built by British to protect the railway line.

Lacking a formal campsite and not feeling the agricultural area attractive for wild camping I headed for a hotel in Petah Tikva, a large eastern extension of Tel Aviv. As I walked the several kilometres from the trail, heavy rain fell soaking my trousers in minutes. Rivers of water flowed from drainpipes into the road. Muddy and wet while I checked in, I did not quite match the ambience of the expensive Prima Link business hotel I had chosen to stay in (the other options had some really poor reviews). I am now looking out at the city lights from the 16th floor of a tower block from a spacious room. A contrast to the countryside I have been walking through, and the miniature tent I have been sleeping in.