On human rights and missing flights

After my first attempt at surfing and a fun day of paddle boarding, the last day of our trip arrived. That evening, I had the pleasure of meeting an old friend of David’s who used to live in the U.S., but now makes Israel his home. This friend is a peace activist and the founder of a non-profit organization called Human Nation, which promotes a humanist approach to the problems that divide the people. The conversation that evening was an interesting blend of reminiscing and an overview of Israel’s issues. After reading so much about Israel’s political and religious history, it was refreshing to hear a perspective that was not focused on religion, but instead on practical approaches that honor human rights for all parties involved.

The next morning, we prepared for our flight home and something unique happened—something that has never happened to me in my entire travel history. After boarding the wrong train on our way to the airport, we missed our flight. (Note to future travelers: the trains are not as well marked as you might expect!) We corrected our mistake as quickly as we could, but the time lost got us to the airport too late to check in for our flight. The only other flight leaving that day was overbooked, so we had no choice but to stay another day. Damn, another day of vacation. It doesn’t sound so bad, except that with airline fees, that extra day was the most expensive day of our entire trip. We decided to make the most of it and spent our last, last day in Old Jaffa, a part of Tel Aviv that we had missed because we focused so much of our time on the beach. We spent a lovely day exploring the old town, popping into art galleries, and enjoying the sunshine. It could have been worse.