Segment 18: Gaash to Tel Aviv *
This hike is the second half of the route from Netanya to Tel Aviv. We started this hike in early morning sunlight at the point we finished our last hike in early evening darkness.
This hike was a long, long walk on the beach, followed by a few final kilometers on city streets of Tel Aviv.
We began on a nearly deserted stretch of shore; besides us there were just a few campers still asleep in their tents, and some fisherman tossing their lines out. The beauty of this part was the isolation, quiet, and beauty of the cliffs that meet the shore; but it was marred by scattered garbage and apparent neglect by the municipalities and/or government offices responsible for its maintenance.
Most notable about this hike were the contrasts. Tranquil and deserted at the start; noisy and crowded at the end. Littered and unkempt at the start; manicured and clean at the end.
The best spot, I think, was where we happened to stop for a rest, which turned into a group swim, just south of the “segregated” (men/women) beach in Herzlia. The beach here was clean and void of people — because the city of Herzlia is doing a fine job of maintaining the shoreline, and because we were outside the area patrolled by lifeguards and designated for swimming. (Yes, we swam at our own risk.)
A quick recap of all the (named) beaches we visited (11 in all, I believe).
Note: I accidentally stopped (and later restarted) the timer on my Garmin GPS on two occasions during the hike. So, it recorded our physical route, but the times and distances are somewhat out of synch. To reconstruct our route (times only), I’ve used the time information recorded on my digital photos.
6:50 (0 km): Gaash Beach.
8:00: Appolonia Beach
8:30: Sidna Ali Beach
Breakfast stop
9:25: Hof Hasharon Beach
9:30: Zvulun Beach
9:40: Acadia Beach
9:45: Yordei Hasirah (Handicapped) Beach
Herzlia Marina, Arna Mall
10:00: Segregated Beach
10:05: “non-authorized” beach: Swim break
10:45: HaTzuk North Beach “Country” Beach
11:00: HaTzuk South Beach
11:30: Tel Baruch North Beach.
Leave the beach. Ramat Aviv Hahadasha neighborhood. Sde Dov airport.
12:15 (15.0 km): Just outside Reading electric plant. Finished!
היי ליסה,
כל הכבוד על התיעוד ועל הזמן שאת מקדישה לעניין. יש משהו להאחז בו כשנרצה להיזכר… באמת היה כייף , טוב שהתחלנו בבוקר, הצל מהמצוק בהתחלה והרוח הנעימה בהמשך, עם הרחצה באמצע עזרו ליום הזה לעבור בנעימים מבלי שהרגשנו את מאמץ ההליכה. ובמיוחד תודה לחברה הנעימה,
נסיעה טובה
ולהתראות
ורדה