Israel 2026-06

Israel 3,

July 6, 2026,

I slept for 8.5 hours so I think that I am all caught up from sleep deprivation from the time change and my 36 hour voyage from hell. As they say, no pain, no gain.

Last evening I wandered over to Mike’s one of my favourite brasseries on the beach. It was a warm 23C with a cool breeze, just right to have a beer, in a pub, with the Med in the background, and watch the Norway-Brazilian football World Cup match. I was at a table with a family of Brazilians who had made Aliyah to Israel many years ago. They were very friendly and expressive but unfortunately it did not help their team win the match.

At the Maxim Hotel, you are free to sit at almost any table as the hotel caters to volunteers. I played ‘Jewish geography’ with a lady who was originally from Montreal and now lives in Toronto. She grew up in the CDN and CSL areas and we had many common acquaintances. I then spoke at length with a lady originally from South Africa and who now lives in Australia.

I spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach doing my usual activities. I am really a beachcomber at heart. In my spare time there is nothing more that I would like to do. I am not really very intellectual at heart. I was 30C with a slight breeze and only the occasional 2 foot breaker. I swam to the breakwater, 500m there and back with ease. The life guards must be getting used to me swimming out that far as they didn’t whistle me in. I didn’t hear a whistle anyway and I was the only one out swimming that far. I then jogged 5k on the beach knocking off 2 min from my time yesterday. If I continue at this rate I will be down to 0 in 3 weeks which is impossible if you do the math.

I bought a Magnum ice cream bar at 3:30 and got so excited by the prospect of eating an ice cream on the beach, that I got carried away and dropped my credit card on the sand. A ‘kid’ picked it up and spent 135 shekels ($65) before I could cancel it. It must have been a kid, as a pro would have made an attempt to empty my bank account. The store got the thief on their camera and I will review it later in the week. I don’t know if they have ‘wanted dead or alive’ posters here.

I am at the La Mer Restaurant overlooking the beach eating my 1st solid meal in 3 days. I really have not been hungry and except for breakfast, have only consumed liquids. There is a live band here to encourage me as I devour a margarita pizza and a local Maccabi draft beer.

Tomorrow, I will do my first shift with MDA so you can expect a full account of my cases.

Love,

Brian