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From Capernaum, we made a brief stop to Tabgha, the traditional site of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. Unfortunately the church was closed, and so we didn�t linger long but instead drove on to the village of Cana where Jesus performed his first miracle by changing water into wine at a wedding feast. Here, along with the three other couples in our group, we renewed our wedding vows in the wedding sanctuary of the Church of the Miracle, situated over the site where Jesus performed the miracle.

From Cana we drove along the Jordan Valley to Bethlehem, the same route used by Jesus as he traveled from Galilee to Judea. As Bethlehem was a Palestinian Authority controlled city, we had to pass through the border crossing, and this was possible as both our driver and guide were Palestinian. Also, just like Sam, our bus driver was Christian. From the border crossing, we saw up-close the wall being built by Israel to secure and establish permanently its border with Palestine. According to our guide Sam, Israel plans to complete the entire wall in three years.

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