Things didn’t go as usual for us on the trail.  It was a great trail, as usual.  It was much harder than promised, as usual.  But our mix-up made it harder.  Because we spent a whole morning cleaning the tar from the shoes we wore to the beach last wednesday, we really didn’t feel like ruining another pair of shoes on the beach walk.   The oil spill was only announced on Thursday, but it has been repeated over and over on the news that the entire coast is polluted from an oil spill.   So when Rami posted that we’ll be walking along the beach but it was clean, we  didn’t believe him, and we found the oldest possible shoes, with as few ridges as possible.  Mine were summer sneakers, Ezi’s were old worn-out dress shoes.  

But the beaches were totally clean.  Alexander River kissed the sea.  

and the boulders along the shore kissed each other

But we had no traction.  I was slipping and sliding when we left the beach – especially because, as it turned out, my shoes and my socks were full of sand.  Ezi slipped going down a hill and turned his ankle.  

We should have believed our guide.

and then we raced home so I could do a zoom with the IAWE.