Adventures in Israel: DAY ONE - The arrival

Arrived at the airport for 11:00 to see loads of our fellow travellers.
Also a few faces from church who I did not know were on the trip, well
with expected 300 plus in number, how could you know everyone?
The queue snaked round a few crowd control poles, till we got to the first checking.
A dear Israeli lady introduced herself and I expected her to begin with the customary questions but no, on looking at my passport discovered I was British, born in London, confirmed that and smiled, flipped through the pages and we both agreed
that I travelled a lot, seeing the numerous stamps from my twice yearly foray in the
US and a few other non EU countries. Then she had this look on her face, saw my second name - that doesn't look English, and she then said ' what mean this name' I explained that it was Nigerian, then she had to go and check with someone else.
Don't blame her. What with the crazy Nigerian boy who wanted to blow up a plane the last time! Then a gentleman came back with her and asked more questions. I however produced a joker :-) We have from work, a special card similar to ones used by people who work with embassies with special privileges. That must have helped and then confirmation of my pastor as well as how often I went to church and how long I had been a member of the church! Then, they were satisfied. Phew! A few questions about my baggage and my ticked and box got stickers and I was allowed to
check in. Ah the joys of flying. The flight was uneventful. Arrived at Ben Gurion airport at 7.25 PM (Israeli time C.E.T +1) and after collecting baggage and some getting Shekels off the ATMs moved into our buses by number and left the beautiful airport at 8.PM. We had a 2 hour drive to our lodging place- a kibbutz .This is actually one of the first kibbutz build in Modern day Israel, in 1920! It is on the shores of the Sea of Galilee and is called Kibbutz Degania Bet. We were welcome with some fruit juices and fresh dates. A taste of the Mediterranean. The rooms look just like your regular guesthouse. Now to sleep.