What a joy it was to spend Thursday afternoon olive picking! After the intense rollercoaster of experiences and emotions of our trip so far, it was great to be out in beautiful countryside, sharing songs and laughter with each other and the farmer, his wife and friend. We cleared two trees in the short time we were there and it felt good to have made a small but positive contribution to the hard work that the olive harvest brings.
We were given options for our journey home … walk.. car or tractor – the car was immediately rejected out of hand!! Some of us enjoyed a leisurely stroll back past the olive groves with our delightful host, Samah, who picked small figs for us along the way. The others hopped into the trailer with the bags of olives and were driven through back roads into the village, causing a traffic jam and much amusement to the bemused locals who waved and shouted to us as we passed.
The short video gives you a little taste of the fun we had enjoying rural Palestinian life!
