The Dog Beach

In Tel Aviv, dogs aren't allowed on the beach. There is, however, one exception (that I know of) to that rule -- Hilton Beach, and more specifically the north side thereof. This beach is dog paradise:

(This shot is a little blurry, but there are at least four dogs in the picture, and there were many more on the beach)

Lots of dogs, in the water, playing with each other or their humans, or just hanging out. Fiji had an absolute blast there -- first he'd run into the water, then run out and roll in the sand, over and over again, plus he made a couple of friends. But the cool thing was that he'd always keep us in visual range, and would immediately obey any command I gave him. At one point he had someone's matkot ball, and the guy was chasing him around to get it back. I looked at him and said "Fiji, drop it" (In Hebrew, of course) and he immediately dropped it. So I said to the guy "All you had to do was ask!" I think Fiji is totally in his element here.

Well, this beach is a few other things as well as being the dog beach. First, it's a gay hot spot, apparently, which is simultaneously fun and disappointing for a straight, single female.

Second, and much more important, it's got one ofthe best breaks in Israel, both right and left (surfing talk) -- experienced surfers in Israel come here to surf. Yesterday evening, while eating dinner at the beach I spotted some pretty skilled surfers, at least to my relatively inexperienced eye. I even got the phone number of a guy who rents surf boards-- you call him and ask for the size you want and he brings it to the beach for you.

But although this sounds like virtual paradise -- dogs, surfing and hot men, there are a couple of glitches -- the first is that the men are gay. (Maybe I stepped into the wrong paradise?!) The second, and more significant to me, is that the lovely break at Hilton Beach is a reef break, which really is a no-no for a novice surfer such as myself. What it means is that the reef underneath is what makes the wave for in the way that it does -- so that it is nice, and there are more consistant surfable waves. But it also really sucks if someone, say me, wipes out at least as frequently as she manages to stand up and ride the wave...

It's all good, though, as there are several other beaches nearby that have beach breaks, which are perfect for beginners... I look forward to discovering one of those very soon!

We had a lovely day at the beach, and when we left, at 8:00 pm, there were still people in the water:

(The white speck near the top of the page is a sliver of the moon... )