|
Multi cache on the beach in Herzliya. Coordinates "jumpy" (the coordinates indicated above are those of a parking area). Terrain: when stormy 3½ stars. Suitable for children if somebody can keep a close eye on them (danger of water, rocks and holes). No trespassing of the private yard please. Close to the Apollonia cache (GCX1Y4) by TheDavidsons.
|
The Caveman (Nissim Cachalon)
I had been walking around this spot for about an hour, thinking of how to get organized. On one hand the Herzliya beach caves are a very interesting object, but on the other hand I would have to face a few problems. First of all the description of the terrain. At low tide in summer I would give it 2 stars, but in a western storm like we had this week, 3 ½ stars is more accurate (the last few meters) with a warning for stones that may get washed away with streaming rain water. Except for this it is not a children’s cache, but even so… if a second person would keep an eye on them while the first one is searching, they would have a great time playing on the beach and swimming. But than… the beach is expected to be filled with muggles in summer and therefore not always clean… Not to mention the permission to place the cache which I would have to get from the owner.
I decided to have second thoughts.
I just passed alongside the yard of this cave building, when I saw somebody walking towards me. I had no doubt that this was the owner. I expected him to ask me what I am looking for, but he didn’t. It was more like as if he was expecting me. I started to explain in a few words about a navigation game and about showing other people nice and interesting places, not really sure what he would think of it. He listened attentively and smiled: “So you have come to the right place”. We continued talking while he unlocked the fence, and reached for an ax: “I 'll cut some wood for the oven. It 's going to be cold”.
With a cup of Turkish coffee with brown sugar on the table in front of us and fresh oranges and almonds next to it, he started to tell the interesting history of the place.
Nissim Cachalon immigrated to Israel from Chicago in the age of 28. During the summer he lived in a tent on Khof Hasharon, not far away from this cache. One day the police came with a van and took him with his stuff to where the Marina is situated today. It was a bad smelling place where the waste water streams into the sea and so it didn't take long until he moved on northwards where he settled down a little North of the Sidna Ali Mosque, about 30 meters from the sea.
“I was much younger than and as strong as a lion. Here I built my first house -in the shape of a dinosaur. All through the years though it turned out that the materials I used than weren't strong enough. I lacked the experience that I have today and so it slowly fell apart. Today I build in a different way. I work with wires which are covered with plastic in order to reduce corrosion by the salty air. This way I learn. I am my own teacher and my own pupil”. Nissim is a real survivor: It took about 15 years until he was connected to the communal water and electricity supply. "For every shower I had to light a fire to heat up the water which I took home in jerry cans” he tells. Later on things got a little better and the Caveman Café was opened, but it was closed by the authorities about 4 years ago because of bureaucratic problems.
Today –after having lived here for the last 36 years he still has problems with the authorities. “They don't seem to understand that I build and take down, destroy and reconstruct, but that I don’t possess anything. I don’t even have a laundry machine, I wash everything by hand”. Another problem is the beach which becomes very narrow. "The water ways have changed because of the Marina", Nissim explains. "The sea now gets to the entrance of the yard. I have curved the wall, so that the water won’t wash out the whole court. I also replaced the massive door by a more open door, made out of metal pieces". The base of the entrance (two levels of 3 huge tires) became visible indeed.I wonder if there is a way to save this place...
But work goes on and a new room is recently under construction.
It’s a pity that from the outside you will get just a slight impression of the beauty and the atmosphere of the whole construction with its breath taking view from the balconies, with its mosaic floors and ornamented ceilings. And all of it made with whatever a person can find on the beach.
A children's dream in a grown-ups reality.
An expression of a way of life.
On my way out I put my orange peels on the oven to dry. As soon as they 'll turn black, Nissim will burn them and their ashes will become a component for the cement mixture.
It is all about recycling… in a most fascinating way.
In the cache:
log book
pencil
dinosaur eraser
