During the Shabbat (Sabbath) on the Saturday we spent eight hours cycling from Jaffa to Tel Aviv. Along the promenade from Old Jaffa Port (also known as Namal Yafo) – which is reputed to being the port from which Jonah set off in the famous Biblical story of Jonah and the Whale – our first port of call (note the pun) we spent strolling along the wall surrounding the Tel Aviv Marina. A couple sat on rocks reading documents together; fishermen competed for the same spot; surfers attempted riding waves just beyond the port’s entrance; another photographer poised hoping a surfer would provide the action; a woman sipping a beer while staring out to sea; a family of four laughing, enjoying each other’s company.

From there we joined the crowds encircling the locals folk dancing on the promenade alongside the beach. Apparently an instructor frolicked in the midst of all the swaying bodies but he or she wasn’t easy to spot. The atmosphere had my foot tapping away and my camera firing. Somehow I stopped myself from joining in. What fun!

Back on our bikes, we ventured to the Old Tel Aviv Port where hundreds of people enjoyed the wide wooden boardwalks, playgrounds, bike paths, restaurants, organic market food stalls, and designer shops that have transformed what used to be derelict warehouses.

After savouring fresh fish and a mezze platter of vegetables, hummus and pitas, feeling energised once again, we cycled through the streets of Tel Aviv back to Jaffa.