{"id":376023,"date":"2026-04-05T09:00:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T09:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/376023\/"},"modified":"2026-04-05T09:00:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T09:00:16","slug":"israeli-blogger-kuku-trip-refuses-to-stop-traveling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/376023\/","title":{"rendered":"Israeli blogger ‘Kuku Trip’ refuses to stop traveling"},"content":{"rendered":"

More than a month after the outbreak of war, with Israel under sustained missile fire, travel blogger Kobi Peled \u2014 known online as \u201cKuku Trip\u201d \u2014 continues to run and hike across the country, combining trail running with caving and desert exploration<\/a> even as much of the public remains close to bomb shelters.<\/p>\n

Peled says the changing seasons, particularly the late spring bloom, have made it difficult for him to stay inside a mamad \u2014 a reinforced safe room found in most Israeli homes.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe war broke out during the most beautiful time of year,\u201d he told ynet. \u201cIn another month everything will already start turning yellow.\u201d<\/p>\n

The current conflict with Iran comes at a sensitive time for Peled, who is still recovering from injuries sustained last year during an encounter with terrorists in the West Bank. He is undergoing rehabilitation at Beit Halochem, a center for wounded Israeli veterans.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy life is a bit chaotic,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause of the war there are no in-person meetings and not many treatments. Traveling is my way of coping.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not everyone around him supports his decision to hike during wartime. \u201cPeople express concern,\u201d he acknowledged. \u201cBut overall they understand the idea.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Peled says there are also unexpected advantages to traveling during the conflict. \u201cEverything is quite empty. You feel more open, without crowds,\u201d he said. \u201cI check in advance where there are protected spaces. If there\u2019s an alert, you figure out what to do \u2014 though you never really know.\u201d<\/p>\n

At times, the risks become tangible. \u201cI\u2019ve had to take cover in caves during sirens,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not a real protected space, but it\u2019s better than nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

One particularly intense experience took place in the Gad Nature Reserve in southern Israel, near Lachish. While on a trail run with friends, Peled entered an unmarked cave system \u2014 a network of underground hideouts dating back to the Great Revolt against the Romans in the first century.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThere are lots of tunnels,\u201d he said. \u201cYou move between underground rooms. At some point you reach a junction with four directions and you don\u2019t know where to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the spelunking excursion, he lost his sense of direction. His friends remained outside, unaware. With no cellphone reception, he called out but received no answer.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor about 20 minutes I had no orientation,\u201d he said. \u201cOn paper that\u2019s not long, but in a closed tunnel system during wartime, it feels very different.\u201d<\/p>\n

He described mounting claustrophobia. \u201cYou hear your own heartbeat. You\u2019re underground, crawling, trying to get out and not succeeding.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Drawing on experience, he forced himself to stay calm and retrace his path. \u201cYou have to think where you came from \u2014 reconstruct turns, stairs, rooms.\u201d<\/p>\n

When he finally emerged, the relief was immediate. \u201cI missed light and air so much,\u201d he said. \u201cIt gives you perspective. In that moment, there\u2019s no war, no sirens \u2014 just you and your pulse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the security situation, Peled has also sought out seasonal desert floods in the Negev. In late March, an unusual storm filled dry riverbeds, including Nahal Hatira, creating fast-flowing streams and rare water pools.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was incredible,\u201d he said. \u201cAt the end of the season, when it\u2019s already getting warm, suddenly everything is full of water.\u201d<\/p>\n

At nearby pools in the northeastern Negev, he encountered unusually cold conditions. \u201cThe water was freezing,\u201d he said. \u201cI went in, but it was very cold.\u201d<\/p>\n

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He noted that some of these areas are relatively quieter in terms of rocket fire, though he stressed he is not a security expert.<\/p>\n

In the Beit She\u2019an Valley near the Jordanian border, Peled described an unusual moment when a siren sounded \u2014 not in Israel, but across the border in Jordan.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were sitting at a lookout point near Tel Artal,\u201d he said. \u201cSuddenly there was a siren \u2014 in Jordan. It was very strange. We just stayed and kept looking at the view.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later, while visiting the Ein Nezem spring, sirens sounded again \u2014 this time in Israel \u2014 as missiles passed overhead. \u201cWe were less alarmed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Despite the risks, Peled says the outings provide a sense of balance. \u201cYou come back more relaxed. It gives you a bit of sanity,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s still not pleasant to return home and go into the safe room \u2014 but at least you feel you did something with your day.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More than a month after the outbreak of war, with Israel under sustained missile fire, travel blogger Kobi…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":376024,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-376023","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-topnews","13":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376023","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=376023"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376023\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/376024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=376023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=376023"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=376023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}