SH-26-126's blog

As our final day in Israel began, we all felt the bittersweet nature of the trip’s end. After another delicious breakfast, we headed to the military cemetery on Mount Herzl. We knew we were in for a very emotional experience when Yonatan began to tell stories of soldiers and outstanding individuals who sacrificed their lives for the state of Israel. Row after row, all of the graves were beautiful, but also looked exactly the same. This shocked the group, as American graves are tailored to each individual that has passed.

When the alarm went off at 3am, most of us couldn’t even open our eyes. But begrudgingly, we all dressed in our finest hiking gear and packed up our suitcases, ready for an adventurous (and tiring) day. After coffee and cake, we boarded the bus and adjusted to the unfamiliar sight of a dark desert from the bus windows.

We were about to hike Masada, and little did we know what we would be in for.

Today, we embraced our inner children. But we’ll get to that later.

Our morning began with a fanciful stroll in Tel Aviv, taking in the modern city culture, bustling streets, beautiful waterfront property and the even more beautiful Mediterranean Sea. After snapping a few pictures we took a long (and very hot!) walk to Independence Hall, water bottles in hand. We couldn’t help but feel relieved when we walked through those doors into air conditioning--but little did we know, we would be walking into something much more substantial.

Friday:

What a day! Despite general complaints about hiking for the second day in a row, we boarded the bus and set off towards the Har Meron Nature Reserve. Yonatan (our Israeli guide) described our plans for the day, as well as issues surrounding the supply and demand for water in Israel. After arriving at our destination, we began our hike up the Meron mountain. The hike was much easier than yesterday’s Jillaboon, with much more shade, in addition to beautiful look outs over the city of Tzfat, the birthplace of Kaballah. The view over Tzfat could did not compare to our stroll through the city.

We’ve just boarded the flight from JFK to Tel Aviv, and everyone is slowly figuring out if they’ve got aisle, window, or middle seats. Half of us look crestfallen, and the other half ecstatic. I’ve lucked out with an aisle seat so I’m in the latter half. But in all honesty, I think most of us are just happy to finally be on the plane after waiting for an excruciating four plus hours at our gate. Unfortunately, the ten hour flight ahead of us isn’t much of a comfort, but at least we’re one step closer to our destination.