Camels, Kumquats, and Camping
Tuesday, January 25th, 2011
Shalom! It's been another exciting and looooong day in Israel. To start where the last entry left off..
After Rabin Square yesterday, we drove to a Bedouin camp, where we would be spending the night. We immediately threw our belongings into a huge communal tent and headed to a Bedouin feast! To say it was a "feast" is no understatement. At tables of five, we sat cross-legged around huge platters of rice, chicken, corn, and potatoes. We were served unlimited hummus and homemade pita. Then we had an hour of downtime, most of which we spent playing card games and setting up our bedding (which consisted of sleeping pads and sleeping bags). At around 9:30pm, we headed to an adjacent tent to view the performance of a Bedouin man. He spoke and answered questions about Bedouin culture and gave a musical demonstration on a unique stringed instrument and a coffee grinder similar to mortar and pestle. From there, many went to a group bonfire and sang songs while others went to bed in the tent.
This morning we awoke very early - 6:30am! - for breakfast at 6:45am. At breakfast a traditional Bedouin woman was making pitas on a large spherical grill. We quickly ate, then headed to what was a highly anticipated event: camel riding! We were given few rules, but one seemed most important: "don't bring food or drink close to the camels because they will want to share." In pairs of two, we mounted the seated camels. Almost immediately, upon feeling our weight, they sprang up, jolting our bodies from front to back. Led by Bedouin guides, the camels marched in lines through the desert and we saw beautiful mountainous desert scenery. Many people named their camels. We got a little more attached than we thought we would.
We departed the Bedouin camp and traveled a short distance to hike in the Negev Desert. We walked through channels in limestone carved by prehistoric flash floods. The weather was great - it transitioned from cool morning air to hot desert sun within the span of two hours. Lior discussed the survival methods of desert peoples who have inhabited the region. We tasted a salty plant.
Always with a destination in mind, we drove to Ben-Gurion's burial place in the Negev. Ben-Gurion was one of Israel's Prime Ministers. Baryo, Jen, Nick, and Andrea acted in a short and hilarious skit to help communicate key information about Ben-Gurion. It turns out he was a pretty cool guy who really liked the desert, but not his wife's cooking. He took a year off from being Prime Minister to work in a kibbutz (Lior said it would "be like President Obama resigning from his presidency to become a sheep herder in Idaho.")
Rather than fending for ourselves in a crowded town for lunch (which is what we've become accustomed to), we went to a moshavah called Sh'vil Salat (Salad Path) for lunch. In our humble opinions, it's the best lunch we've had so far on this trip. We had schnitzel and beef sandwiches on large baguettes served with sides of fresh salads and vegetables, grown in the moshavah's high-tech greenhouses. To wash it all down, we fresh-squeezed our own orange juice. Yum.
Once we had full bellies, we were treated to a tour of the farm. We first stopped by the strawberries and the guide told us about how the plants are nourished by a technologically advanced computer system to make sure no water is wasted. The strawberries grow on vines suspended in the air. We were set loose to find the best looking strawberries and eat them straight from the vines without using our hands. Much fun was had. Then we made our own fresh pitas and spread fresh pesto on them. Probably the biggest indoor area we saw was the tomato and pepper section. After a brief tutorial of the many tomato and pepper varieties, we wandered the rows of the greenhouse looking for the sweetest and most colorful ones to eat (all you can eat!). Even after warnings from the guide and Lior ("that pepper can kill a horse!") some people were brave/stupid enough to try the hottest habanero pepper. Thankfully, we all made it out alive. The most impressive part of the farm was that all this food was being grown in a desert environment.
We boarded the bus and took a brief ride down the road to the site of a former kibbutz that had been targeted in 1948 by Egyptian troops. The 40 civilian kibbutz members had to defend themselves against 2,000 troops. Through the use of homing pigeons, they were able to alert Tel Aviv that reinforcements were needed. To help demonstrate how homing pigeons work, the guide brought several with her. We wrote notes for the farm and attached the notes to the pigeons' legs. We released them and saw them fly back toward the farm. This area had increased military presence because of its proximity to the Gaza Strip. While we were a safe distance away, cities within Gaza could be seen from our viewpoint.
To finish off our trip to the farm, we ended our visit in a kumquat and pomelo grove. We used large blunt needles and yarn to fashion ourselves some necklaces made from the miniature fruit and leaves.
Now we're on the bus headed to the Masada Guest House, our home for the evening. Tomorrow will have an even earlier start - we're waking up at 4:30 to hike Masada and watch the sunrise!
Facts of the day:
Seventy percent of the water used at the farm comes from recycled waste water from throughout Israel.
Prime Minister Ben-Gurion knew 8 different languages.
If the entire history of the Earth were condensed into one calendar year, each day would span 12 million years. The first sign of life would have happened on June 15th and the first animal would have made it onto land November 22nd. The limestone mountains we hiked through would have been deposited on the bottom of an ancient ocean on December 25th. And the first modern day humans come along December 31st at 11:54pm.
Israelis don't like to wait in line and oftentimes cut lines. Lame.
Signing off,
Bus 468
(Written by Jules Dim and Ashley Gold)
