Fun in the Desert
Today was Wed January 5th the sixth day of our trip. It was probably the best day yet and that is saying a lot since the whole trip is so amazing. We started off the day waking up in the Bedouin camp ready to ride some camels. This was one of the experiences I was looking forward to most and it did not disappoint! My camel was named Johnny and he was an exceptional camel giving us a smooth ride while we got to view the beautiful desert in the early morning. Then we ate breakfast where a woman was making fresh pita and I tried an Israeli candy made from sesame oil.
After breakfast we got to experience the desert in a hike led by our wonderful guide. This was my first time in a desert and I was astounded by the beauty. The idea that deserts are barren wastelands is far from the truth. There was vegetation and the formations of the rocks were amazing. We tasted a salty plant and attempted to solve a string riddle which my partner and I failed at miserably. Overall I got to see gorgeous landscapes and experienced a desert for the first time.
Later in the afternoon we went to an organic Israeli farm ate carrots from the ground, got lunch and then received a tour of the facilities that included even more food. First we were shown the greenhouse where they grew a myriad of different tomatoes as well as cucumbers and some really hot peppers. I myself had the pepper, which is supposed to be the second hottest in the world, and quite enjoyed it. Though it was very hot, and I had to eat a lot of tomatoes afterward, the flavor was amazing. It was also amusing to watch some of the boys who felt it was smart to just take a huge bit of the pepper and then ended up crying and sweating from it! At the farm we also got to eat strawberries though according to our guide you were supposed to pick them off the vines with your mouth. We also made pita with pesto at the end of the tour. The final part was one of the most interesting for me personally. The group went to a lookout where there was a clear view of the Gaza Strip. It is amazing to think that people live so close to this area that is supposed to be so volatile. A few people in the group also got to tie messages to carrier pigeons and release them, which garnered some funny pictures.
Finally to finish the day we drove to the Masada hostel ate dinner there and did some short group activities. One group activity involved everybody linking arms in a spiral representing the Jews and then others were the Romans and attempted to pull us apart. It got a little rough and intense but it was still fun. The second activity was picking out the three most important Jewish values from a prepared list. This turned out to be quite interesting due to the many similar choices between the groups as well as the different ones. The most debated value was the choice of studying the torah/ Talmud. The majority of the other choices were cultural things such as knowing Jewish history and raising your children Jewish however this choice was very religious. It then sparked a conversation about the belief in God and this part of Judaism which was intriguing because some seemed to not believe in god while others focused on the culture of Judaism and still others insisted you cannot separate the religion and culture. There were many intriguing discussions but I was glad the activities did not drag on too long for tomorrow we are climbing Masada and need to get up before 5am. Today was more relaxed then some of the others though we still experienced a lot of the many amazing things Israel has to offer.
by Deanna
