Day 7 - The Glorious Negev
We woke up early from our group slumber in the tapestried Bedouin tent. Despite fears about the desert cold and sleeping on the ground, I think most of us could agree that it was one of our best nights of sleep since we arrived in Israel --all 46 of us in a single tent. It is clear that Bus 291 can sleep comfortably knowing we are in close quarters with one another.
We had a delicious breakfast of warm laffa (tortilla thin bread), eggs, Nutella, yogurt, and hot coffee. At long picnic tables overlooking the desert, we each shared our stories of the night -- one waking up at 3am with an incredible urge to pee and then proceeding to walk over 10 sleeping heads in the pitch dark to get to the bathroom, and others waking at 4am from the howling of the desert dogs.
After breakfast, it was time to ride the large toothy camels up the rocky desert hill and back. They seemed to be pretty gentle creatures as they walked slowly in a line, some groaning louder than others. In the camel namings by members of Bus 291, Sir Humphrey Tupac II won, but Shakira and Howard were close seconds.
After the camel rides, we headed up the road to check out the first Israeli Prime Minister David Ben Gurion's grave. When we got to the entrance Tsach, Sally, and Elizabeth lined us up, had us close our eyes and walk hand in hand towards something "really cool" --talk about blind trust! After stumbling in the dark for a few minutes, we finally opened our eyes to the vast desert mountains surrounding Ben Gurion's grave. The view was breathtaking and overwhelming. For me, it was more of a religious experience than being at the Western Wall.
Sitting across from armed Israeli soldiers with green berets also visiting the graveside, Tsach told us about David Ben Gurion's idealism --how he joined a desert settlement after his time as Prime Minister, sacrificing all of his political royalties to have the same duties as the other members of the kibbutz. I am so inspired by the stories of Israeli pioneers who were able to turn the desert into such a liveable environment.
Tsach, like Ben Gurion, is a great lover of the desert and was excited to take us on our next excursion in Ein Ovdat --a desert valley with a river running through the middle. We climbed up stone stairs and ladders up the side of a mountain until we reached a man-made cave. The desert views from the top of the climb astounded us. On our next stop to the Machtesh Ramon lookout, we got a different view of the seemingly never ending desert.
Jobi (our fearless bus driver) then took us to our next stop at Mitzpe Ramon for lunch. Some of us had shawarma, others had mushroom calzones and pizza slices. For the first time, Noam introduced me and the group to a warm sweet frothy milk drink with nuts and coconut called Sachlav. It was delicious. On the ride to our next stop after lunch I introduced Noam to Miles Davis.
After lunch we headed to our "Green Activity" at Shirat Hamidbar - a beautiful farm on the desert that grows everything from herbs and sweet tomatoes to bitter melon. It is really a cool thing to see such rich greens growing in the dry desert.
We congregated around the farm owner with cups of sweet hot tea to learn about his daily tasks and everything that they grow. He gave us a tour where we tried every herb, such as lemongrass, lavender, and white savory, and learned all of the healing properties of each. We were all thankful for Whole Foods, knowing that we can continue our herb remedies in the states. (For names of herbs and medicinal properties, see list from Alli Bloom)
We drove two more hours to our final stop at the Ein Gedi Field School where we ate dinner in a cafeteria filled with Israeli teenagers. After dinner we had our final discussions of the night about our views on Zionism. When I leave here, I will truly miss our discussions --for me it is helped me understand my Judaism and beliefs more than anything else.
Samantha
