And we're back in Jerusalem!

Moses wandered the desert for 40 years; this morning we wandered the sweltering hot Negev for 90 minutes.

After a hearty breakfast with our Bedouin friends, Bus 146 embarked on yet another hike in the beautiful (and brutal) Israeli desert. While the weather certainly wasn’t the most comfortable, the view was well worth the sweat and exhaustion, especially after sprinting up a giant sand dune. Lior, our trusty guide, instructed us on the environment of the southern desert and although we didn’t see a leopard, everybody learned a lot about our unfamiliar surroundings.

Our bus driver David then took us to our next destination: Neot Kedumim, an “oasis” designed to replicate a biblical garden amongst the arid lands of Israel. They use the stories of the bible and rabbinical texts in order to bring these ancient texts to life. While at the garden, we learned about making wine, olive oil, middle eastern spices and fig honey. Also, we were instructed on how to use a giant hamster wheel as a way of extracting water. Before we left, the entire group was allowed to plant acorns and “make our mark” on the garden.

We then arrived at our final hotel of the trip, Kibbutz Maale Hachamisha located in the Jerusalem area. As a group, we learned about how to become more involved with Shorashim in the future and we put on hilarious plays depicting some of the most memorable moments of the trip. On a different note, we also discussed the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

While today appears light compared to the events of yesterday, we can assure you that we are all indeed exhausted and sad to see the end of our trip approaching.