By Jessica Kurzweil (JK) & Sari Shapiro (SAS)
Today we started our morning bright and early waking up from the Bedouin tents in the Negev desert. As a family we gathered together at 7:30 am to start our camel riding adventure. Pairing up in twos, this adventure was quite comical. During this time we all became very close and attached to our camels, naming them individually (i.e Carlito, Frank, Jamal, and Jeffery). The camel riding lasted about 30 minutes. Needless to say it was plenty of time considering the saddles were not the most comfortable. We were all excited to continue our upcoming day, but more importantly to take an hour catnap on the bus, making our way to Masada.
As we entered through a LONG winding road, the mystical mountain of Masada was breathtaking. When we arrived, we quickly gathered our hiking gear and started our steep climb up to the top, which took anywhere 10-20 minutes. Once we were at the top, our phenomenal tour guide Merav started explaining historical facts about King Herod and his palace. As we were walking around and viewing the ancient artifacts of the Roman’s, we entered what was once a synagogue. Rabbi led us in a short Shama as we all sang together. This was the perfect place to all pray together, as other tourists chimed in and sang along. The hike down was going to be about a two hours, but then Merav did a “Mitzvah” and we quickly descended in a short 3-minute cable car ride down.
After Masada, we continued our journey to Ein Gedi. At Ein Gedi, we took a 15-minute hike up to a gorgeous waterfall where we were refreshed with cool natural water. Many of us jumped in and took some pictures, which was a great preview before the Dead Sea.
Once leaving Ein Gedi, we got back on the bus for a short ride to the Dead Sea. All extremely excited to float in the salty water, we were greeted by many local Israeli’s who provided us with Ahava mud where we exfoliated our skin before entering the water. Once in the water, we quickly noticed if we had any open wounds as is stung from the amount of salt deposits from the sea. Attempting to walk in the water as long as possible, our feet slowly rose from the rocky bottoms as if gravity was taking over. It was hilarious and shocking to see everyone just simply floating.
Arriving at our fourth home in Tel Aviv, we were greeted with a delicious meal that quickly prepared us for our last night out as a family. Once done eating, we all rushed to our rooms to pamper ourselves since showering was not an option for roughly two days. We all got beautified and hopped on the bus to a local pub. What made our night even more special was being surprised by not only one, but four out of the eight soldiers. This truly made our night perfect for our last hoo-rah in Israel. Although this trip is coming to an end, we will not only be 40 individuals, but one family. This is not our goodbye, but it’s a see you later.
Today we started our morning bright and early waking up from the Bedouin tents in the Negev desert. As a family we gathered together at 7:30 am to start our camel riding adventure. Pairing up in twos, this adventure was quite comical. During this time we all became very close and attached to our camels, naming them individually (i.e Carlito, Frank, Jamal, and Jeffery). The camel riding lasted about 30 minutes. Needless to say it was plenty of time considering the saddles were not the most comfortable. We were all excited to continue our upcoming day, but more importantly to take an hour catnap on the bus, making our way to Masada.
As we entered through a LONG winding road, the mystical mountain of Masada was breathtaking. When we arrived, we quickly gathered our hiking gear and started our steep climb up to the top, which took anywhere 10-20 minutes. Once we were at the top, our phenomenal tour guide Merav started explaining historical facts about King Herod and his palace. As we were walking around and viewing the ancient artifacts of the Roman’s, we entered what was once a synagogue. Rabbi led us in a short Shama as we all sang together. This was the perfect place to all pray together, as other tourists chimed in and sang along. The hike down was going to be about a two hours, but then Merav did a “Mitzvah” and we quickly descended in a short 3-minute cable car ride down.
After Masada, we continued our journey to Ein Gedi. At Ein Gedi, we took a 15-minute hike up to a gorgeous waterfall where we were refreshed with cool natural water. Many of us jumped in and took some pictures, which was a great preview before the Dead Sea.
Once leaving Ein Gedi, we got back on the bus for a short ride to the Dead Sea. All extremely excited to float in the salty water, we were greeted by many local Israeli’s who provided us with Ahava mud where we exfoliated our skin before entering the water. Once in the water, we quickly noticed if we had any open wounds as is stung from the amount of salt deposits from the sea. Attempting to walk in the water as long as possible, our feet slowly rose from the rocky bottoms as if gravity was taking over. It was hilarious and shocking to see everyone just simply floating.
Arriving at our fourth home in Tel Aviv, we were greeted with a delicious meal that quickly prepared us for our last night out as a family. Once done eating, we all rushed to our rooms to pamper ourselves since showering was not an option for roughly two days. We all got beautified and hopped on the bus to a local pub. What made our night even more special was being surprised by not only one, but four out of the eight soldiers. This truly made our night perfect for our last hoo-rah in Israel. Although this trip is coming to an end, we will not only be 40 individuals, but one family. This is not our goodbye, but it’s a see you later.