August 4-6
[11:40 pm August 15] With 80 minutes until the next train to Tel Aviv, seems like a good time to catch up on some blogging. I just spent the evening with the Arnon relatives who live near Caesarea. I wish we had had more time to visit, but it was great to catch up and hear about some of their recent adventures. I'm related to Gidi and Etty Arnon through my great grandparents. Etty recently competed on the Japanese-inspired obstacle course game show Wipeout. She was in Argentina for two weeks for the competition and participated in two rounds of the show. She was the oldest competitor, which earned her respect. And she won the Funniest Fall award, which earned her $$ (even better!). Check out her prize-winning wipe out.
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Nick visited last weekend, which was also Jim and Mary's last in Israel, so we made sure to pack our time with excitement. After an epic roofdeck party on Thursday night, Nick arrived early Friday. We spent the afternoon walking through Tel Aviv and swimming in the sea, before we met up with Omer DeShalit, a talented electronics hobbyist and allegedly first RFID-implanted Israeli. Omer worked at the science museum in Jerusalem while in high school and still volunteers there. Thanks to his hiking enthusiasm and generosity, he joined our adventures to Masada and the Dead Sea and upgraded our traveling means from bus to car.
We drove from Tel Aviv to Masada on Friday night, reaching the youth hostel at the base of the plateau around 10 pm. The lodging did not deserve the title of hostel, with its large, newly renovated rooms, powerful A/C and outdoor swimming pool. Nor did the pricing...
After hanging out for a couple hours, we went to bed and set our alarm for 4 am. That would leave just enough time to groggily powerhike up the steep rock to the top of Masada, where we could catch the sunrise over the Dead Sea. We made it just in time, joining many other hikers and youth groups (some birthright) to witness the early morning view. Jim immediately passed out on the gravel, impressively overcoming the discomfort of the rockbed, while the rest of us explored the ruins of the ancient fortified settlement. (Disclaimer: all pictures stolen from Nick and Mary via Facebook)
After about an hour, it was already beginning to get hot. Our hunger led us back to the hostel, where we were greeted by a delicious breakfast buffet. It was only 8:30 am and we did not need to check out until 11, so we decided to relax and check out the pool before heading to the less friendly waters of the Dead Sea.
We drove north to Ein Gedi, an oasis-like area where a couple streams run into the Dead Sea. We passed on hiking into the nature reserve, on the grounds of heat and cost, and instead crossed the road to the free "beach" of the lowest coastline in the world. Due to rerouting of the sea's water sources and the harvesting of local mineral deposits, the water has been steadily dropping for at an astonishing rate. Losing on the order of 1 meter each year, the water line has dropped far below the beach's imported sand. You are forced to climb down blisteringly hot rocks to reach the uber-salty water. Salt deposits are built up over rocks at the shore and just underwater, a sharp obstacle on bare feet and an omen to the water's mineral effects. We enjoyed the heavy water's floatability.
The last leg of our trek took us to Jerusalem, where after a brief rest in my apartment, we headed to the Old City to wander the streets of the Muslim and Christian Quarters, and see the Kotel just before sunset. Jim and Mary, with plans to leave the next morning to Jordan, headed home to Kiryat Ono. Thoroughly exhausted, Nick and I passed out. Foolishly planning to reawake for a night excursion in the City Center's bar scene, we slept straight through to the morning.
[11:40 pm August 15] With 80 minutes until the next train to Tel Aviv, seems like a good time to catch up on some blogging. I just spent the evening with the Arnon relatives who live near Caesarea. I wish we had had more time to visit, but it was great to catch up and hear about some of their recent adventures. I'm related to Gidi and Etty Arnon through my great grandparents. Etty recently competed on the Japanese-inspired obstacle course game show Wipeout. She was in Argentina for two weeks for the competition and participated in two rounds of the show. She was the oldest competitor, which earned her respect. And she won the Funniest Fall award, which earned her $$ (even better!). Check out her prize-winning wipe out.
————
Nick visited last weekend, which was also Jim and Mary's last in Israel, so we made sure to pack our time with excitement. After an epic roofdeck party on Thursday night, Nick arrived early Friday. We spent the afternoon walking through Tel Aviv and swimming in the sea, before we met up with Omer DeShalit, a talented electronics hobbyist and allegedly first RFID-implanted Israeli. Omer worked at the science museum in Jerusalem while in high school and still volunteers there. Thanks to his hiking enthusiasm and generosity, he joined our adventures to Masada and the Dead Sea and upgraded our traveling means from bus to car.
We drove from Tel Aviv to Masada on Friday night, reaching the youth hostel at the base of the plateau around 10 pm. The lodging did not deserve the title of hostel, with its large, newly renovated rooms, powerful A/C and outdoor swimming pool. Nor did the pricing...
After hanging out for a couple hours, we went to bed and set our alarm for 4 am. That would leave just enough time to groggily powerhike up the steep rock to the top of Masada, where we could catch the sunrise over the Dead Sea. We made it just in time, joining many other hikers and youth groups (some birthright) to witness the early morning view. Jim immediately passed out on the gravel, impressively overcoming the discomfort of the rockbed, while the rest of us explored the ruins of the ancient fortified settlement. (Disclaimer: all pictures stolen from Nick and Mary via Facebook)
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| We made it just in time |
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| Sunrise over the Dead Sea |
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| Let there be light |
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| and with it, light protection |
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| Gravel nap |
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| Partially restored ruins |
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| Nick in massive Masadan cavern |
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| We hiked up the snake trail |
After about an hour, it was already beginning to get hot. Our hunger led us back to the hostel, where we were greeted by a delicious breakfast buffet. It was only 8:30 am and we did not need to check out until 11, so we decided to relax and check out the pool before heading to the less friendly waters of the Dead Sea.
We drove north to Ein Gedi, an oasis-like area where a couple streams run into the Dead Sea. We passed on hiking into the nature reserve, on the grounds of heat and cost, and instead crossed the road to the free "beach" of the lowest coastline in the world. Due to rerouting of the sea's water sources and the harvesting of local mineral deposits, the water has been steadily dropping for at an astonishing rate. Losing on the order of 1 meter each year, the water line has dropped far below the beach's imported sand. You are forced to climb down blisteringly hot rocks to reach the uber-salty water. Salt deposits are built up over rocks at the shore and just underwater, a sharp obstacle on bare feet and an omen to the water's mineral effects. We enjoyed the heavy water's floatability.
The last leg of our trek took us to Jerusalem, where after a brief rest in my apartment, we headed to the Old City to wander the streets of the Muslim and Christian Quarters, and see the Kotel just before sunset. Jim and Mary, with plans to leave the next morning to Jordan, headed home to Kiryat Ono. Thoroughly exhausted, Nick and I passed out. Foolishly planning to reawake for a night excursion in the City Center's bar scene, we slept straight through to the morning.
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| The Western Wall and the Dome of the Rock |
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