By the time we got back to Clore, it was almost time to go out! We changed and headed to the Hebrew University Rehovot campus (for agricultural studies), to the bar there called the Kukula, because they have a beer special on Wednesdays. We just sat around on couches and talked for an hour or two, then moved outside to the courtyard when it got too warm inside. An interesting discussion topic, namely, standards and criteria for "hotness" or interest in people of the opposite gender, was a recurring theme for the night.
We got back to Clore around 1 am, at which time we all packed for the next day's trip. We left as a kind of mob of people, heading for the parking lot of San Martin where the bus was waiting for us. The departure time was 2 am. This trip, another one organized by Greta for the KKISS program members, promised to be a long but exciting day.
We began with a drive, during which I think most people (me included, hence the "think") slept, to the foot of Masada. I also met Daniela, a recently-arrived KKISS student from Austria, on the bus. We arrived around 4 am, in the dark, and began the trek up the easy trail as the horizon began to take on a tinge of pink. By the time we reached the top, it was light enough to see very well, but the sun hadn't truly risen above the mountain tops in the distance, so we stood, looking east, munching sandwiches, as the fiery red ball emerged. Scattered along the edge, various people could be seen praying, and grackles hopped about looking for crumbs. The air was still cool and quiet as the day broke.
Sarah, our guide, then began the formal tour. We explored the storage buildings, baths, Herod's palace, the dovecotes, and the meeting rooms or synagogues as we criscrossed the surface of the plateau. Other tour groups engaged in similar activities or performed reenactments of the two sieges which took place at this site (Herod and his army or the Jewish rebels), and could be seen as we went on our way. Finally we started our descent, down the more difficult route, called the "Snake Path." You can use your imagination to conjure up possible origins of that name, but for my description, suffice it to say it is much longer and steeper than the way we took up.
At the bottom, we entered the visitor's center and sat basking in the glory of the air conditioning for a bit before walking through the Masada Museum, after which we boarded the bus once more and headed to the closeby Ein Gedi nature reserve. We restocked on water before beginning the hike, which took us through tall cliffs dotted with small caves, along a stream which periodically cascaded down the pale rocks, forming blue-green pools ringed with algae. While the first portion of the path was rather unexciting, there were many hyrax spottings: the adults as well as young were hopping about, in the shade on the ground or in the branches of the trees, and we literally saw dozens before the path dipped down and took us to the first pool. A few of us swam, but many waited for the next pool, only a few minutes down the path, which was larger and colder than the first, with a slightly more impressive waterfall. The third pool was even deeper and had a small, flat portion of rock by the falls which allowed Ari and I to compete with some acrobatic dives. I started with a cannonball, as requested, but when he did a backwards twist-flip, even my consequent backdive couldn't bring me back to win the contest. This pool was also home to a small worm which bit Tanmay's arm and some tadpoles which Jonathan caught to show us before releasing. I was able to photograph the latter, as well as some dragonflies.
After dipping in the third pool we gathered our belongings and headed back. At the bus we waited a few minutes for everyone to return, then drove across the street to the Dead Sea, in which we...floated. For anyone who hasn't ever done this, it is a necessary life task, but I don't think anyone can describe to you just how odd it is. The rocks by the shore, where water has evaporated, are coated in sharp salt crystals which glittered in the sunlight. The water is oily, and very warm, and the salts (plural, yes; not just NaCl) make up such a high percentage of the water that you are able to discover any unknown cuts or broken skin you might not have known you had. Also, after a bit it hurts. So we got in, sat for a few minutes (some longer than others), and then showered before grabbing our first real meal of the day. We took our time eating, then got back on the bus for the drive to Jerusalem. As this leg of the journey was a bit longer, many of us (read: I) took a brief nap and woke just as we pulled up to a scenic overlook of the Old City.
We got out and Sarah told us a little bit about the Temple and the Dome of the Rock, as well as general history of the large cemetery in front of us and the city of Jerusalem. We took a group picture before having a snack of watermelon and boarding the bus again for Mount Hertzl. We saw his and various other tombs there, then walked a few minutes down the hill to Yad Vashem, Jerusalem's Holocaust Museum. Here we spent two hours, which wasn't nearly enough to finish but still was emotionally draining. Since the relatively recent renovations of the museum, the structure echoes the content: you enter a relatively wide hall above ground, and can see the end of the museum in the distance. But to get there, the central hall narrows and dips underground, and the exhibit crisscrosses this central hall, shuttling you along and forcing you to pass all the material. As the "years" pass, the path is more constricted, until the end, when the central hall becomes wide again and glass doors lead onto a balcony overlooking a huge valley outside Jerusalem. As I emerged, tears in my eyes, the glowing orange ball of the sun hung low above the trees ringing the valley in the distance, silhouetting a view of modern Israel, the embodiment of hope for the Jewish people.
The day had an interesting symmetry to it: sunrise at Masada, sunset at Yad Vashem. In 20 hours we had covered so much ground, and I was drained completely, physically and emotionally. On the bus I expected to pass out immediately, but sleep eluded me all the way back to Rehovot. When we arrived around 9:30, I found some dinner, and then I crashed completely.
I took so many pictures that I'm going to post them grouped by location or subject matter over the next few days. So today you get pictures from the start of the trip and Masada!
A seemingly normal picture of people on the bus
just before our departure. But wait for it...
...look at Ari's face!
And now, Masada:
3 comments:
HATE the Snake Path. That thing is terrifying.
That sounds so amazing! Aw, you get to do so much fun stuff this summer. :-)
<3
Same tour guide, she is awesome.
When I was there, someone took "short cuts" down, by the snake paths. It's steep, but less snakey. I almost fell off laughing so hard.
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