Eventually, we left on our overland tour the following day and crossed over into Namibia; from the second we crossed into Namibia, the entire landscape changed dramatically. We spent the night at Felix Unite, camping along the Orange River. The make the most of our day, Michelle and I decided to go canoeing down Orange River with some other people in our group.
To get to our start point, we were driven 10km through the deserted valley while standing on the bed of a truck – that in and of itself was a lot of fun. We were surrounded by gorgeous views during our leisurely canoe experience, and the water splashing us was very much welcomed on a sweltering hot day. 2.5 hours later, we completed our canoeing journey – sunburned, exhausted, and dehydrated.
We spent the evening watching the sunset at Fish River Canyon, which is the second largest canyon in the world (160 km long, 127 km wide, and .5km deep). To see the sunset behind such a vast canyon is really something but, unfortunately, it was a bit hazy. With cheese, crackers, and beers in hand, it was a good sundowners indeed.
The following day, we drove through the Zaris Mountains and continued along the Naukluft Mountains after lunch. We made it to our campsite and before even setting up our tent, Michelle and I ran in the pool – it was 40 degrees (104 Fahrenheit)! Later in the day, we headed to the Sesriem Canyon; Sesriem means “six ropes.” We went down into the canyon (1.6 km long, 30 m deep, and only 2 m wide in some places) and wandered around for a while before heading up for another sunset.
We awoke to a beautiful view of the Dead Sea and drove to the entrance of Wadi Mujib. Our guide decided not to tell us that we would get soaking wet, so we spent a few minutes scrambling to waterproof our bags. We put on the mandatory life jackets and started hiking. Within a minute, we climbed down a ladder straight into the water in the middle of the canyon walls. In knee-high water we began walking through the canyon, figuring that we were about to have a refreshing and relaxing morning hike. Refreshing, yes. Relaxing, not so much. Next thing we knew, we rounded a corner and realized that we would be hiking against (and up and over) rapids. While it was a blast, it was quite challenging on my hurt shoulders. Thank goodness for my fabulous brother who helped lift me up and pull me over some of the boulders (no thanks to our guide, Ali, who pretty much ignored us).
The water finally started to calm, and we figured that we must have looped and reached the end somehow. Then, we heard what sounded like immense, powerful rapids. Uh-oh. Instead, we turned the corner to find a beautiful waterfall between the canyon walls. We threw our lifejackets to the side and decided to go swim in the waterfall. The power of the falls felt incredible on my very sore shoulders. We crossed under the waterfall and found a small cave; we sat in it and looked out through the waterfall. After a bit of relaxing and free massage therapy, we decided it was time to head to our next destination. We slid down some slippery rocks with the rapids, subsequently getting sucked under the water every few minutes. Since we were going with the current, we later laid on our backs and let the current carry us down the canyon while we floated – so much easier! Even though we were soaked, the minute we exited the water-filled canyon we were dripping with sweat. It was that hot.
We took a short drive to Wadi Hisa for our second canyon hike of the day. Our guide manically drove us through the ins and outs of the canyon so fast that we were fearful that we would collide with the canyon walls. I opened my car door into water up to my thighs! Ali told us that he had to stay in the car to watch our luggage because it wasn’t safe to leave them unattended in an empty car. That should have been our warning sign.
At the time, David and I thought nothing of it and were happy to have some time away from the miserable Ali. We trekked through the water for about ten minutes before we felt like a man was following us. David thought I was being paranoid and that we should give the man the benefit of the doubt. We did. We slowed down and he passed us, but then we heard a group of village teenagers approaching us from behind. They went ahead of us, whispered something to the man in front of us, and began to circle us. They shouted and we ignored their shouts. They asked if we were Israeli. They asked what we were doing. They asked where we were going. Each time, they got closer and closer. At this point we were uncomfortable – we had money, passports, smartphones, and cameras on our bodies – and decided to turn around calmly and head back to the car. They followed us.
Despite trying to avoid a straight path by climbing behind and over various boulders, our scurrying had nothing on the Jordanians. It was, in fact, an environment to which they were accustomed. When one of the guys poked me, that’s when I knew we had to keep moving. We tried to gain speed as they closed in on us. After what felt like ages, we rounded our final bend before reaching the car. A sense of relief overwhelmed us, that is, until we realized our car doors were locked and Ali was not in the car. A few seconds later we saw him praying in a canyon cave. He looked up and saw the boys yelling at us. Ali instantly unlocked the car doors and started screaming at the boys in Arabic. We’re lucky to have been unharmed, but it was too bad that we were unable to explore another beautiful canyon.
Happy to be in a car, we drove about half an hour to a lookout over some of Jordan’s canyons. Here, we ate a disgusting fly-infested lunch…or at least tried to.
It was time to head back to Petra for the night. Along the way, we stopped to look at Jordan’s largest archeological reserve from above. People say that the reserve is 6,000-8,000 years old. The far end of the reserve houses copper mines that King David and King Solomon used way back when.
Ali drove 90 mph (144.8 kph) all the way to Petra on narrow, windy, rocky roads. We arrived in Petra at 3pm and spent the rest of the afternoon unwinding from our eventful, stressful afternoon.
The next morning we went to the Gadot Lookout and Memorial, which was the site of a Syrian military base until 1967. We learned that Eli Cohen, an Israeli spy that infiltrated the Syrian government under the name of Kamel Amin Thaabet, helped enable Israel to easily capture the Golan Heights during the Six Day War. Feigning sympathy, Cohen convinced the Syrian military generals to plant Eucalyptus trees around their bases in order to provide shade from the blazing sun for the soldiers – those huge trees were then used as a target so that, during the Six Day War, the Israeli army knew exactly where the Syrian military bases were when they carried out their air strikes. The Golan was captured within two days. Syrian intelligence eventually caught onto Cohen by tracing his radio transmissions into Israel. He was found guilty of espionage and publicly hanged in the Marjeh Square in Damascus on May 18, 1965; his remains have yet to return to Israel.
The experience of being at the Gadot Lookout, a base that was also surrounded by mines, was really neat. It was strange knowing that we were standing on what used to be Syrian soil, while looking down into an Israeli valley and left to the mountains of Lebanon.
Following the lookout, we hiked through a canyon to Nahal Zavitan. The hike began on a flat path with non-descript surroundings. of a sudden we reached a canyon that was so green and beautiful; the vegetation was amazing. After virtually scaling rocks and walking in little caves, we reached a beautiful oasis with a waterfall and pretty pink flowers. It was hot. We jumped into the river and swam to the waterfall. So refreshing.
Before we were to hang out by the Sea of Galilee, we went to Mount Bental (an inactive volcano) for a panoramic view of the Golan Heights and Mount Hermon. The view was stunning as we looked out into three separate countries: Israel, Syria, and Lebanon. On certain days, one can see and hear explosions happening in Damascus during this horrid civil war. Mount Bental was the site of one of the largest tank battles in history during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, and a key strategic point for the IDF due to its advantageous viewpoint. It was during this war that the Syrians attacked the Golan Heights with 1,500 tanks and 1,000 artillery pieces. Israel only had 160 tanks and 60 artillery pieces. It was the Syrians who retreated in the end; Israel won the Golan. The expansive valley stretching between Mount Bental and Mount Hermon became known as the Valley of Tears, as it was the major battle site during the Yom Kippur War.
That afternoon we were taken to the Cocohut Beach Resort in Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee to go tubing and relax for a while.
Our evening ended with a guest musician – Gilad Vital of Shotei Ha’nevu’ah and Pshutei Ha’am – who told a fascinating story of his youth. Through his music, he discussed his family story. We learned that his grandparents were separately taken to Auschwitz (and killed) during the Holocaust, leaving behind two young children: his father and his aunt. Their babysitter went on to put the two children in a convent so that they would be saved. They were saved, and Vital was born. His songs were emotional, full of both sorrow and passion.
I was up with the sun after a short but deep sleep in the tent, despite virtually sleeping on the ground. We had a quick breakfast and went to our canyon hike at Ein Ovdat. The gorges of the canyon were a different, and welcomed, change of scenery from the desert that surrounds Masada. We had assumed that we were walking through the canyon. And we did…until it was time to go straight up. Through a series of ladders and stairs, we made it to the very top of the canyon and looked down from where we came. It was stunning.
We headed back to the Bedouin tents for our camel trek. The “Four Humps” rocked the caboose of our camel-chain. We trotted along, laughing and joking around for a bit before riding back to the tents.
Can’t say camel riding is the most comfortable experience in the world, but it’s an experience nonetheless. Naturally, I had to take a selfie…
We departed from the Bedouin village and went to Midreshet Sde Boker, the site of Ben Gurion’s grave. He and his wife are buried on the cliff overlooking the Zin Valley. David Ben-Gurion was Israel’s first Prime Minister and is commonly known as Israel’s founding father. On May 14, 1948 it was Ben Gurion who officially proclaimed the establishment of the State of Israel and was the first to sign the Israeli Declaration of Independence. What’s most interesting though is that after retiring from political life in 1970 Ben Gurion moved to Sde Boker, a kibbutz in the Negev Desert, and spent his final years there trying to fulfill his vision of cultivating the Negev.
After a quick falafel for lunch, and the discovery of guaraná in Israel (!!!), we stopped by a goat farm in the Negev, held baby goats, tasted delicious goat cheese, and reflected with the Israelis (as it was our last time gathered as a group).
Honestly, it sucked. It sucked knowing that seven members of our newfound family were leaving, and I felt like the dynamic just wouldn’t be the same after their departure – their presence, smiles, laughs, and viewpoints would all be sorely missed. We hugged them goodbye and waved to them from the bus as we watched them walk away.
We made it to Netanya, and as soon as we arrived we were greeted with an outstanding sunset right outside my bedroom window. I took in the beauty as I reflected on how I already missed my new Israeli friends.
That night we went out in Tel Aviv, and the Israelis just “happened” to show up in the same place at the same time. Hmmm, I wonder how that happened?! 🙂 We all sat around a large table drinking, chatting, and enjoying each others company for what we knew would actually be our last time hanging out together. There was a lot of love and respect going around that table.
We spent the following day in Tel Aviv. We began in Rabin Square, where Yitzhak Rabin, the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, was assassinated in 1995; he was assassinated by a radical right-wing Orthodox Jew who was against the creation and signing of the Oslo Accords (to which he won the Nobel Peace Prize).
We spent the morning wandering around Tel Aviv before ultimately entering Independence Hall – it was at this site that Ben Gurion officially declared the State of Israel on May 14, 1948 (despite being in the midst of a Civil War). The following day began the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Armies from Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, and Syria all attacked the newly-deemed land of Israel. It wasn’t until 1949 that Israel signed armistices with everyone (Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria) except Iraq and Palestine.
After learning quite a bit about the creation of the State of Israel, we headed to Jerusalem Beach to relax on the Mediterranean. The water was beautiful and the sun was shining; it was some much-needed downtime.
We boarded the bus to Tiberias, ate, and had a fascinating talk about the West Bank. As I crawled into bed, exhausted, I rolled over to check the time and saw an urgent email from NYU Buenos Aires. I quickly opened it to discover that my tango buddy from my Buenos Aires program, Zake Morgan, had passed away during his travels in Nicaragua; it’s amazing how truly fragile life is. Zake brought laughter and smiles to everyone he interacted with and will be forever missed. I pray that his parents find peace and comfort in these difficult times.
The Five Foot Traveler 