Those of you that have been following my travels know how much travel means to me. But, what you may not know is how much traveling as a woman has impacted my life. I have found that many women are not given the confidence they are needed to go out and earn their own global degree. We push ourselves to explore, work hard, and accomplish a goal; we are supposed to graduate college, go right into a job, and have a family. But what if this isn’t your goal? What if your goal is to travel and to hit every country? You may be thinking, well, that’s an unattainable dream. It isn’t. Life is not about fitting into the norms. It is about not letting fear dictate your choices. While earning my Global Degree, I am breaking the mold. I am taking a chance and pushing past society’s expectations; there is a new culture of women out there that I am so eager to become a part of.
The 21st Century woman is not meek, submissive, or polite. She is a courageous leader who owns her identity. She decides her future by choosing experiences that create her own real-world masterpiece. When traveling, a woman is not a daughter, sister, or wife, she is a person exploring the beauty of humanity; equality and equity thrive in exploration. There are no boundaries, proclivities, or prejudices, but the innocent display of common good. It is up to us. We become exposed for who we are. When exploring the world, we are our own natural selves: innate beings unaffected by the tenets of our lives.
“A woman in a man’s world” is no longer a valid phrase. It’s neither a man’s world nor a woman’s world. It is OUR world. And our world deserves more women, from all walks of life, getting out there and making a difference.
I just found out this week that the guys over at Global Degree are looking for a girl to join their team – a girl that would be the youngest girl in the world to hit every country. Unfortunately, I’m about a month late to the competition (which ends THIS WEDNESDAY) and could really use your help!
Please SHARE this video on social media and LIKE it on YouTube to help keep me in the running for my Global Degree! We don’t have much time to get the likes in…
Did you know that the closest living relative to a hippo is a whale? Or, that hippos actually walk the streets of St. Lucia on cooler afternoons? Well, we didn’t before taking a hippo and croc cruise on the St. Lucia Estuary, offered by Heritage Tours. Heritage Tours charters one of the smallest boats available on the Estuary, the Shoreline, which instantly made for a more personable experience. Dennis, our skipper, not only pointed out hippo families, but crocs and numerous bird species as well. While they do not guarantee crocs, they sure work hard to find them for you. In fact, we spotted three (with one of them being the second largest croc species in the world)!
Aside from the crocs, we so enjoyed sitting and watching the groups of hippos relax while virtually submerged underwater. It’s quite interesting – they look so calm and peaceful while laying in the water, yet they’re quite dangerous. For what it’s worth, the hippo is actually responsible for more human deaths in Africa than any other large mammal. We learned that hippos feed underwater, breathe underwater, and even give birth underwater.
The tour is suitable for all ages and the perfect amount of time. Dennis provided endless facts and stories throughout our route, all with much humor and enthusiasm. It’s definitely worth spending your morning in St. Lucia with Dennis along the Estuary! After our second day with Heritage Tours, it was clear that they are passionate about what they do and try to give their clients the best experience possible. Highly recommended.
I slept restlessly that night and woke up around 5am to check the time. A text showed up from my mother saying that David and I might need to re-think heading back to Jerusalem later that afternoon. When I asked why, she sent me a link to an article: “Palestinians shooting into Israel. Israel retaliating by attacking 20 terror sites. Alarms being set off in Jerusalem.” Fantastic (please note the sarcasm). We spent the morning trying to figure out where would be the safest place for us to go, if Jerusalem was out of the question. We had decided to go to Sinai then Tel Aviv, but after much consideration we opted to head back to Jerusalem as planned.
With that figured out, we went downstairs for yummy breakfast. The Eilat Youth Hostel definitely has the best breakfast spread I have ever seen at a hostel. We hailed a cab and headed toward Dolphin Reef. The cab driver was so friendly and we chatted the entire time. I told him that I want to come back and work on a Kibbutz and he said that after a week of working on one I’d call home saying, “Mommy come get me. It’s too harddddd.” It was hilarious and we had quite the laugh. Upon entering Dolphin Reef, we were struck by its beauty. It was virtually empty when we arrived, so it was just us, the glistening water, and the dolphins.
It really was quite a unique area. The snorkeling was a major letdown and a waste of time, but oh well.
We spent the rest of the day relaxing (and unintentionally frying) on the beautiful beach, and made our final decision to catch the 4:45pm bus back to Jerusalem. We left Dolphin Reef, grabbed a quick falafel, and caught the four and a half hour bus. We stayed at the oh-so-fabulous Abraham Hostel in Jerusalem, watched some of the USA World Cup game in the overcrowded and rambunctious common area, and passed out for a few hours.
We spent our final day in Jordan off-roading in Wadi Rum, the largest wadi (valley) in Jordan. Wadi Rum has been largely occupied by the Bedouins who, until recent years, led nomadic lives. The valley is home to huge rock formations, temples, rock bridges, and ancient inscriptions. Ali drove like a maniac throughout this deserted valley – driving vertically up thin, narrow rock bridges, flying down sand dunes, and everything in between. Even though I consistently thought we were going to flip over, it was a ton of fun and the landscapes were beautiful.
After a delicious lunch of salad, chicken, spicy peppers, and hummus (prepared by another guide in the middle of the desert), we headed back to the Israeli border where we had some good laughs with the border personnel.
Once successfully across the border in Israel, we asked our driver to be taken to the Desert Eco Tours office to place a complaint about our guide, Ali. The man we spoke with was completely unsympathetic, shrugged me off, and said someone would be in touch within a few hours. No one called. Fast-forward – I spoke with the Owner of the company the following day and he didn’t see an issue with the fact that we were harassed in a canyon, despite the fact that we paid for a local guide to ensure that that wouldn’t happen. I do NOT recommend using Desert Eco Tours for your next trip to Jordan (with the exception of their Petra day trip) as they were not only unprofessional, but they didn’t seem to care that our safety was at risk, not only in the canyon, but also when our so-called guide was texting and swerving while driving 90mph/144.8kph on not-so-great roads. Desert Eco Tours did, however, acknowledge that the texting and driving was not of the norm.
We wandered around Eilat for a little bit before settling into our hostel for the night. While laying in bed, we found out that the three missing Israeli teenagers were found murdered. Heavy news and a heavy reality to have witnessed, as we were there from the beginning to end of their search. RIP Gilad, Eyal, and Naftali.
When you encounter uncomfortable situations, you can either decide to be victim or an over-comer. Always choose to be an over-comer. Grace is within our reach to be an over-comer.
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.
We woke up early to head to Jerash, located in Northern Jordan near the Syrian border. After spending almost four hours in the car going in and out of sleep, we arrived at the site of the ruins of the Greco-Roman city of Gerasa (modern day Jerash), which was founded in 2000 BC.
Once considered part of the Decropolis, Jerash is the only one of those cities whose streets you can wander; it is the perfect example of what a Roman city used to look like, considered by many to be one of the best preserved sites of Roman architecture in the world (outside of Italy). In fact, only 40% of Jerash has been uncovered, while the other 60% remains beneath the soil. This town felt like a Roman village. From the earthquake-proof Corinthian columns, to Hadrian’s Arch and the Hippodrome, to the Temples of Zeus and Artemis, to the Cardo Maximus, Oval Forum, and beyond, you can truly picture what Jerash looked like many lifetimes ago.
At lunch that afternoon, our guide taught us about Ramadan – Mercy Month, or the Month of Fasting, considered to be regarded as one of the Five Pillars of Islam. To begin the following morning at 4am, Jordan (and a large majority of Muslim countries) were to fast during all hours of daylight every day for one month, from dawn to sunset. It’s compulsory for Muslims to begin fasting upon reaching puberty, with some exceptions (the sick, the pregnant, the nursing, the babies, etc.). In Jordan, those unable to fast have to give to a poor person the most expensive meal they have in their house, or the equivalent of that in cash. According to our Jordanian guide, the idea behind Ramadan is to feel what a poor person feels on a daily basis, in turn becoming a better person and feeling mercy for others.
Post lunch, we drove to Madaba, which is best known by its Byzantine and Umayyad mosaics, specifically for the large Byzantine-era mosaic map of the Holy Land. The Madaba Mosaic Map was discovered in 1896 and preserved in the floor of the Greek Orthodox Basilica of Saint George. It is an indexed map of the region, depicting hills, valleys, villages, and towns in Palestine and the Nile Delta. It illustrates 6th century landmarks, with the Cardo Maximus and the Holy Sepulchre quite visible. Mosaics aside, Madaba was once a Moabite border city, mentioned in the Bible in Numbers 21:30 and Joshua 13:9.
From Madaba we drove to Mt. Nebo. According to the final chapter of Deuteronomy, Moses climbed Mt. Nebo right before he died, and it was there that he looked out upon the Promised Land (that he would never enter) for the first time. After his descent from Mt. Nebo, he died in the city of Moab; no one is exactly sure where he is buried. Atop Mt. Nebo, approximately 2,680 feet above Sea Level, there is a panoramic view of the Holy Land, the valley of the River Jordan, Jericho, and Jerusalem on a clear day.
Pointed in the direction of the Holy Land is the Brazen Serpent Monument, symbolic of the bronze serpent created by Moses in the Wilderness (Numbers 21: 4-9) and the cross upon which Jesus was crucified – “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up” (John 3:14).
We drove to our accommodation for the night: Mujib Chalets, aka a hut overlooking the Dead Sea. We got there right before sunset and I decided that I wanted to go for another swim in the Dead Sea. Me. The water. The mountains. Not a soul in sight. Solitude. We watched a beautiful sunset from our patio, relaxed a bit, and passed out early.
Jordan has a strange, haunting beauty and a sense of timelessness. Dotted with the ruins of empires once great, it is the last resort of yesterday in the world of tomorrow.
David and I were up early to get ready to cross the border into Jordan. We were given adorable to-go breakfasts and our driver was right on time at 7am. We drove to Israel’s southernmost border with Jordan and waited to cross. While we were waiting we chatted with some Israelis inquiring about birthright and at 8am we were let in the gates.
The passport guy took one look at my passport and screamed “that smile!” He cracked up and showed the other person in the room with him who started laughing. He told me it was a great photo and let us through immediately. There were many different security checkpoints like at an airport. In one of the lines we were talking to the people in front of us who said they’re from NYC and I asked where. One of them said she lived in Chelsea and I mentioned that I used to do trapeze over there. To make a long story short, I knew their daughter and we knew some mutual friends involved with flying trapeze. It really is a small world. After a bit of time we finally crossed the border into Jordan!
We met up with our guide, Mohammed, and bussed for 2.5 hours to Petra. I was exhausted and it was really tough to stay awake during the drive. We pit stopped at a great lookout point and were first exposed to the Arabian feel of Jordan from the clothes to the jewelry to the tchotchkes.
The journey to Petra begins in the Bab as-Siq, a gravel road running alongside Wadi Musa. There are some major monuments on this path, as it is all part of the necropolis, with the two most well-known being the The Obelisk Tomb and Bab as-Siq Triclinium. The Obelisk Tomb (upper half), naturally, contains burial sites. The Bab as-Siq Triclinium (lower half), was used as a dining room where feats were held in honor of the dead.
To reach Petra, you have to walk through the Siq, an immense, breathtaking gorge that make you feel so small and insignificant. It’s insane to think that tectonic forces caused the dramatic split in these rocks. After the split, the waters of Wadi Musa flowed in, which gradually rounded the sharp rock edges into smooth curves. We hopped from shady spot to shady spot all while trying to avoid the horse poop and all the nasty flies that surrounded it.
At one point, Mohammad told us to look up at a tree wedged between the rocks, way high up. We couldn’t see it so he told us to back up. We all backed up and couldn’t see it. Then he told us to look to our left – and there was the Treasury. We gasped. He did such an amazing job of surprising us with that view.
The treasury was built 2000 years ago, and when it was found, it was in perfect shape with the exception of the third pillar. Pretty remarkable.
We continued to walk around Petra, viewing family plots and royal plots. It was all unbelievable. We walked down the beautiful Cardo Maximus on our way to the 900-stair Monastery climb. Keep in mind, it was 108 degrees (42.2 C). We were drenched and dehydrated. I was a bit nauseous from lunch and lack of water, so half of the climb up was pretty miserable. Halfway up I bought another liter and a half of water and felt much better. Our poor legs were getting such a workout.
We made it to the Monastery and were in awe – no one was there, it was just us and this ginormous monument. We were able to climb inside the monastery – David climbed up first to pull me up and John, our new American friend, lifted me up. The inside was really cool – both in the sense of “wow this is neat” and “wow a break from the sun.” To be somewhere so isolated, alone with this gigantic Monastery that was 200 years older than the Treasury, was remarkable. I was in awe.
We decided to climb up to the very top breathtaking viewpoint. We could see the preserved city in broad daylight with the Jordanian flag swaying above us. It was truly amazing.
After completing the Monastery steps, we started on another path to the royal burial site – the site of the most important king after Mohammad. By then it was about 18:00 and starting to get a little shadier, which was a much needed break after 6.5 hours in the sweltering heat. Petra had completely emptied out and we felt like the only people there. We trudged along back to the Treasury to find no one in front of it! It was that much more unbelievable – truly an incredible piece of architecture.
We took off back through the tourist-less gorges and finally made it to our hotel. We were so exhausted, we barely made it to dinner. Halfway through our meal we heard the nightly call to prayers come on the loudspeakers all over the whole city; it was absolutely fascinating.
It really boils down to this: that all life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one destiny, affects all indirectly.
Our last morning with Birthright. After breakfast, we threw a red ball of yarn around our circle while sharing our most prominent moment from the trip. It was very emotional and it connected us both figuratively and literally. We were such a unique, likeminded group of individuals and the yarn signified that not only are we rooted together, but that our actions affect everyone else. It was really quite moving, and we partook in one last group hug.
We boarded the bus, took our last look at the Sea of Galilee, and began driving to Ben Gurion airport. As we approached the airport, we tearfully sang “Leaving on a Jetplane.” I knew that our Israeli soldiers would be meeting us, so when we walked through the doors I looked all around. I saw no one. Then out of nowhere I heard them yelling and running towards us and somehow got tackled in one (final) big Taglit bear hug. Day = Made. We said our sad goodbyes to the group. It was weird to be at the airport with luggage and not boarding a plane. David and I had to make our way to Eilat somehow, and luckily we were able to get on a train with our Israeli friends who guided us in the right direction.
Unfortunately, by the time we made it to the bus station, we had to wait two hours for our bus to Eilat. David and I wandered around, reflecting on the incredible journey that we’d had thus far. For some reason, we were some of the only non-military people on the bus, which was interesting. If I were anywhere else in the world, I’d be uncomfortable being surrounded by so many guns in such a close vicinity in a country where I didn’t speak the language. That’s not what we are accustomed to in the US but, in Israel, it put me at ease.
We finally got on the bus for our three-hour journey South. It was smooth as could be. During a fifteen minute rest stop this old Israeli lady asked if she could practice her English with me. She told me about how her whole family had been in Israel for as long as they knew. She wanted to tell me her story and explained that when she was a teenager the South was just a land of dirt, and so she mapped out what she wanted her house to look like, laid it in the sand, and put rocks on the corners so that it wouldn’t blow away. She then built that house on the same spot of land and has been there ever since. A pretty touching story indeed. At last, we arrived in Eilat at 23:00 and were thrilled that we were actually able to find our hostel.
We began the day at Rosh Hanikra, the ocean swept caves of the Mediterranean. The view was absolutely breathtaking. The Bridge and Railway tunnels at Rosh Hanikra are part of the rail tracks Haifa – Beirut – Tripoli that were established by the British Mandate Government during the Second World War. This was done to connect the Israeli and Lebanese rail networks and to establish a continuous rail network from Egypt via Sinai, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey to Europe. Today, the tunnels leading have been sealed for fear of intruders.
The big difference between our birthright experience and other groups was that we had the opportunity to complete the Sea to Sea (Yam l’Yam) trek after finishing up the traditional 10-day experience; we hiked from the Mediterranean Sea to the Sea of Galilee. Upon arriving at Achziv Beach, we were told to choose a rock that we were to carry with us throughout the trek. This rock was meant to remind us why we were setting out on the path – a spiritual journey, a physical journey, a pilgrimage – whatever it may be, this rock was to be our tangible reminder.
The beginning of our hike was beautiful, from Nahal Kziv to Goren Park to Montfort Castle. The hiking was easy enough, but the heat was a killer. Upon arriving at Goren Park we found ourselves trekking up a cliffside then perching ourselves on cliffs overlooking gorgeous forestry.
We went to our campsite and all took part in making dinner. We had a vast array of food – salads, hotdogs, hamburgers, veggies, potatoes, hummus, tahini. After a spectacular sunset, we set up our “beds,” aka a yoga mat and a thin sleeping bag without a pillow, and passed out under the stars. I woke up at 3am to a pack of howling jackals but was so exhausted that I was able to fall right back to sleep.
I awoke with a spider in my hair. Yes, a spider. I was beginning to embrace this new outdoorsy me, although I could do without the spiders. After a nutella-packed breakfast, we visited Hurfesh, a Druze village. We spoke with a member of the community, and he explained that the Druze “believe in all the prophets – Moses, Jesus, and Mohammad.” That days hike was less exciting than the previous day, but fulfilling nonetheless.
The highlight was definitely our visit to the Circassian Village in Rehaniya. While the majority of us unintentionally zoned out (due to fatigue) through the history of the Circassians, we had a delicious homemade meal. We sat down, drank some sweet ginger lemonade, and then an array of food was put in front of us – spicy beets, potato salad, eggplants, carrots, corn salad, warm bread, and noodle soup. We devoured the food, and then learned that that was only our first course. Then they brought out our (entirely dairy-filled) meal – bread stuffed with ricotta (similar to empanadas), something similar to pierogis dipped in a yogurt sauce, and a cheese plate. We could barely move we were so full. But then they brought out some juicy watermelon and we just couldn’t resist.
Stuffed and exhausted, we made our way back to the campsite. By the time we arrived it was pitch black and we had to set up our sleeping areas in the dark. Thanks to Drew, I somehow ended up with a perfectly rockless spot to sleep on. That night was exceptionally cold and, even though I had on sweatpants, a sweatshirt, and a buff wrapped around my neck, I could not get warm. Needless to say, I didn’t get much sleep, however, the view of the stars above me while I was drifting in and out of consciousness was remarkable.
David and I were some of the first up that morning, and the first thing I saw was someone’s very empty food bags spewed across the entire campsite. Turns out, my darling Casey forgot to tightly secure her food before passing out, so a wild boar got into her food. David then went on to tell me that he heard the wild boar growling next to him while he was trying to sleep; he just went deeper into his sleeping bag and tried not to move until the boar went away.
We left to climb Mt. Meron from our campsite at 7:30am and we were climbing straight uphill from the get-go. A very good morning to us all. It was truly a beautiful hike. When we reached the peak, we had a Hebrew naming ceremony for those that didn’t already have one. I chose “Ezraela” which means “God is my help” and David chose “Raphael” meaning “God has healed.” We, as a group, chanted our names in the direction of Tzfat (remember, it’s one of the four holiest cities).
It was a long path down, and an even longer path to our next campsite. With painful shin splints, parts of the rocky path were tough but manageable. After 9.5 hours of hiking, we finally reached our campsite for the night.
We were greeted with watermelon and more importantly…bathrooms! We had a scrumptious pasta dinner and made s’mores by the fire before passing out early.
David woke me up at 5:30am to watch the sunrise on the final day of our trek. As he nudged me awake, I sleepily sat up and felt something itching my chest. I looked down to find a huge creepy-crawly nuzzled between my boobs! Within seconds I ripped off my sweatshirt and stood there topless laughing at myself (covering myself as much as possible, of course). We got ready, ate breakfast and took off for our fourth, and final, hike.
It was straight downhill for a while, so we moved pretty quickly before coming to a pretty little lake surrounded by some cliffs and ruins. We kept on trudging, entered a valley, and continued our trek. It was uphill for a while, and then we were virtually scaling the rocks which was just incredible. I was loving every second of it. It was brutally hot, to the point where all of the trails got shut down due to the intense heat.
Lucky us, we were stuck in the middle of the trail already and, thus, had to complete it no matter the heat index. We were drenched in sweat, bodies aching, and soaked in the view. When the end was finally in site, some of the group jogged there … until we realized there was a barbed wire fence blocking us in. We couldn’t figure out how to exit the trail. We looked around and realized that the only way out was straight up. So straight up we went. Another fence. This time, the barbed wired fence had a very small hole in it. Well, there was our solution. We crouched down, one by one, and slid through the tiny gap in the barbed wire fence.
We ended at the Sea of Galilee. Remember the rock that we chose four days prior? Here, we threw it in the water. Despite the heatwave, we completed Yam l’Yam and I couldn’t have been more thrilled.
We then relaxed in the hot springs in Tiberias. We immediately went into the mineral water pool, which stung our scrapes from the hike but felt so lovely. From there we jumped in the main pool and ultimately settled in the outdoor mineral pool, which felt like a hot tub. After a relaxing evening, and another great meal, we sat outside to discuss the trek.
Before doing so, we realized it was our guide, Itay’s, 13th birthright trip, so we gave him a Birthright Bar Mitzvah; it was so heartwarming. After a beautiful goodbye sunset, we took off for the hotel and were so excited for our first post-trek shower.
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 
