Day Eight: Into the Desert

Yesterday was the day of our big hike! We left Jerusalem early in the morning to make our way over to Mt. Masada. It was about a 40 minute climb to the top of the mountain. At the top, we explored the land and learned about the Zealots. We had a beautiful view of the desert and the Dead Sea. After the walk back down, we drove over to experience the Dead Sea for ourselves. The water was calm and warm, but because it's so salty we had to refrain from splashing each other too much. We covered ourselves in mud that's meant to make your skin feel great. Once we were done at the sea, we had to say our goodbyes to the Israeli soldiers that we became great friends with. We learned a lot from them and we were sad to see them go. We all vowed to keep in touch, and those extending their trip made plans to see them again. Later in the afternoon, we arrived to our Bedouin village in the Judean Desert. The first thing we did was go on a camel ride! It was a lot of fun. Then we had time to sit down and learn about this Bedouin community and its people. The man telling us about the village didn't speak English, so we had Dor translate for us. By this time we were all starving, and we were treated to a delicious Bedouin meal. In the evening, we had a drum circle. We experimented with different sounds and rhythms we could make with our bodies. Once we got some consistency in our rhythm, we were given drums to play around with. We made some great beats! We spent our night together in one giant tent, and we were given mats and blankets to sleep on. It was a very interesting privilege to sleep outside in a desert in Israel, and it's something we will never forget! -Suzy