Last Trip of the Semester....Eilat etc

The first semester is coming to a close and this weekend we went on our last overnight trip. We headed out early Thursday morning (and on time….unusual for our group) and made our way South to Eilat. On the way we stopped at Sde Boker, the kiibutz where Ben Gurion retired to and eventually died. He and his wife are buried right next to a cliff overlooking an amazing view of the Negev. We hiked through Ein Avdat national park then stopped at the ancient city of Avdat. Avdat was home to the Nabataens (the same people who built Petra). We learned a bit about the history then got a chance to wander around the ancient city. I LOVE history and ancient stuff!!

We headed to Kibbutz Ketura for dinner and a good night’s sleep. Ketura is where we stayed for our orientation week in September. It was nice to go there at the end of the semester too. As always we made some delicious food for dinner. For a group of twenty something recent college grads, we are really good cooks!

On Friday we went on another hike through some absolutely beautiful desert scenery. The Negev looks a lot like the Southwestern part of USA and the hike we went on reminded me of the Grand Canyon. We even got to see some Ibexs. We watched one jump off a rock ledge onto another really small one. It was amazing that he didn’t fall to his death. Ibexs are super cool! After the hike we headed down to Eilat and stopped at the beach. I swam in the Red Sea for the first time. It was really salty, kinda like the Dead Sea, and floating was really easy. I also got a chance to do some snorkeling. I saw some really beautiful fish and lots of funny-shaped coral. We made another delicious meal and slept wonderfully in the comfort of a hotel.

Saturday we went to Kibbutz Lotan. Lotan is known for its ecological features. They have small houses made out of mud, solar ovens using nothing but reflective surfaces and the desert sun, and composting toilets. You do your business, pour in some straw, and everything goes into a tank below. In about 5 months it all turns to dirt. I hate science, but it was pretty awesome! They also had a sweet playground, which of course brought out the children in all of us, especially the giant twister board. After that we went to Timna, which is basically a huge rock amusement park. There was one boulder that was shaped like a mushroom after millions of years of erosion.

Two of our fellow participants, Katie and Nate, are getting married in two weeks when they go home for the semester break. We decided to celebrate their wedding by putting together a collection of good wishes etc from the whole group. We also decorated our hands with henna, which is a traditional wedding activity in many Middle Eastern cultures.

Overall, our last trip of the semester was pretty spectacular.