On the Topic of Water

We're back! The backpacking trip was incredible...the desert is so vast and so completely different from anything I've ever seen before. Endless and majestic, and humbling. It demands admiration, if not respect. You don't mess around in the desert...or you're going to find yourself in a pretty difficult situation. Fact of the day: carrying water is heavy. It's something I took for granted in the past--being able to find a water source like a river or lake instead of having it all on your back. But I was also rather spoiled, going with Matan and two friends, Amir and Shaked. Their packs definitely took a bit more of the load than mine.

Day 1: On Thursday morning, we started in Be'er-Sheva, shopping for food: bread, tuna, lots of canned things, coffee, chocolate wafers...chocolate spread (a beloved Israeli necessity). We took a bus to Arad, right on the edge of the Judean desert. From there, we hitchhiked to the trailhead and began. Within a couple minutes, Amir started explaining to me how deserts are made. This guy knows his stuff--he was a nature guide for a year, and just has an amazingly impressive knowledge of Israel's nature and history. It was so nice for me to have him as this personal guide on the whole trip, sharing bits and pieces of interesting facts about which animals populate the desert, how certain landscapes were formed, constellations, the history of Jewish rule, the Roman siege. He also has an appreciation for the basic pleasures of life. A couple hours in, Amir announced it was time for tea. At this point, he pulls out some plant he had picked earlier and makes a fantastic sweet tea, pouring it into four little glass cups brought specifically for this purpose. Oh luxury!

Where to next?

We reached Masada National Park right before sundown, a massive fortress located on a plateau in the desert. Masada was built strategically by King Herod as a refuge from his enemies. After his death in 4 BCE and the addition of Judea to the Roman Empire, the Romans overtook it. 60 some years later, Masada was taken back by Jewish rebels during the Great Revolt of the Jews; Masada was the last rebel stronghold in Judea. When the Romans completed their siege ramp and began attack, the Masada leaders decided on a group suicide, to die in a state of liberty and rebellion, to "let our wives die before they are abused, and our children before they have tasted slavery" (as documented by the historian Josephus Flavius). On Thursday night, we got there in time for an awesome light and sound show. Sitting on bleachers with a full view of Masada, the history of the siege and rebellion was told as a story (voices and all!) with different parts of the fortress lit with different colored spotlights. We went to bed soon after, preparing for an early morning...

A view of Masada and the Judean Desert

Day 2: We woke up at 5:20 AM (to Matan's frustration; he championed for a 5:40 alarm) to climb Masada in time for the sunrise. I was REALLY excited about this. Emma did this when she came to Israel two years ago, and it was one of her favorite parts. The place was surprisingly full of tour groups, families, and tons of school children. They were all really loud and...awake. It was a beautiful sunrise, surrounded by the crumbling stone and living history, black ravens swooping gracefully. We spent the rest of the morning exploring the different parts: cisterns, bathhouses, a Byzantine church, the old Synagogue, the two palaces, storerooms, and more. Even some of the exquisite mosaics have been preserved. We took our time, and headed out in the late morning.

Masada scene: bird on tree, men prayer, and the Israeli flag.

I couldn't have planned it better myself!

Matan, Amir, and Shaked hanging out in a cistern

Day 2 was HOT. Definitely aware of being in a desert with the relentless pounding sun. But some of the views were breathtaking--huge canyons with remarkable cliffs. The day was full of these gorgeous views, and talking a lot about the differences between Chinese and Hebrew. It's only when you have to explain a language to someone else that you realize how complicated and bizarre it is. It was really fun, though, and accentuated by the guys belting out a lot of Hebrew songs throughout the day. We reached the end of the trail and hit highway 90 (oh, do I know my Israeli highways or what?) by early evening, hitchhiking again to reach Ein Gedi, some 20 minutes away.

Amir leading the way as we headed up that trail

Contemplating a Bedouin existence

And there was the Dead Sea. We went right into the water, and I spent the first 10 minutes freaking out. The water was so beautiful; it looked like a sheet of glass, reflecting all these hues of pink and gold and purple from the mountains at sunset. And it felt so weird! Perfectly silky and smooth, PLUS you're just sitting there, chillin', floatin'. 33.7% salinity. We also slathered ourselves in Dead Sea mud. Not so much because any of us believed in its amazing "cosmetic capabilities." More so it's really fun to have an excuse to play in mud.

Day 3: I woke up, sat up, and realized I was facing the Dead Sea straight on, the reflection of the sun nearly blinding off the water. After another delightful breakfast of bread and chocolate spread, we headed for En Gedi Nature Reserve, known for all its sweetwater springs, cliffs, and natural greenery in the middle of the desert. Parts were like Paradise...lush green tress and teal pools nestled on the edge of golden brown, sandy cliffs, with the desert spreading out beyond. It was a lazier day, less climbing and more splashing around in pools and waterfalls. It was also the day I discovered the award-winning combination of matza topped with canned vegetable spread, tuna, and onions. Somehow I'm the only one who was really impressed by this...We planned to spend the night there, but were ahead of schedule so we took a bus back to Jerusalem in the evening.

One of the En Gedi trails

Remarkable colors together, with the Dead Sea

This was only my second backpacking trip, but I'm hooked of course. I'm lucky to have a lot of friends who let me tag along. :) It was so different from the other one in Colorado, and I'm already dreaming of the next one (Taiwan has some incredible rainforests...). The company was superb, the food delicious (I love that part about camping), the nature absolutely phenomenal. We spent a lazy day yesterday recovering, eating big meals and napping and going to the beach.

So, today is Yom Kippor. I started this blog talking about water, and I should mention that while the trip included downing extreme amounts of water to stay hydrated...right now we're fasting for 24 hours, a break from both food and drink. I'll for sure be writing again today, with some reflection on the year. I'm glad for the excuse to do that. Sometimes I feel like I've been moving so fast, I've barely processed what's been going on. So, we have about 7 hours left, and I'm looking forward to the day. Not quite a trek through the Judean Desert, but a different kind of challenge...