Day 8 - In the Desert; the Mighty Desert...

This morning we woke up at 4:00 am so as to get to Masada's north side (where the Roman ramp is located) and hike up to the top so as to be there for the sun rise...what an amazing sight!

While atop Masada, the students learned about the incredible stories of courage, and martyrdom, and how the fort changed hands throughout history arriving at the remains we see today. Yossi (our tour guide) shared some wonderful insights, and after a couple of hours (when it just got to be too hot to remain on top of the mountain) we started to make our way down the south side using the "Snake Path" (named this because of how it "snakes" down the side of the mountain).

Also on Masada we had the opportunity to celebrate Matthew's Bar Mitzvah! We had services in one of the rooms right off of the Beit Knesset (Sanctuary) and then came into the sanctuary for the Torah service and for Matthew's aliyah to the Torah. Matthew did a wonderful job and the students celebrated this special occasion with him, in this incredibly wonderful setting, for a memory that will last him for the rest of his life.

From Masada we traveled a few kilometers north to a beach front on the Dead Sea and gave the students a few hours to experience "floating" in the salty waters and covering themselves with the mineral rich Dead Sea mud. They had an absolute blast! Their fears and anxieties of the Dead Sea "burning" their wounds, mosquito bites, scratches, etc, were soon abated by the bizarre feeling of floating on water...it was truly a sight to be seen.

After Masada we had some time to squeeze in an additional sight so we decided to go to the fresh water waterfalls at Ein Gedi. The students enjoyed swimming in the natural water pools created by the thousands of years old waterfalls burrowing the rock and leaving behind a system of elevated pools, mini falls, and natural vegetation. It was another great "aha" moment for the students to see the tremendous variation in Israel's natural terrain.

From here we headed north to our final destination of the trip...Tel Aviv. The bus ride was about 2+ hours which gave the students plenty of time to get some much needed shut-eye and be recharged for an after-dinner evening walk around town.

Ad machar (until tomorrow)...