We started the day with a 4 am wake up call and a 5:30 am arrival at Masada to trek up to the top. Complete with huffing and puffing, we all arrived at the historical sight in one piece and watched the breathtaking sunrise. After an emotionally moving prayer service, we all stood in a circle and each shared one word to describe what we were feeling at the moment. Some of the words that came to mind were “speechless, historical, beautiful, breathtaking, spiritual…hot and sweaty.” After our time on top of the mountain, we arrived at the Masada guest house and were treated with a well deserved meal that we got to share with many different groups, such as birthright trips and groups from England, USA and Canada.
After our trip to Masada, we got on the bus to head to Ein Gedi Nature reserve for a short hike and a dip in the natural pools, with the chance to stand under a beautiful waterfall to cool off.
Once we left the Nature reserve, we had a short drive to the Ein Gedi Dead Sea Spa, where the group immediately headed to the restaurant for a tasty lunch with choices like Schnitzel, fried fish, peas, pasta and massive amounts of hummus and pita. Shortly after, the group changed into our swimsuits and covered ourselves in a fancy exfoliate, native to Israel called…mud. We headed out to the dead sea and finally got to experience what we have all been hearing about for years. We waded through the shallow edge that felt like boiling hot water, eventually reaching a more bearable temperature. Carefully trying to avoid getting saltwater in our eyes, we floated on our backs for minutes and got a great ab-workout trying to keep our legs down. This was an experience none of us will ever forget, as it was something so special that can’t be compared to anything else. We spent the next couple of hours splashing around in a pool, and got on the bus to head through the West Bank on our way to Jerusalem.
After a few hours we emerged from a tunnel to a beautiful view of the city of Jerusalem. We stopped for a few minutes and got out of the bus in front of Hebrew University and did the Shehechiyanu as a group, drinking grape juice while welcoming ourselves to Jerusalem. No longer “next year in Jerusalem,” it’s NOW!
We arrived at the Vaqueiro Restaurant and while eating an extravagant dinner, the Utleys were surprised by their son Dan and his wife Rachel who are celebrating their one month anniversary. We got back on the bus and finally reached our final destination for the day, The Dan Panorama hotel where we were greeted by Marcel, husband of Rachama(former owner of the café at the JCC) a Clevelander who moved his family to Jerusalem to work for the beautiful hotel. The phrase of the day that most applied to us today, was ‘Ani Gamor,’ which means “I’m so tired.” We had a great day filled with lots of adventure and little relaxing, but it was all worth it. It took a lot to get through the 112 degree desert, but we conquered it with few complaints. We’re looking forward to the 7:00 am wakeup call tomorrow, as it will be 3 more hours of sleep than we had today!
Love,
Susan, Matt & Mila Breitenbach
Debbie Singer
Suzanne & Bill Utley
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