It’s a Small World

I sat on the balcony at sunrise this morning and watched a rain storm move across the valley. There was occasional lightning and gusty storm winds. Bliss…

Today we headed to the desert to wander in spirit with the Israelites! It rained most of the way to Be’er Sheva, where the sun peeked out and we deeked in to visit the intriguing ancient cistern/underground storage and tunnels.

The plan was to hike Ein Avdat but before we got there a big old storm whipped up and the main part of the trail was closed due to slippery rocks. But it was a pretty gorgeous short hike anyway. Due to an exceptionally wet winter the desert was colorful with Spring flowers. I guess that only happens every 25 years or so.

We had a quick lunch at Mitzpe Ramon, then drove for a couple hours through the stark wasteland of the Desert of Sin. I honestly think the Israelites did pretty good with their attitude. That would be a wretched place to wander around in! Tall hills, deep canyons, and rocks, rocks everywhere!

Our path took us along the Egypt/Israel border for a while and we were intrigued with the tall fences, lookout posts and all the little almost hidden sniper huts in the hills.

Next Stop: Red Canyon hike, where even Candace made it up and down the metal ladders and toe holds as we climbed through a gorgeous canyon. It really can’t get much better than that!

We ended our day in Eilat, which is down on the Red Sea. It was a little chilly for us sensible adults to swim, but the boys spent a few minutes leaping off a pier. The rest of us had fun throwing cookie crumbs into the water and turning the area into a frolicking, tropical frenzy. There’s coral reefs all around and all kinds of fish; big, little, striped, rainbow, leaping, Nemo, and a long eel that kept twisting around the place. Even though we had missed the “don’t feed the fish” signs, Forrest hadn’t, and he had a marvelous time informing us of our misdemeanor. For the last few days we’ve all had to point out rules he’s missed as he sails around, throwing rocks, climbing rock walls and generally acting scandalous around ancient ruins. It stinks to have to set an example.

We’re spending night here and then its back to Rosh Ha’ayan and our other apartment.

We heard today Bethlehem is in a coronavirus lockdown so we can’t go there. Here’s to hoping nothing else shuts!