Student Journal: Tuesday

[written by trip participant and Goucher student Channa R.]

How many once-in-a-lifetime experiences can you pack into one day? Apparently when you start out at 3:30 in the morning, quite a few. Yesterday [Tuesday] was the most incredible day of my life. It doesn't seem possible that I experienced so much in one day, but it actually happened. We woke up at 3:30 a.m. and left the Kibbutz to head toward Masada before sunrise. We took the Roman ramp up. We reached the top and saw the colors of the sunrise. It was an amazing view to be so high on a mountain and see the desert and the Dead Sea with the backdrop of the sunrise. The people who lived on Masada must have loved that. After touring Masada and seeing the fascinating ruins, we hiked down the snake path (I was one of the 20% of people whose legs shook :) ). Oh, and it was only about 10 in the morning and we had all hiked up and down a mountain! Needing some rest, we made our way to the Dead Sea. Although a bit chilly, the experience of the Dead Sea was great. You lie back and you float! I've always heard that, but I never really understood until I was there. At around two o'clock we got on the bus to the next location. At that time we had already had such a full day, having been at the high elevation of Masada and the lowest place on Earth, and if the day had ended there it would have been enough, but we still had so much ahead of us. We drove for a bit to the Bedouin tents and got off the bus and straight on the camels and donkeys. My donkey was very friendly and I felt a nice bond; the camel was a little grumpy. Riding both was such a great experience, and it brought home an almost reality to the desert - this is how people got around in the desert, and I was on it! I climbed a mountain, floated in salt water, and rode a camel and a donkey in one day. Still after that we ate delicious Bedouin food, had a spiritual program just outside the lights of the tents in the desert, and slept in a tent. The day was full and the day was amazing. It's hard to believe we experienced it all in one day.