Day 6 - Mountains and Arts and Seas, Oh My!

6/24/2013 tringel 0 Comments

I warn you now and apologize (sort of) that this is an extremely long post. But, BE ADVISED: it is well worth the read. It was one of the best days in terms of what we did and experienced.

Today's alarm was especially loud and came exceptionally quick...maybe that's because it rang at 3:30am! And no, it was not a mistake. We woke up early to take a bus to the bottom of Masada, and hike the mountain in time to watch the sunrise. Luckily, I bought a few overpriced, $4 dollar, KIND bars in the airport, and ate one on the bus ride to Masada because waking up and leaving so early did not allow time for us to eat breakfast until getting back from the hike (around 8-9am). We got to the bottom of Masada by bus around 4:20am, giving us about an hour to hike before sunrise. Unfortunately, we started out going the wrong way...3 times. Oy vey! When we finally got back on track we had less time and everyone was in rush to get to the top. And for good reason, who wants to wake up that early for nothing. So we began our trek and spread out.

Although there was a set path, stairs, and a few railings, the hike was much tougher then I had expected. I mean, I thought I was in pretty good shape, but this climb put me to shame. And, to my disappointment I had to stop a few time to catch my breath; I think I started out to fast in fear of missing sunrise. I did feel a little better when even the people who got to the top first said it was tough. On the way down I tried counting the amount of stairs but lost track after 400 (about 2/3 of the way down maybe, and that doesn't include the straight inclined parts of the hike) which made me feel better about myself too.


I made it up in plenty of time for sunrise, maybe 20 minutes, where I sat, relaxed, and took in the view with my friends from the group. Another unfortunate event that day - it was super sandy and dusty in  the air. This caused the sunrise to be a bit anticlimactic since it was covered and toned down. While it was still a totally cool experience and completely amazing view, I was picturing beautiful colors rising above the Dead Sea surrounded by dessert. Instead it was plain white, and perfectly circular which in its own way was very beautiful and interesting. I watched the mountain brighten up for the day and also looked at the cable car platform in envy. Don't get my wrong, I am thrilled we were able to have the experience of actually hiking Masada, but I wish it had been opened to ride down in. It opens later in the day because it gets so hot. By 9ish it starts to become dangerous in the heat of the summer desert of Israel.



On top of Masada is the ruins of an ancient Kingdom.


We toured the area and heard the stories of the kingdom and its falling. Below, on the left is the sauna, heated by fire. On the right is a wall form the kingdom. The black line separates original construction from reconstruction. Anything above the black line has been rebuilt to better show what the kingdom looked like.
 

After about an hour or so tour of the top of Masada, we began our journey down. And while it was a much faster trip, it was still a long one. On the right is the full view of Masada. We hiked all of that, to the very top! You can see the cable car platform in the top right of the picture and we hiked higher then that. In the left image, you can see the long windy path we took. Remember, over 400 stairs.


After busing back to our kibbutz from Masada we were able to get breakfast (yum, so hungry!) and relax for an hour or two. During this time I wondered around the kibbutz and explored the scenery. I found that there are many stray cats in Israel, kind of like the squirrels here, except people actually feed them and treat them nicely, just not as pets. There were also goats roaming around this kibbutz. Just wondering the same sidewalk as us, like dogs that don't want to be petted.



I also began to learn how to play my new favorite card game (thanks to Nick). It is called Big 2 or Chinese poker. I have taught my boyfriend how to play since returning, but want to have the opportunity to play with more people and more often, so hopefully I will be able to teach more people or find some who knows how to play...before I forget how to play ;).

When we went on our second outing for the day we first went to Dead Sea Works. This is one of the largest and most productive factories in Israel. The factory takes minerals from the Dead Sea to make potash, a fertilizer, and exports it. We watched what was a basically a recruitment video and then had a bus tour of the factory. The highlight was driving down a strip of road with the Dead Sea on either side of us (almost to Jordan who Israel is supposedly friendly with because of sharing the Dead Sea), and seeing the incredibly long (unfortunately I cannot remember how long) conveyor belt that transports the potash throughout the factory. While the factory and what it does was mildly interesting, I was more focused on the art and sculptures throughout the factory grounds. I can say it was definitely the most colorful and decorative factory I have ever seen. Below are just a few of the art pieces I saw: A big menorah, A NASA rocket, and a man in a tractor.


The long awaited Dead Sea Swim/Float was next! This was one of the moments I was most looking forward to and it definitely lived up to my expectations. The beach was nice, but our area was actually way dirtier then I expected, especially after being at the beach in Tel Aviv which was beautiful (this must have been a touristy area).


We bought mud and slathered it all over our bodies before getting in, as you are supposed to.


And then I was floated away. Amazing. There is no way to describe it with justice. You seriously just float. You get lifted up and float. It is hard to stay upright unless you are perfectly straight. And, you must be very careful of what you are doing because you do not want to accidentally splash yourself or others or be splashed because IT BURNS. Everywhere! Places you would never think would burn. Before going in we were given warnings:

  1. Do not fart or pee in the water. 
  2. Do not go in with open wounds
  3. Do not go in if it is that special time of month
  4. Do not wear female products for that special time of month
  5. Do not splash
  6. Do not put your head under the water

Definitely glad we were warned. And the water tastes disgusting so do not lick your lips. Mistake number one. I accidentally got water in my eye too. O MY, OUCH! The water felt great, but it was a bit strange. The large amount of salt made the water feel almost like oil and my hands felt like they had oil all over them when I lifted them out. The water temperature was nice and warm but not too hot, like a bath. You could just lay there forever and chat and relax.

NOTE: I know mentioned the burning a lot, but it was totally worth it. And I would definitely recommend going in the Dead Sea if you get the chance.


We are not standing in on the bottom floor. Nope. We are floating straight up. And my camera is not water proof (although I wouldn't actually suggest bringing in your camera, I am just confident in my swimming abilities after years of eggbeater during synchro practice).


And trying out some of my synchro moves. That was the highest ballet leg I ever did (unfortunately the picture doesn't capture my complete ballet leg). 


I finally got out because I couldn't take the burning anymore, but it burned even worse once I was out. Luckily, they have fresh water showers right at the shore of the beach to rinse off. 

I got a salt covered rock (yes there is a little brownish rock under all of the salt) from the beach for a souvenir. They were everywhere, even bigger ones too. I brought mine back for my friend, Anna, as a joke because she adds salt to all of her food. Yum, now she has salt with minerals.


We then headed back to our kibbutz for the night where we ate dinner and had a few group sessions. What a fun day :)

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