On the way we had a few stops, the first was Ben-Gurion's hut, and the tiny museum there. It was exactly as he left it when he died. Alon and Sari, my host parents were our tour guides. They both have a lot of interest in starting settlements like B-G, because they helped start one long ago. After the hut we went to the Ben-Gurion institute and burial at Sde Boker. "You could see for miles and miles and miles," as the song goes! En Avedat was our next stop. Were we hiked 3km, 1.5 miles, to see where the water gathered in the desert. Ben-Gurion said there was so much water in Negev, that in order for Israel to exist they would need to move to the desert. This is why we visited this place so we could see the "pool that never ends."
Then we loaded the bus for a 3 hour drive to Eliat. The ride was hot and long through the desert. One stop we made between Sde Boker and Elait was the Dairy Farm, where the ice cream is yummy and the statues of the cows are anatomically correct...hello...ha! Then it was back on the hot bus. Our bus driver was great, we asked him about music and he played some of his favorites. It felt like we were driving through a movie scene with the music and the Palm tree farms scattered about. Palm trees were every where, at least on the side I was sitting on. All sizes babies, and big daddies! Just beautiful.
Upon arriving in Eliat we met our hostess and she took us to her home. It's 5 stories with lots of bathrooms! Dani and Caramelle Sagi. He sells furniture and she is some sort of gym teacher. Dinner wasn't until 8:30 and we arrived at 6:00 so we had some downtime to enjoy the view and take a power nap. Shirley and I are in the same house for the next two nights. They have a huge dog, his name is Homeless because they found him on the street, he's bilingual!
Dinner was at "The Gallery" it had art all over, and it was modern. Really neat! THE FOOD was OUTSTANDING, as John our leader, would say. It had 9 courses including dessert. 9 Vegetarian courses! The tastes and the flavors were ....I can't even think of a good word to describe it...plus, it's late.
Shirley and I are back at home, getting settled in. Tomorrow it's a tour of Eliat, and a swim and the ocean!
***I will say, there are so many things to take in here, and so many things I have learned. I haven't even organized my thoughts to tell you all about them. If I had to leave tomorrow I would be 100% satisfied. Our Rotarian hosts have done an amazing job so far of showing us their land, the land they are so proud of. It's truly humbling. So many to call our extended family and it's only our 4th day in to the trip. I can't wait for the next 24!!!***
Love to all!!!
~katt
No comments:
Post a Comment