This morning we got up and our house mom cooked us omelets. They are big breakfast fans here I’ve noticed, and I really don’t eat breakfast; just popcorn….ask the office! Ha! So when your host parent insists on cooking you breakfast it’s kinda hard to refuse. I didn’t eat that much, just enough.
We toured a bit of Eilat. Eilat is celebrating 60 years this year, and the people here refer to it as the “First City,” because it’s the first area in Israel to be occupied by the Cildren of Israel after the Exodus from Egypt Duet, 2,8). Sort of reminds me of a small California. Beautiful, beautiful! Our first stop was the Historical Museum of Eilat…the short bit of history the town has is pretty interesting. While there we watched a short film over the “Kariem A” mission. If you haven’t heard of “Kariem A,” it’s the carrier ship that was bringing ammunition from Egypt to Israel in 2001 for warfare….all that war stuff…It was taken in to captivity by the Israeli form of “Navy Seals,” called “Bats.”
The video showed almost every detail of the story because the news cameras and documentary cameras were all around, plus…it was only in 2001, geeze. The ammunition that was seized could of destroyed so much. WOW! SO much more I could say on this subject, but time is short and my computer battery is slowly dieing.
Our next stop was the Water Observatory where we got to see “UNDA the SEA.” Little Mermaid comes to mind, ha ha! There were sharks, and turtles, blowfish OH MY! We took a quick tour around the observatory, and then we went to the most interesting visit of the day! It was at a Religious school for Jewish girls. I didn’t quite get the name because it was in Hebrew.
There we spoke with Jacky Pri-Gal a Consul for the Royal Norwegian Consulate. He is a Holocaust survivor who shared with us a bit of his life experiences. He was originally from Holland, and some of his stories kind-of shocked The Netherlands team (that’s all I am going to touch on that). This school has classes for the girls to study and learn about the Holocaust. They created a small museum area in one of the classrooms that depicts their outlook on the situation. It too was all in Hebrew so I didn’t get to read much of it. J Emotions were high in all of us while visiting here. I can only imagine what the Holocaust Museum visit will be like.
Aqua Sport was our last visit for the day. It’s a spot for locals and tourists to enjoy the RED SEA! We rented snorkels and enjoyed seeing the sea life as we swam. Aida and I got a little “freaked out” because at one point while we were wading in the sea we were completely surrounded by fish. They were trapping us!! We enjoyed the beach until the early evening.
Rest was next! How much we value our short rests!
Dinner was at a Bedouin tent. Bedouins…how can I explain Bedouins to you all -SHORT VERSION-They believe they are the true people land and they are polygamists. They live in their own settlements and most of them are then settlements, and they are usually very dirty and un-kept. I haven’t really heard any positive things about them until we had dinner in this tent.
Yoshif was our master of ceremonies, and he is a Bedouin. He was such an entertainer. The tent was beautiful! The tables were low and long, we sat on covered mattress with a back to rest on and ate on a short table. It was a feast for sure, as every meal is turning out to be, and if you tell them you are full…they think you don’t eat! It was homemade pitas, and chicken on a stick and lamb; as well as all of the salads and vegetables with the sauces. Followed with deserts. There was not a way for us to do our presentations so we had to improve. Just as I was starting my presentation, John walked up dressed as a Bedouin and served tea! It was hilarious! I am thinking about starting a photo blog on Flicker, so you all can see! Such a fun time, dancing and dressing up.
The finale of the evening was dancing at Monkeys, a pub owned by a Rotarian. We danced the night away to and Israeli cover band! I think The Netherlands team got a chance to see how much I sure do enjoy boogieing!
Eilat was wonderful, and if you get a chance to visit…this is a great place to come!
Tomorrow on the road north to Tel Aviv, with a few stops between.
Don’t worry if I don’t post everyday, Internet is hit and miss on this trip and time is scarce.
Love to you all!!!
~Katt
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