5-25-2011: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the wettest of times, it was the driest of times. The day started as many do, waking up in a Bedouin tent with 39 other people and enjoying a delicious breakfast with a high Nutella content. We all still smelt vaguely of camels, but we were excited to get going on perhaps the most eventful day of the entire trip.
Bus 937 drove directly to Masada after bidding our Bedouin buddies goodbye. There was a long wait as everyone applied sunscreen, argued about acceptable footwear, and generally kvetched. We headed up the fortress along the easier of paths available, a steeper yet shorter climb. I managed to crisp my forehead nicely by repeatedly ignoring Nicola’s instructions to put on a hat (sorry, mom) and lose a lot of water by intelligently wearing khakis for the march up, but we all hydrated constantly and reached the apex without incident.
At the top, we explored the old fortress with some impatience as we all felt pretty hot and sweaty. Our lovely (and perhaps omniscient?) tour guide Nicola explicated the history of Massada to the smallest detail. The high point was undoubtedly the simulation of the Roman conquest: Danielle Beer dressed as one of the Masadan Jews as 3 Roman soldiers surrounded her. The story of Masada is actually quite sad, and the group could not agree what we would have done if we were in the same situation as the Jews there. After some picture-taking and water-collecting, we were finished with the top of Masada,
The voyage down was a true test of our mettle. We took the snake path, a winding downward spiral with little shade or flat ground. Our leaders and the people out in front experienced some “creative differences,” but the group slowly made its way to the bottom. A large group of rowdy kids intermingled with us, making it somewhat more difficult to proceed, and we experienced a few turned ankles. We were all very happy to make it to the bottom after what seemed like a decade-long descent, but was probably about an hour.
We headed straight for the Dead Sea, eager to wash off the grime from Masada. Nicola pointed out the topographically lowest McDonald’s in the world as we headed to the lowest place on Earth. Once there, some chose to pay a princely sum for a paltry meal in the cafeteria, while others headed straight out into the sea. Floating around effortlessly was truly a unique experience: I would have had a difficult time submerging myself if I had tried. A number of us opted to coat themselves in mud purchased from the gift shop; I personally figured I could coat myself in mud any time back in the States, but the people who tried it reported an intriguing time. We all washed off the burning sensation from the saltwater and bused out to Ein Gedi, a nature reserve resplendent with life.
The contrast between the Dead Sea and Ein Gedi could not have been starker. Dead Sea, super-saturated with salt, supports no life whatsoever. Eid Gedi, on the other hand, was full of marmots, ibices, and crabs. We hiked the short distance to the small spring we were searching for, and explored the little pool complete with waterfall. It was a refreshing change from the fast-paced action of the rest of the day, but I think we were all ready to get to the hotel as soon as we left the spring.
The trip to our new hotel took far too long, in my humble opinion, but I managed to survive the hour and a half mostly by discussing Michigan State’s Quidditch team. The hotel, once we finally arrived and found our rooms, was really quite excellent. We had one of the better dinners of the whole trip, then headed back to our rooms. I enjoyed a quick Yoga session led by Sensei Sam before meeting up with more friends; we all knew out time was running short. And thus, the party -Will Hack
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