Music by a waterfall, and surprises.

Our trip may sound like a whirlwind tour, but we don’t feel rushed. Our guide, whose steps are measured in deference to those with less mobility, is informative and while he keeps telling us that he wants us to know so much, he adds that it's hard to decide what not to tell us. 

Someone revealed that he teaches comparative religions at a university. As if to confirm that, Yossi often says, "Listen up! This will be on the final exam." 

Apparently, that is guide-speak for "Pay attention! This is important."

I look around the bus in front of me. (remember, I'm in the back seat) Everyone is relaxed and the wifi on the bus allows us to reassure families back home that we are still alive and safe. Am I the only one who paid attention?

En Gedi appears ahead, nestled in an oasis that is itself nestled along the eastern edge of the Judean Hills. It’s in a region called Tamar, which means date palm and the oasis has her share. No sooner are we on the trail that leads through the nature park that once hid David from King Saul, do we spy ibex, a type of goat with curved horns. 

Ibex at En Gedi

They aren't bothered by us walking by. 

Yossi had wanted us here early so we could see them. Too many tourists and they flee and sure enough, on the way back, after the crowds had thickened, we no longer see them.

We stop at a crown of thorns tree, most likely the type of tree used to make Christ’s mock crown before He carried His cross to Calvary. The thorns are well hidden among the innocuous looking leaves.

The Crown of Thorns Tree

After a short walk to the first waterfall, we're treated to another piece of flute-playing. Yossi’s music floats around us as we stand beside a small waterfall, looking up at tan coloured cliffs that shelter us. 

Music where King David walked.

As he tucks away his flute, Yossi then speculates about the cave behind the falls. Was it where Saul retreated to relieve himself, or perhaps did he just wash his feet as some suggest? 
Is it where David cut off the hem of his sovereign’s robe? Surely so, for the caves that dot the cliff walls are too high for a king to climb just to relieve himself.  

The caves of En Gedi

We return and visit the Ahava cosmetics company run by the kibbutz nearby, but I find the products expensive. I jokingly tell my husband I've saved him $800. Then I buy some flavoured salts.
More excitingly, after settling on the bus on our way to Qumran, I answer a pop quiz correctly and win a tube of Ahava hand cream. A nice bonus to a pleasant walk.

It’s not a long bus ride, but at Qumran we stop for lunch. I bought a falafel for $9, only to discover it was filled with cucumber. I must be the only person in the Mediterranean who dislikes both olives and cucumbers. I trade with my husband for his bread and cheese and decide then to forgo the local fast food.

At Qumran, we learn a few things about our guide. He has at least two archeology degrees and with conviction tells us that this is probably not the site where the now-famous Essenes lived. They would have chosen a plateau, and lived humbly. 

Caves at Qumran

This site is far too extravagant, and not where the Dead Sea scrolls were found, but thankfully, no less worthy of study. Interesting and a contradiction from our previous tour guide, but how can I not believe an archeologist? And how else is our new guide going to surprise us?

Perturbed, I return to the bus, but my discomfiture is soon forgotten as my last question is answered. 
Our guide announces that we are about to break the law.

The Red Sea, the Dead Sea and the desert in between

It's Friday and the Jewish Shabbat starts at sundown. We will be staying tonight at a hotel on the shores of the Dead Sea. It feels warmer this morning, and I take my phone to the dining room so I can capture the vista that is the sun lighting up the wall of homes at the other side of Wadi Musa. 

View from the Dining Room

Our resort is of good quality and the meals are excellent. Last night we had spicy salads and today for breakfast, I eat more vegetables, pickled fish, falafels, with meats and cheeses. There is good coffee and juice, and even a chef to whip up an omelet if one so chooses.
  

Not a typical Canadian breakfast!

I discovered this morning that I have a blister on my foot. I wear these shoes day in and day out, but walking in a desert wadi gives me a blister. Where's the logic in that? But I know our friend’s knee hurts, and it's far worse, so I won't say a thing. After we leave Petra, our bus takes us up the eastern side of the wadi to a tourist trap which has a spectacular view from their rooftop. I purchase a few mud face masks, quickly discounted for me when I put them down after learning their price. I see some beautiful purses, but didn’t feel like bartering amidst the crush of tourists.

We head south and it’s not until we reach our destination that I realize we’re at the Red Sea! Although our driver doesn’t take us along the shore, we can see sparkling blue in the distance. I read once that the name 'Red Sea' was a take on 'Reed Sea', so I forgive them the spectacular colour. 

Above that white building is the Red Sea!

The border towns of Eliat and Aqabah aren't as big as I expected, and security much lighter than when we crossed into Jordan from Israel three years ago.

The air is warm, windy and the sun brilliant. It's a lovely day, with a sky so clear and blue, I almost resent the locals for it. Here in the Middle East, spring comes quickly, not like our blustery province which hangs on to its wet spring for weeks before relenting to a mild summer.

We meet our new guide, a wiry Israeli man named Yossi. His first words are, "Welcome home." Welcome back to your spiritual roots. It's a pleasant greeting. I like it.
He seems quite knowledgeable, which will impress us further as time goes on, and he asks if we can bypass lunch to head straight to the Wilderness Tabernacle. He has a lot to tell us, he claims, a lot to show us. Little do we know what precedence he's setting here!

On one side of us is the stark Negev desert, rocky and dusty, reds and tans contrasting against an azure sky. On our right are the rich date palms, all lined up like regal soldiers. We learn that the term ‘land of milk and honey’ is talking about date honey. Not bee honey? No. Date juice, so thick and sweet, it can only be called honey.
Soon, we are turning left into Timna Park. The reason we bypassed lunch was to see the majestic Solomon’s Pillars, a curious formation cut by water and wind into the side of a tall cliff. But we will more than to see them. We will experience them.

Solomon's Pillars

They're hauntingly beautiful, but more beauty is to come when Yossi leads us into one of the crevices between the pillars. He scrambles up a large boulder and pulls out a flute. With the help of wireless speakers and Bluetooth, he treats us to Bach, showing off the natural acoustics of the crevice. We sit in awe, relaxing in the cool shade as the classical music fills the fissure around us.

Too soon, the music ends. A full sized replica of the Wilderness Tabernacle awaits us.  
And a chance to enter a place so exclusive, it is reserved for one man once a year.

The Treasury!

Our walk down to the Treasury has many stops as our tour guide, Hanson, (who was our guide the last time we were here) stops along the way and tells us little facts and such, all the while ignoring the armed guard who seems to have fallen off an Indiana Jones movie poster. Seriously! Look at this guy!
Not to worry. The armed guard ignored us as well.

A guard a Petra

We stop and look up at the carvings, seeing imaginative creatures, created by both man and wind. Elephants, grand facades and raptor claws.

A taste of the grandness to come!

Wind has erased most of this camel.

Is it an elephant or a fish?

Can you see the raptor claw?

A silly pair getting married!

 

There are also camels and a pair of wayward souls participating in a traditional wedding ceremony. Can you guess who they are?

Then, finally, we're urged to peek on an angle into the final part of the wadi, and there we see the masterpiece. 

The Treasury.

It's incredible to be here!

Just to stand here, as the day warms up, within the busy courtyard, fending off hawkers and staring up at the high red walls, we are just in awe.  

There is still much to see. I can barely take it all in. 

A panoramic view beyond the treasury.

Didn't I see him in the Caribbean?

Lunch is at a cafeteria at the far end, past the treasury, past Johnny Depp above, where we had stopped for photos, camel rides, and to purchase things off the local hawkers. My husband bartered for bracelets and a fake coin, and came away without a hat, sunglasses and his watch. Me? I bought two fridge magnets.

For lunch, some choose the $10 US bag lunch and others eat the snacks they brought with them. We make sure we get a photo of our local Sackville group. We have some with sore joints who shouldn’t attempt the climb back up to the entrance; they take first a donkey ride, then a cart ride. 

A motley crew if there ever was one!

They race up and down the wadi, for $30US, mind you.

The day has been a great one, getting to know the others, huffing and puffing and laughing at those who chose a camel or donkey ride. We're starting to ache and I look forward to the steamy indoor pool back at the resort. 

 

Can you see the steam? It's getting cold again.

A welcomed end to the day!

Our first full day is ending, but tomorrow we start a new chapter. On to Israel!