Hilton Eilat

... stopped at had ancient petroglyphs in Arameic, that essentially said something along the lines of "Jesus was here" or another random name. We also stopped at some amazing ancient housings carved into the walls, old wells, and some amazing arches - one of which the group climbed up to the top of and got amazing shots from the bottom. [I do not have one on my camera and will post it later when I get a copy]. One of the funny things that ...

... the good spots and was even nice enough to stop for a coral snack break when we got to the really nice areas so I could look around. When I realized how far I went and decided to turn back, there greeted me a similar fish who I hitched a return tour with.
Thanks guys!
That evening, I had a nice chat with Merav's friend. She grew up in South Africa and we chatted about that for a bit. I told her about my recent travels, she was impressed.
She left that night and said to me before ...

... there. I must admit we were all a bit weary going out on the bridge part of the arch but we all did, I was banned from jumping :( After we all took photos etc and scrambled back down we were in the jeeps for the last time today and soon we arrived at the camp were the cook had the earth oven already going and the food almost done.

The camp was simple and very basic but quite nice, have to remember these guys are true nomads roaming ...

... and no sound but the wind. It is moments like these that feel truly spiritual. Later, we walked out into the desert sand and watched the sun set. Back at camp, Kerrad had cooked up another wonderful meal that we ate around the crackling fire, washing it down with more sweet Bedouin tea. Then to bed - instead of sleeping in the tent, we spent the night out in the open around the dying embers of the fire, gazing at the desert star filled sky. We woke the ...

Hallo everyone, we had a very touristy time in Amman visiting the souk, the Roman citadel and amphitheatre and going on a day trip to biblical sites on Mount Nebo and along the Jordan River and finally having a did in the Dead Sea, where the salt content is so high you floaton top! Then on to Aqaba in a minibus with our friendly driver Nidal where we met Deborah's mate Thiemo ...

... carefully to the shore where people were swimming in the kind-of nasty water. We only stayed long enough to look around, and then we decided to head back to the hotel. Margaret and Gabe, brave souls, went back to swim later, but the rest of us hung out in my room and watched the first part of Lawrence of Arabia on Duncan's computer. It was fun to see some of the sights we were going to, as it was all filmed in Jordan, but it's a slow, older movie so I ended up falling asleep ...

... I have spent a few evenings sat out in his Zula and guys from his neighborhood will drop by for a beer as they pass by. I start work this week at the Arava Power Company - a solar power start up based on the kibbutz (but not part of it). The project is apparently on the verge of becoming something big. I came to Israel wanting to get involved in environmentally friendly business and this may be the chance I've been waiting for.

... Shor points out the subtle colors of iron, copper, sulphur and gypsum. We identify two types of caper bushes that are considered the "lion in the rocks". Why? They provide a lesson to be learned - to survive, you must adapt. Their leaves face sideways to avoid evaporation. Their roots have acid that splits the rock so it can find water! Can you imagine roots with that capability? We see plants clinging to life. This has been a particularly dry year with ...

... fine" to something more expensive. That was okay with me if it was okay with her, but apparently she had made a bungle. She'd agreed to that price thinking she had the right change (to avoid a replay of what had happened at the bus station) but actually didn't. So after a scary ride to Taba (I tried to chat with the driver, but stopped after a couple of attempts because every time I spoke to him, he would turn around to look at me instead of looking at where he was going) he told us he ...