Sheraton Moriah Eilat

... stuff in a tent we were staying in for the night and then walked out into the desert and just sat in the sand, miles from anywhere and looked up at the stars - amazing. After a while we ate a bit of food, managed to get lost in tiny Rum village (it was dark) and then slept.<br><br>Wadi Rum is where Laurence of Arabia made an impact in this part of the world, the landscape it unbelievably special, so so nice - when I upload the hotos you will see. Yesterday we met a dude that will drive ...

... us to "make aliyah" (emigrate to Israel).  After a full breakfast at the Cinema and checking on the (disappointing) results of the American Idol finale this morning, we hopped a short cab to Sde Dov, a small airport for domestic flights in north Tel Aviv. Security there was much more rigorous than we went through in Newark, starting with a passport check and questioning at the entrance (while still in the cab), then the usual x-ray stuff and metal ...

... and headed back to camp. Wadi Rum is a beautiful desert and the sand colours so rich. We headed off on the last leg of our trip, a bus to Aqaba. It was great to see some blue water, which was very inviting. We are staying in a fairly new hotel at the top of the hill called Aquamarine III, which allowed us free access to the other Aquamarine hotels down by the water. We spent the afternoon wandering around, checking out the pool and marina ...

... tre dans un piège à touristes se confirme : on ne me parle qu'en anglais, les taxis insistent lourdement (presque comme à Louxor, la référence jusque là), et je croise nombre de compatriotes/collègues occidentaux. Il faut dire qu'à l'instar d'Hurghada ou de Sharm, Aqaba est une dont la réputation est montée très vite ces dernières années, surtout grâce aux sites de plongée ...

... slept near a Polish couple. Apparently, the Polish guy made a variety of noises in the night that kept a lot of people awake. Their wit and sarcasm had us all rolling-- "He sounded like a camel...like a dozen camels...like a pregnant camel plus birds". "Maybe it's the wife?" "I don't think she's the size to produce such a sound" When the Polish guy came over to the camp fire, the British guy asked "How'd you sleep?" The Polish guy, "Lovely ...

... NO wonder they are fighting for something. Make sure you get walking shoes for Jerusalem. One day should be enough to cover everything. Tour to Nazareth and the sea of Gailee is a good idea. Tour to the Dead Sea and Masada is a MUST. I wish I had stayed at the Dead Sea longer, and skipped all the dang shopping the tour bus brought us to. Other than that, much nicer country than Egypt and Jordan.... Stay tuned for adventures entering the Jordan border :)

... to climb it but the sand was burning hot. Further on was the best of the rock inscriptions. There were several picturs of camels and a couple of humans etched into the rock. Pretty cool. We continued on to Lawrence's House (they love naming stuff after Lawrence). It was also a pile of stones, but the desert views were great from here as well. We stopped at another amazing viewpoint, had some tea and ate some lunch ...

... to! After breakfast, Shor takes us over to the camels and we once again meet Eli, our guide. We are introduced to Farouk, our camel, who seems more interested in eating his hay. His big eyes just blink as he looks me over, probably to size up how much I weigh and how difficult this next walk is going to be. Farouk is on the ground, so I just walk up and sit down on the saddle, figuring you sit like on a horse. Eli and Shor explain what to do with my ...

... probably lethal if you're trapped in here when a sudden winter flood comes cascading through. Eva found some very impressive fossils along the gravel riverbed that are now on display in our living room. Israeli school groups can be found on the go everywhere. They are usually accompanied by 3 armed men per group wherever they go. Guns are abound everywhere in Israel. If you go to a supermarket there tends to be a guard at the entrance with a ...

... They asked questions to be expected like ' how many are in your party' ' What is the purpose of your journey' etc. Then we were asked the usual ' Did you pack your bags yourself' 'Has anyone had the opportunity to interfere with your luggage' ' Have you been asked to carry something for somebody' All normal normal. Our kids have received intensive training regarding these questions - do not muck around or laugh, answer all questions with a straight face, take it very seriously ...