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Day 4: Camel Ride, Masada, Dead Sea, and Ein Bokek
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The day began with my first-ever experience riding a camel. It was fun. We rode 2 people to a camel, and they were led in a straight line at a tame walk around the desert. Since it had poured the night before, the saddles were soaking, which meant all our clothes were soaking once we were done. But we had a good time.
Next, we hiked up and down Masada. Up was easy (we took the short side) but down (the snake path) was murder on the knees. Everyone's legs were shaking and wobbly by the time we got down. At the top of Masada, a few of the less mature members of our group nearly got arrested for vandalising the bathroom and then for throwing pebbles off the side. The madrichs had to keep threatening to send people home. Really, it felt more and more like camp.
Once at the bottom, we all had a great time shopping at the Ahava store. Aaahhh, hand cream. I'm still addicted to their products. (If anyone's travelling to Israel anytime soon and can pick me up some facial moisturizer, please let me know!)
From there we went to the Dead Sea. Of course, the main activity is covering oneself in mud and floating around. But this is a lot less fun in the freezing cold February weather than it sounds. I took a pass, choosing instead to hang around for a bit to photograph the crazy people who went in the water before heading out on the optional hike to Ein Bokek.
We literally climbed over slippery wet rocks the entire way, and walked through a stream. Sharona, the madricha for the other bus who was leading our hike, said she's never seen that much water there. It had rained quite a bit that winter already, and the entire path was full of water. To me, it didn't seem like all that much water, but I guess it's all relative; a spring in the desert is generally pretty dry. At any rate, I still remember the hike as one of the highlights of the trip. The waterfall at the end of it wasn't much, as waterfalls go, but considering it was in the desert, and the hard work it took to reach it, it truly was an oasis in the desert.
At night, we drove back to Neve Ilan and went to sleep.
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| 8. | Day 4: Camel Ride, Masada, Dead Sea, and Ein Bokek - Neve Ilan, Israel Feb 15, 2001 (  30 ) |
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