Chillin in the Desert

Two days ago, after two unbelievable (albeit exhausting) days in Petra, we headed down south to Jordan's Wadi Rum National park. We were met in the local Bedouin village of Rum by our desert guide Zedane and a few of his friends. Once our things were packed into a jeep we enjoyed an incredible jeep ride from Rum village to the starting point of our first hike. I think its safe to say that we were all taken aback by the amount of energy that our guide exuded right from the beginning of our stay with them. Zedane started with a lasting first impression of climbing out of the window and sitting on the windshield of his moving jeep. Once the hike started we were all entertained by his antics throughout the hike.

We hiked all morning up one of the many sandy mountains that dominate the Wadi Rum landscape and were greeted by an incredible view at the top. once we were again on solid ground at the bottom of the mountain we stopped for a long siesta and lunch break that was much needed after a day of hiking. After our long break we were driven to a less rocky section of the desert where we ran, jumped and photographed our way through the dunes and were eventually met again by the jeeps who drove us to the Bedouin camp.

Many of us were excited to spend our night under the stars. without all the distracting lights of the city, the milky way looks incredible, it didn't go quite as we expected though. You wouldn't think it, but the desert gets quite cold at night. We were all ready to spend a peaceful night under the stars but many of us spent the night shivering under our blankets. That being said, the stars did look amazing. Once we got over our initial complaining about minimal sleep and the cold the next morning, the day was quite nice. We were all very excited, looking fore ward to both the hike to the infamous rock bridge and to riding camels.

I am proud to say that every single person on our trip managed to traverse the rock bridge without even the slightest of accidents. Even so, James did look pretty tense as he watched 17 teenagers cross a meter wide bridge over a terrifying drop. After the hike and another long relaxed siesta we were driven back to Rum Village to finally get to experience riding camels. In my opinion, riding a camel is a lot of fun and I wouldn't ever tell someone not to try it. That being said, I know that everyone, after a full 2 hours of camel riding was a little stiff. it was a good time though for sure. James would like you all to know that the handle to his saddle came off, its very important to him.

On arrival back to the camp we enjoyed a delicious supper and playing soccer around the dunes. Most of those who slept outside the night before were not perturbed by the restless night the had gotten the night before, simply making sure they were all bundled up before heading out under the stars.  We woke up this morning packed up, and drove for four and a half hours to the dead sea.

As of this moment, I am writing from the 24 hour business centre of a 5 star resort located on the coast of the dead sea. the hotel hosts a grand total of 5 pools, four restaurants and a 24 hour gym. Every inch of this place is lighted, air conditioned and attended by what seems to be an army of hotel staff. I cant say I've ever been this impressed by a hotel but also so culture shocked. I guess after 2 days of living with the Bedouin that's to be expected though. out in the Wadi Rum desert when you think of transportation you think of a herd of grumpy shedding camels whereas here when i think of transportation i think of the jet black Lamborghini that is currently parked right outside of this hotel. Don't get me wrong, a little taste of western culture is a nice change, but I cant help but be a little shocked at the contrast I see when I compare where I woke up this morning and where i will go to bed tonight.

-Adam

Crossing the Jordan

After our wonderful stay at the goat farm we started the third day of the Jesus Trail which was roughly 20 km to Arbel. The third day of hiking was much farther than the first two, but also more rewarding. We hiked up and over the Horns of Hattin where we got a beautiful view of the Sea of Galilee. We then made our way down the mountains and stopped at the tomb of Jethro. While most of the group was well clothed, others had to fashion long skirts out of our newly purchased scarves in order to get in (even the boys). We arrived thirsty, tired and extremely dusty to our guest house in Arbel where we were warmly greeted with lemon water and a refreshing pool.
While we all thought the third day of the hike was beautiful, the fourth day was magnificent. The day began by climbing down the cliffs of Arbel which were truly breathtaking. We felt as if we were on top of the world. Unlike the sweltering heat of the previous days, a steady breeze kept us cool in the sun. "500 Miles" by the Proclaimers quickly became our theme song for the hike. "Da da dat da's" rang out in the mountains. A great sense of accomplishment came over us as we finished the hike and looked up at the distance we had come. We finished the day by visiting the Sea of Galilee and Capernaum.
June 10th was a well needed day of rest on the bus. We drove 2 hours to the boarder of Jordan, after which we traveled 4 more hours to the Wadi Musa. Sadam our new tour guide for our time in Jordan generously bought Katie a cake for her birthday! After a long day of driving we enjoyed a delicious dinner and cake on the patio of our hotel as we watched the sun set. Being in Jordan is significantly different than Israel. Put simply, it is very very dry. Also, we no longer have the luxury of drinking tap water, as Mr. Friesen puts it, "it is too hard on our delicate Canadian tummy's". Bottled water is now our best friend, and hopefully now thanks to a certain student's question we all know that we don't need bottled water to shower in.
Today was spent in Petra. Our guide Sadam shared his knowledge of the great city and ancient ruins. We walked through the shaded Siq which opened up to the famous treasury used in the third Indiana Jones movie. You can imagine what song we were singing today. Then we found ourselves climbing roughly 850 stairs to the monastery.  Once again the view was gorgeous, and some of us even walked to a point that was apparently "more than the best view". In addition to this wonderful view we were seated and served hot tea out of good Bedouin hospitality. A truly memorable experience. After walking in heat all day nothing was more appreciated than our trip to the Turkish baths. The cleaning included extremely hot steam rooms, scrub downs, and massages finished off with a clean towel and tea. I have never felt more clean in my entire life. So far the trip is fabulous and we are all filled with anticipation and excitement for our second day in Petra tomorrow.
Rachel Blaine (having two Rachel's can be confusing at times)

Second Day on the Jesus Trail

Reflection by Katie:

       On Wednesday we drove on a bus with the mar Elias kids to Nazareth where we spent the morning on a tour guided by Linda from Michigan (we all think we was crazy). I think I could say that our favourite part of the tour was the spice shop where we got to taste test all of the dried fruit that they make there. Some of our favourites were dried orange peel, coconut and pineapple. Te candied pecans were also very delicious. After our tour we had free time to wander the narrow streets of Nazareth where we visited the suq (market), experienced new culture, and tried new foods. The shawarma and falafels were absolutely delicious. We also went to the church of annunciation (where Mary was told that she would conceive a child. Our day was filled with fun adventures which made our beds so appealing.
     Thursday was the first day of the Jesus trail. We hiked  from Nazareth to Cana which is about 16 km of pure sauna. The hike wasn't challenging but it was hot, we got lost a couple of times but Karl eventually managed to guide us in the right direction. For lunch we stopped in a National park called Zippori which was filled with old roman ruins and architecture such as  an amphitheatre, a fortress  and tons of mosaiques made up of tiny pieces of tile. When we reached Cana we were welcomed into a hostel hosted by a lovely family who served us a ton of food and some wine. (We had to have some because this was where Jesus performed the miracle of turning water into wine) our evening was pretty relaxing because everyone was tired from walking so we ended up playing cards, visiting and eating cake because it was Coles birthday.
      Today (Friday, June 7th) we walked from Cana to Ilnya in under four hours which was quite nice. We arrived at our hostel and were truely in heaven when we saw a pool that was awaiting our arrival. Tonight we are sleeping in yurts which are like large huts which is quite interesting and exciting! By the way, almost everyone has done their own laundry here, so now you know that they are capable of doing it at home too!
All is going well :)

Katir

Meeting Old Friends

We just came down from the roof, on which we watched the sun set over the sea and the call to prayer echo through the hills. It is wonderful to be here.

Upon arrival at the Tel Aviv airport yesterday, we were greeted like celebrities. Our friends from Ibilin cheered and waved, holding up big signs welcoming us to The Holy Land. Since then, we have been fed copious amounts of delicious food both in homes and at restaurants, and we have been shown so many amazing and beautiful places. We have been in Haifa, on Mount Carmel, all around the Sea of Galilee, and in numerous villages throughout the north of Israel.

Yesterday’s swim in the sea was a refreshing way to begin our time here after a long flight. Other than one jellyfish sting and a cut toe, everyone emerged from the water intact. Today, we were also in the water as we went “kayaking” down the Jordan River. We found out that “kayaking” was actually “white water rafting” which turned out to be a gentle float down the river, gentle that is till our students started finding out that the rafts could be tipped and that teachers could be pulled unawares into the water. Needless to say, there were a few impromptu baptisms in the Jordan River and even rebaptisms. After having just been on the Mount of Beatitudes, it was amazing how quickly Jesus’ words of turning the other cheek were forgotten.

In these two days with our hosts, we have been all made to feel like very special guests. We have also been made to look absolutely foolish in our feeble attempts to pay for things. Just this afternoon, as I tried to pay for ice cream, thinking that I had finally made it past the armour of hospitality, I was distracted for a moment, and everything was suddenly paid for. There have been stories of 50 shekel notes being thrown into and out of cars at the last moment. We simply have not been able to treat anyone to anything. I suppose we will have to wait till they get back to Canada.

Mr Emil just walked in and he sends his greetings to all who met him when he was in Canada. He also would like to thank Krista for the gift; he was "so thrilled by it."

Tomorrow, we are off to Nazareth in the morning. There we will have to say goodbye to our friends and continue on to the next part of our sojourn here.

Preparations Almost Complete

It feels as if the snow just melted (maybe because it just did), but we have a mere 15 days before our departure on June 2. We are looking forward to so many things, from hiking along desert trails to navigating ancient streets in Jerusalem. We are especially looking forward to reconnecting with our friends from Ibilin. 

As the rain continues to fall, it must be said that we are looking forward to a bit of hot weather as well. Insha'allah, the next post will be from The Holy Land.