Today was a hot, fun day. We started off driving to Masada, which was back past Qumran where we went yesterday. Along the way, we see mostly desert and it is very desolate. Wilderness, indeed. But today I spotted a herd of camels out among the dunes and sure enough, when we came back, they were nearer the road so we could see them better and there were about 15 or more of them. There are also bedouin "communities" along the way, with camels, donkeys, goats and sheep. We saw several groups of ibex, some with longer horns than we saw the other day. We arrived at Masada and took the cable car up to the site. We were packed in like sardines and it was a short ride, but there was not much opportunity for photos or anything. We were just too close together. Hillel did a great job of telling us about Masada and the different parts of the camp and all. They have done a great job of combining what remains of the original structures and also adding just a bit so you can see it better-and they clearly define where the originals stop. I was one of the first to fold and say I had had enough-it was so hot and after awhile, all the ruins tend to look alike. There were 4 of us who opted to go on back down on the cable car and the others joined us within 20-30 minutes. The air conditioned welcome center and the ice cold Coke surely hit the spot! we did see a unique little mouse type animal when we were up there. I can't remember the name of it but it was more like a hamster than a rat or mouse.
Next we rode back to Qumran and ate lunch at the welcome center there. Again we opted to just have peanut butter and crackers and something cold to drink-everything had garlic and onion. From there, we went to the Dead Sea to swim. Masada is beside the Dead Sea and the views are beautiful. The Dead Sea is much larger than the Sea of Galilee and is a beautiful aqua color. They have changing rooms at the place we went and so some of us donned our swim suits and experienced not being able to sink in the water! You go down and get in about knee deep or less and just sit back and you are floating. In fact, it is very hard to stand back up! You just bob and rise and trying to get those feet down is not easy. The mud is squishy and while some lathered themselves with it, I only stepped in it when I could not see it. Some of the bottom has that mud and some is more sandy and you can't see where you are stepping. It was fun though and an experience not to be missed. So after going back up and showering and getting dressed, we had something cold to drink and headed back to the bus. The salt is not that easy to wash off and even after showers, most of us were anxious to get back to the hotel and take another shower.
Jim and I however, caught a cab to the Jaffa gate of Old Town and wandered around and looked at the shops and things and came back out at the Damascus gate, walking back to the hotel from there. On the way we passed the garden tomb which we will go to in the morning. We also passed the American consulate and several churches. The Olive Tree is in a great location in Jerusalem. As we were walking, we saw the markets of fruit and meet and other such things. We were glad to have the time to go there and just wander.
Life is full and rich here in Jerusalem and it is very interesting to just people watch wherever we are. Hillel has been a great guide and he has been fabulous about helping us put the puzzle pieces together. I am thankful that my faith does not depend upon knowing the exact places that things happened. It is enough for me just to know that they did and the places we have seen have been as meaningful as if they were absolutely certain the spots were where things happened. But it has been a wonderful pilgrimage to come and relive the life of Jesus and many other of the other stories we have learned from the Bible.
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