Day Four

Wednesday, March 16, 2006
Today was an equally busy day. It was an exhausting day. Today we went to the Dead Sea, Massada, and En Gedi, and rode camels.

The Dead Sea
Now THIS was interesting! Kate and Darren were able to get in but I wasn’t. Our luggage has still not arrived and my only bathing suit and shorts are packed in there (bummer!).
We soaked the back of Kate’s head where she has had problems with eczema recently and are hoping that the salt and minerals will work on it. Other than that…it’s just strange to see grown men and woman not able to stand up in hip high water (or I guess it’s about hip high. Unfortunately, Kate cut her feet up VERY badly on the rocks getting out of the water. She bled all in my new flip flops and has hunks of meat missing on her left foot and lots of little cuts on and underneath her toes. I’m thankful that Jessica and Karen were here (two nurse friends), they were well prepared. Of course, she got lots of love and attention from everyone including Pastor Ron. Travelers Note: Bring AguaShoes to the Dead Sea if you come.

Massada
This was also interesting. It is kinda like the Alamo, (held up in a fortress, all defenses down, and Romans breathing down their necks). All but two women and a few children died to tell the story. The cool part was that you take a trolley ride up to the top of this mountain and the ruins are basically the entire top plateau (and then some) on the mountain with steep cliffs on every side. It would be practically impossible for me to walk up the ‘Serpent’s path” to the top…but apparently people do. I’d take the trolley if I were you.

En Gedi
En Gedi is by far my favorite spot to date on this trip. Not just because it’s beautiful, but because it’s where David spent a lot of time. Where he wrote a lot of scriptures, and where he found God…again.
It is gorgeous. It is serene. And it can’t be described. You just need to visit it yourself.

Then we drove to Tiberius. Long day. Interesting note: we drove by Jericho just as they were pulling ‘the bulldozer’ out of town. If you’ve been watching any news in the last three days you know what I am talking about :)