By Jonathan Kressbach, NFTY in Israel Participant, Bus 9
After the last 3 days of enduring the extreme living conditions of the Negev, our last morning in the desert provided a really fun and exciting twist on the previous hiking experiences. Twenty minutes or so after setting out for the final morning hike, the group stopped at an area that we previously hadn’t seen during our hikes – sand dunes. We set our backpacks down and were given a good amount of time to have some fun. After three days in the extreme heat while walking on dirt and rocks, the feel of the cool sand in the early morning was refreshing and relaxing. I personally ran up the dunes (with a good amount of struggle, as it got very steep) multiple times, sat there for a while to take in the beautiful view, and then proceeded to run, jump, slide, and roll back down to do it all over again. A while later, everyone was elated and refreshed from a rejuvenating morning and we went back to the bottom of the dunes to empty our shoes of the never-ending amounts of sand and collect our things. To me, this was the high point of the Negev experience. It was a step away from the more intense tendencies of what we had become used to in the desert, and turned out to be the perfect way to end the 4 day trip in a more fun and relaxing style, while still giving us all an amazing experience to take with us for years to come.
