Greetings from the Negev

By Rayna Carner and Alice Tecotzky, NFTY in Israel Participants, Bus 6

Greetings from Bus Six!

It’s Rayna, Natalie, and Alice here, happily squished into a two person seat and on our way to Haifa.

Though we were tired after waking up with stars still in the sky at 3:30 AM in order to climb Masada and watch the Israeli sun rise over the Negev, we were revitalized by the saltiness of the Dead Sea. Floating effortlessly and being buoyed by the water was a perfect way to end the blazing morning, despite the fact that our hiking related cuts stung with the salt. We spread the sea’s mud all over ourselves and went into the stunningly warm water once more to wash it off, emerging fresh faced and soft skinned.

So, the passage above this was written by Alice, but it’s Rayna writing now (we were not good at team writing). We are currently on the bus on our way to Haifa, and the majority of us are fast asleep considering we woke up at 3:45 AM this morning! At 5 AM, we were well on our way hiking up Masada, and it was relatively short and easy compared to some of the other challenges we faced in the desert last week. Watching the sunrise was absolutely beautiful, and after, we learned about the history of the Zealot people who used to live there. By 10:30 AM, we had been awake for almost 7 hours, and we had arrived at the Dead Sea! Most of us headed straight for the water, where we floated, but also complained about our stinging cuts (because most of us have them!) We were sad to leave the lowest point on earth, but definitely happy to get a chance to sleep on the bus. We’re all excited for more adventures in Haifa, and getting to see the northern part of the country.

Xoxo, Rayna & Alice

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