By Annie Lohr, Bus 1 Staff
The last 4 days and nights we ventured to the south to feel the true, Israeli heat! On Sunday afternoon, we started our journey to the desert. First, we stopped at the Dead Sea – the lowest point in the world – to cool off before the we reached the desert and spent the evening in the Bedouin tents. We rode camels and spent the night learning about the Bedouin culture and what life is like living in the Judaea Desert. As we learned about the progress women in the community have made, we shared traditional tea and asked questions about their access to education and their role in society. The next morning, we made our trek to Masada!
Waking up at 3:45 a.m., little did we know what we were about to accomplish by 8:00 in the morning! We paid homage to the ancient fortress that many before us have visited. Watching the sunrise from the top of the world was a surreal feeling for us all – pushing ourselves outside of our comfort zones as a team created a sense of strength and accomplishment that everyone felt. Following our hike we headed for campsite for the next night. We slept under the stars and experienced the beauty of the vast hills of the desert. Over our desert trip, we hiked, we sweat, we drank loads of water and we connected with the one of the holiest places in the world. Waking up every morning and accomplishing a 4 mile hike by 8 a.m. was humbling to say the least. We’re excited to be in Tel Aviv to decompress and explore one of the coolest cities in the world!
