By Isaac Fleischer
I can’t believe we made it out of the desert! What I expected to be three long and hard days turned out to be three long, hard, but also very eye-opening days.
With a wake up at 4:00 in the morning, we began our journey to hike up Masada, one of Israel’s most popular landmarks. Being a kid out of South Florida with a lot of our group coming from the Sunshine State, the site was definitely something out of the ordinary. At the top we were able to enjoy the magnificent sunrise. What I found the most interesting about the experience of Masada wasn’t the views and scenery but the inspirational story behind it.
Once we made it down, we picked up the materials we needed for the desert at Kibbutz Yahel. I was immediately surprised by the mountainous atmosphere of the desert. What made the overall experience super special was our awesome guide, Gal. She shared her love and passion for the desert with us over the three days we spent together. That evening, we were so tired and fell asleep immediately under the stars with just sleeping bags and our backpacks as pillows.
Instead of a 4:00 AM wake up, the staff was generous enough to give us an extra hour sleep and let us wake up at 5:00 AM. While it may sound like we were a lot of sleep-deprived kids (which we certainly were), the sunrise and cool morning breeze made the early morning seem like a reasonable decision. We went on another hike that morning to Canyon Ha’adom – the Red Canyon. When I first heard of the long morning hike in the blazing sun, it sounded torturous but it was actually a lot of fun and I enjoyed the beautiful scenery. We would stop and take water breaks along with some short games and activities throughout the hike. This adventure around the desert was not just a great way to take in all that Israel’s deserts have to offer, but it also was a fantastic way to build connections and bond with people from the trip. We later got to go snorkeling in the Red Sea (it wasn’t actually red). I have only gone snorkeling once when I was little and didn’t really understanding how it worked so being able to try it out again now that I’m older was a blast. We all got to see many cool fish and coral including a popular favorite, the rainbow fish.
The next night we camped out at a spot that was somehow even more beautiful than the first. It was surrounded by mountains with views of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Israel, all in one place. This was a location where I could truly appreciate and reflect on the beauties of the desert. We were given ten minutes to find a spot and sit alone to reflect on the journey we had taken. I felt grateful for all the things that I have been blessed with in life and that our whole Coleman group is here in Israel together.
Looking back on everything, the desert was an opportunity for me to get to see and experience a side of Israel that I never expected to ever do.
