Wake up! Its time to hike!

At 3:15am this morning in Israel the MBIers awoke to set off on what promised to be a memorable and beautiful hike. Soon after they got up they set off from the Bedouin tents to hike up Masada and see the famous and glorious sunrise they will not soon forget. While some were not excited to be up so early, the cooler temperature and promise of hiking up to an important site and witness an event of great beauty, kept the MBIers going. Having reached the top of Masada the MBIers got to pause, take a rest, and take in the sunrise. They proceeded to walk around and have a guided tour of the ruins and learn more about the backstory of Masada and its role in the Israeli narrative.

Later they went to Ein Gedi and Nachal David to take advantage of some great hikes in the area. These two hikes are great as Ein Gedi is a famous source of water in the desert and both hikes eventually lead to water and some waterfalls. The hikes are not too long and there is a great reward at end to see water flowing in the desert. They are a large part of understanding the beauty and diversity of the desert environment.

Having been up Masada, and seen some important sources of fresh water in the desert, it was only fitting the MBIers another unique part of the Israeli desert. They headed off for the Dead Sea which meant the MBIers had now been to the lowest point of the earth on land. It is truly amazing the one of a kind places that Israel has to offer. For those who forgot about various cuts and scrapes they had gotten earlier in the week the Dead Sea kindly reminded them. Of course floating the highly concentrated water was enjoyed as was utilizing Dead Sea mud rich in minerals. A one of a kind, in many ways a once in a lifetime opportunity was had for all.

After the MBIers had accomplished so much and yet being very far in the day, they headed off for their place of rest, Kibbutz Sde Boker, where they would be staying for the evening. When they arrived they had a few hours to rest, take naps, and recuperate from their amazing and busy day. It was a well received break and did in fact rejuvenate the MBIers. They had a nice meal at Sde Boker and prepared for the evenings activities.

The bus groups took turns taking part in a Scorpion hunt as part of a night hike. The scorpion hunt involved walking through the desert near the Kibbutz with an ultraviolet light to try to find scorpions. The hike and hunt were thrilling explorations of some of the feared creatures of the desert and everyone finished the evening braver than before.

Tomorrow the MBIers will have some more hiking in the desert, including going to Makhtesh(Crater) Ramon among other activities. Can you believe we are almost half way through the program? Times flies....