Our international school took us on a hike to the desert which we got back from last night--about a 3-4 hour bus ride from Haifa. The beauty of the place was harsh and astounding. Ramon crater is the largest crater in the world. It used to be a huge mountain but turned into a crater due to erosion... I didn't pay attention to how big it was, but it was big. We hiked in the middle of it the first day, a fairly easy, flat hike, and on the second day we did a more challenging hike.
This was the first look at the crater from the top... It looks like a view from a plane, but no. We were standing on a look-out ledge.
Walking walking. Barton and I joked about the pictures that we took. This is desert wasteland picture #42.
After the first hike, we went back to the bus, and the driver took us to the campsite. Daytime was moderate ~70 degrees, but night felt like we were living in a dry icebox. We slept under a huge tent as a big group (25-30 people) where the campground also provided us with some thin mattresses, which was nice. We cooked our own dinner that night, a huge feast! I helped make the pita--flour, water, oil, and a little salt. Then it had to be kneaded and put on the big circular metal plate over the fire in order to harden them. I think I've got the process down, if ever I want to make pita on my own.. So good.
The second day we hiked along a ridge overlooking both sides of the desert. It was quite steep in some places, and I felt like that nomad-caravan we saw on the way here... (from the bus we saw on a nearby ridge a caravan of 5 camels from Jordan who were on their 3rd day passing through the desert--the bus driver knew them). Apparently, it was forbidden for the Nebotean nomads who inhabited this region to ever drink wine... It was punishable by death. And I could see why. You needed all your senses and awarenesses to be able to navigate this wilderness and know every step, every rock. You also needed to protect from raiders, robbers, etc.
At afternoon, we came to this valley with huge rock walls on every side. When it floods, this place is completely full of water. Rachel and Bekah informed me that we were hiking on part of trail that runs from south-north of Israel and leads through all the amazing natural places including parts of the Golan and Mt. Tabor.
All in all, it was fun hanging out with everyone and the conversations along the way were the best part for me. We had time to talk about everything we normally wouldn't talk about... My roommate Amy is an environmental scientist and she was explaining things like Permaculture and climate change to me. After a few hours, the constant walking becomes meditative, and I found that the best way to clear my head. It was good to be outdoors and away from Haifa for awhile. This morning I woke up really thankful for this experience... truly special.
Wow, looked like an adventure.
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