Well…that’s what we did and IT WAS AMAZING. I have never been snorkeling before but it was quite awesome and I loved it. We drove about 4 hours to Eilat and spent the day on the beach of the Red Sea in all of its crystal-clear, blue glory. The weather was perfect, and I did get a little bit of sun but it’s to be expected living in Israel for four months, right?
The reef was so spectacular. It was something I had only seen artificially in the Aquarium I used to work at and on TV. I swam 3 feet directly above a school of fish that were the size of my face and just floated there watching them swim beneath me. They were every imaginable color and shape and were so used to people they’d swim pretty close to you.
This day was really nice because it made all of us feel like it was actually summer…like a vacation….which we woke up from on Monday of course….but……for a brief second we were carefree.
I spent some time journaling (I’m ashamed to say I’m a little behind, but one thing’s for sure, when it is finished my journal will be so cool…) I also went geo-caching…which was epic. I went with this guy and we followed coordinates to a date-palm tree…and after an intense search we found a film canister from Germany inside the palm tree! INSIDE!...just don’t ask…we signed our names on a paper and slipped it back inside for the next person to find.
(it's really blue)
Things have once again gone back to normal…..well, as normal as a city that pretends half the population doesn’t exist can be. There are always demonstrations….usually there’s always something going on…but for now nothing to make us stay inside. So we ventured out again and got falafels, visited the City of David National historic site…which really is full of Zionistic propaganda…..but….what are you going to do right? They are all about rebuilding the city of David and re-establishing Jewish families around Jerusalem….nevermind that there are thousands and thousands of Arabs and Palestinians already living there.
(City of David)
The highlight of this little trip was going in Hezekiah’s tunnel which has thigh deep, running water for about 533 meters which is how Jerusalem was taken a loooong time ago. It was dark and really low in some places….can you picture almost crawling through a watery tunnel in the dark? Awesome. : )
(tunnel)
(bonding.)
(we ate at a dairy Kibbutz on the way home and it had the best chocolate milk i've ever had. Hence the reason we are sitting on a cow.)
More homework of course…….there’s not really an end to it….so another midterm on Thursday….another update soon…..but that’s all for now folks.
wow amy this all looks so awesome! it's so funny because the ocean looks pretty much the same here. totally gorgeous. i haven't gotten in though because it's wicked cold compared to back in sc. i'm glad things have calmed down a bit and you're getting to venture out into the city again. see and do everything you can!
ReplyDeletelove,
lindsay
the red sea is beauuuutiful! and that's so cool that you got to go snorkeling!!
ReplyDeletesnorkeling?? awesome!! i'm glad you get little breaks to enjoy all the beauty that surrounds you. you look so full of joy in your pictures, it makes me so happy! also, you are looking quite skinny girlie!
ReplyDeleteps, an email is coming your way soon!
I love the red sea and it was really nice to get out of Jerusalem for a day...things are just so tense here....you can totally feel it just walking around.
ReplyDeleteI miss you liz! i totally met a Jewish girl from New Jersey and i told her i was going there at the end of the summer!
Lindsay i imagine that you get to go swimming a lot more often than i do! jealous! it's beautiful but i live like an hour away from the med, 4 hours from the red sea, and maybe 45 minutes from the dead sea...which is kinda gross. ;)
Brianon, i miss you a lot. i never heard back from you and i am lacking several details about your life my friend....... ;)
I am having a really good time! i've made a lot of really good friends, and yes, lost some weight. i had to borrow a kitchen knife to pull a survivor man and punch some more holes in my belt....but really...probably i just wont be able to wear the jeans i have anymore....bummer.
email me sometime!
The sea looks beautiful as do you of course! I'm so glad we got to talk the other day! Good luck on that paper!
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