FUN-travel: Holy Land – Eilat to Mitspe Ramon, Israel – Day 8
April 8, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Holy Land – Eilat to Mitspe Ramon, Israel – Day 8
The ABC’s of The Holy Land
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration
Trip Day 62 – Monday, April 1 – Eilat to Mitspe Ramon, Israel – sunny, very hazy, windy in mtns – high 80’s
- 7:00 – wake up
Coral World
- B – no yeast items – still only matzo – I have never been so kosher!
- 8:15 – pack picnic of hard boiled eggs, sliced cheese & matzo
- 8:45 – take off
Moses
- 1st hour – drive consists of flat desert w/mtns on each side, then huge date palm farms
- 2nd hour – wind through mountains
- A – last 15 mins switchbacks to top
- 11:00 – arrive Isrotel Beresheet Hotel @ Mitspe Ramon
- B – room not ready
- 11:15 – drive to Avdat
- A – gas stop – vintage Marine 3 * General Vietnam jeep driven by Moses from Tel Aviv dressed in US military fatigues – too funny!
- 12:00 – Advat – ancient Nabatean city 300 BC on incense route – building remains, temple complex & pottery workshop included – Roman tower, Byzantine wine press, caves & churches added later centuries – 7000 AD earthquake destroyed it
- 1:00 – lunch – Kornmehl – hippie cheese farm (more kosher but actually pretty good pizza w/o yeast – cornmeal & tapioca)
- 2:30 – drive back to hotel
- 3:30 – stop @ Makhtesh Ramon visitor center (next to hotel)
- B – it’s 1 hr on more geology! I need a break!
- 4:00 – seriously ready for room R & R
- C – crater top room is fabulous suite w/balcony – clearly 5 * (the best of the trip so far)
- BB – big bummer – huge sand storm basically creates a white out
- 6:30 – visibility nonexistent
Avdat
- B – internet charge = $7.50 for 1 hr (at least it’s not consecutive 60 mins)
- 7:00 – dinner included – really nice buffet spread of salads, appetizers, breads & spreads – 8 entrée options – ordered lamb & chicken, nice bottle of wine blend
FF – (FUN-fact) – Makhtesh Ramon is Israel’s most spectacular natural phenomenon: a crater 25 miles long, 5 miles wide, with a depth of 1,300 feet believed to be formed more than 500,000 years ago by a combination of tectonic movement and erosion. Some of the fossils and rock formations were created 220 million years ago. The highest peak is over 3100 feet above sea level.
Aqaba
FUN-travel: Holy Land – Eilat, Israel – Day 7
April 7, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Holy Land – Eilat, Israel – Day 7
The ABC’s of The Holy Land
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration
Trip Day 61 – Sunday, March 31 – Eilat, Israel – sunny, breezy, high 80’s
Jazz Festival Statue
- 7:00 – wake up
- A – cappuccino out of machine pretty good
- B – no yeast items – only matzo – it’s Passover
- 8:30 – pickup
- 1st stop – Underwater Observatory & “Coral World” – features 25 tanks w/more than 500 species of fish, sponges, corals, sharks & sea turtles – observatory is 20 ft down w/spectacular live view of marine life
- 2nd stop – 10:30 – snorkeling @ open coral reef – fish not as abundant as other places I’ve been but coral is quite beautiful
- 11:30 – drive to next stop – long way around via water desalination plants, agricultural fields, date palm plantations
- B – never saw Flamingo ponds
- 3rd stop – 12:30 – arrive Timna Park & desert trail – 3000 BC Egyptian copper mines – curious mushroom-shaped rock formations caused by wind erosion – see graffiti of Ibex & hunters w/bow & arrows
- 3:30 – lovely Moroccan lunch @ Colin & Vicki’s house – salad w/tomatoes & cucumber, avocados, homemade olives, rice & chicken
- 4:00 – room R & R
- 5:45 – jeep tour in desert for sunset – not near as nice as Wadi Rum – huge power lines, buildings, spoil view – mountains not as majestic
- 7:00 – dinner back @ Eddies Hide-a-Way – no reservation but hope the waiter Yuval (Colin’s son, has some pull & he does – he took care of us yesterday)
- grilled shrimp & calamari salad – carpaccio – nice Yarden Syrah Reserve
- moonlight/star watching optional tour – chose not to do
Coral World
- A – Blue Hotel has free internet
- B – very basic, very small room – more like a hostel than a hotel
FF – (FUN-fact) – Eilat is the only Israeli town on the Red Sea. Aqaba is directly across on the eastern shore in Jordan. Because it is Passover the town is packed and the shoreline is filled with families camping. And this is serious camping as they have erected tents and have generators, couches and coffee tables covered by huge tarps held up with poles.
Timna
FUN-travel: Holy Land – Wadi Rum to Aqaba, Jordan w/transfer to Eilat, Israel – Day 6
April 5, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Holy Land – Wadi Rum to Aqaba, Jordan w/transfer to Eilat, Israel – Day 6
The ABC’s of The Holy Land
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration
Trip Day 60 – Saturday, March 30 – Wadi Rum to Aqaba, Jordan w/transfer to Eilat, Israel – sunny, breezy, high 80’s
Our Camp in Wadi Rum
- 7:30 – get up
- B – only powdered coffee,so drink tea
- 8:40 – jeep drive back to visitor center
- 9:00 – meet our driver Ali & continue on to Aqaba
- 10:00 – arrive & tour town – can see Saudi Arabia, Egypt & Israel across Red Sea
- 10:30 – Gloria Jean’s cappuccino break
Wadi Rum
- 12:00 – lunch – grilled grouper, pita, salad
- 1:30 – drive to border
- 1:45 – meet VP of tour company to assist in border crossing (has to get luggage carts from Israel side)
Wadi Rum “The Bridge”
- B – have to pay $12 pp for departure tax (already paid $30 pp for visas to enter)
- 2:00 – security check
- B – detect metal in 2 of our 5 bags – have to take everything out
- 2:45 – finally get through & met by our Israeli guide Colin
- 3:00 – arrive Blue Hotel
- A – free internet
- B – want a cold beer – it’s Kosher hotel & it’s Passover (so no yeast allowed – no beer or bread)
- 3:30 – Colin takes us 2 blocks to Eddies Hide-a-Way
- A – good really cold Stella Artois
- too tired for any more tours – desperately need to recharge my batteries
- 4:30 – take nap
- 6:30 – wake up for shower
- 7:30 – dinner @ Eddies Hide-a-Way – stuffed mushrooms – chef salad of pear, bleu cheese & walnuts – grilled salmon, Yarden Syrah – Israeli wine is pretty good
- 8:45 – Colin & wife Vickie join us – she orders liver pate & cheese cake, both VG (their son is Yuval is our waiter)
- A – great twinkle of city lights across the Red Sea of Aqaba
- 11:30 – fall into bed again
Wadi Rum Carvings
Jordan Recap – We should have stayed in Petra 3 nights which Stephen suggested inthe original itinerary. Each day was jammed full and we never got a rest, plus all of the driving was tiring. The hotels included breakfast and dinner (which they call half board) and we don’t think that is a good deal for us as we don’t eat that much food. It also doesn’t allow you to wander out and be part of the local experience.
FF – (FUN-fact) – We really liked Jordan and found the people to be extremely kind and caring. They like Americans and hope more will come to see their beautiful country.
Not so FF – We were warned to expect the Israel border crossing would be intense and it was.
Wadi Rum Sunset