A Special Day #6
Day 6 was a special one, likely to remain the most memorable day on our Birthright trip.
Similarly, to each previous day, June 22nd began early and ran quite late. We spent the previous night at a beautiful Kibbutz called Mashabei Sadeh. We had a relaxing night in at Mashabei, so naturally, most members of our group made an appearance at the residential bar.
We had a nice breakfast in the Kibbutz dining hall, hearty with eggs, toasts, and the Israeli cuisine we've all come to love during this week. At 8:15 am, we boarded the bus and were on our way to Ein Ovdat for a morning hike. Upon arrival, we soaked ourselves in sunscreen, refilled our water bottles, and began the trek. The Ein Ovdat hike showcased a terrain with higher intensity than the previous hikes we've taken, and not having a nice lake to jump into on our trail made the heat feel quite real. We got through it, though. With sweaty faces, we listened to our tour guide, Itay, tell a story about creatures that once inhabited Ein Ovdat.
As soon as we knew it, we were at the top of the desert mountain, where every thing stood still. A breeze ran past our group as we looked over the edge and took in all the beauty. It was truly something.
Afterwards, we head into town for some lunch and then got back on the bus. We eventually arrived in Mitzpe Ramon, a rural desert area in Southern Israel, where we would spend the remainder of our day and evening. We finally lived the moment we had all been waiting for, the activity that rendered some of the greatest Instagram posts by our friends that have already been on Birthright, the riding of the camels. We each chose a partner and two-by-two, got on these creatures with famously majestic bladders. A bit of a bumpy ride, or a humpy one, I suppose. However, it was a lot of fun and definitely cross-off-your-bucket-list-worthy.
Following the camel rides, we had an authentic Bedouin dinner at Kfar Hanokdim, the Bedouin tent we were to spend the night at. The meal was eaten on cushions gathered around tables quite low to the ground. So low that wandering cats could eat food right off the table if humans weren't guarding their plates. The meal was delicious and surely something new for us all, a unique cultural experience we will always share. The following few hours that remained this night were amongst the greatest hours of our ten days in Israel. Once the sun was long gone, we cleared the tents and were guided through the desert in the dark. Our retinas adjusted to our lightless surroundings and all we could see were the bright, beautiful stars. This was the first time I said that I could see the Big Dipper and wasn't lying about it. We found a reasonably flat area and spread out as we watched the moon rise in silence. I've never been so profoundly touched by the absence of light.
This little bit of time to reflect on all things in our lives, not only the previous days of our trip, proved to be introspective and an integral piece of our spiritual journey here in Israel. The silence was followed by a beautiful Israeli song that reunited us as a group. We then sat in our standard group circle and shared what this time meant to us. The darkness may have appeared to isolate us, but it was clear that it brought us all closer to both our group, and everyone else in our lives on the other side of the globe.
After sharing our findings, we headed back to the tents in silence where we showered off our long day, had a s''more around a fire pit, and fell fast asleep as we breathed in the clear desert air from inside the Bedouin tents. This day was jam packed with activities that we were happy to let exhausted us, and the fostering of friendships we will always carry with us.
