FUN-travel: Holy Land – Mitspe Ramon to Dead Sea, Israel – Day 9

April 9, 2013 by · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Holy Land – Mitspe Ramon to Dead Sea, Israel – Day 9 

The ABC’s of The Holy Land
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration

Trip Day 63 – Tuesday, April 2 – Mitspe Ramon to Dead Sea, Israel – sunny, hazy, breezy – high 80’s

  • A – 7:00 – wake up & can see crater! air quality mysteriously cleared
  • B – breakfast doesn’t start until 7:30 – only powder coffee in room – order milk from room service, not hot!
  • A – 7:45 – cappuccino really good in dining room – really nice spread – make egg salad & tuna fish sandwiches (still kosher, can’t have meat & cheese together)
  • 9:00 – check out & take off
  • 11:00 – arrive Isrotel Ganim Dead Sea to drop luggage
Masaba, Israel 10

Northern Palace Wall

  • 1st stop – 12:00 – Masada – isolated palatial fortress on plateau 1,300 ft above banks of Dead Sea – to get there you either take a cable car or walk up steep snake path which takes 45 to 60 mins
  • 2000’ long &  900’ wide – 2nd century BC – then enlarged & reinforced by Herod the Great who added 2 luxurious palaces
  • Northern Palace Complex includes…
  • A – Hanging Palace over 90’ high – Herod’s private residence built on 3 levels tiered on edge of mountain top, middle is circular hall used for entertaining, lower had bathhouse
  • Western Palace includes…
  • rooms for guests, lots of mosaics & frescos – also has hot baths, huge cisterns for water, commandant’s quarters & the oldest synagogue
  • 1:30 – drive back to hotel
Masaba, Israel 8

Bathhouse Floor

  • 2nd stop – 2:30 – arrive Isrotel Ganim Dead Sea
  • 2:45 – head to Dead Sea to swim & rub therapeutic mud on body
  • B – have to buy mud – thought it was along the bank
  • 4:00 – beer break & shopping – Ahava makes best Dead Sea skin products
  • B – internet charge – 1 hr for consecutive 60 mins = $7.50
  • 5:30 – nature walk to Ein Bokek spring – natural spring in desert w/waterfall –  need to walk in the stream to do that, so cut walk short – reality is, this is not a tourist spot, filled w/ locals
  • 6:15 – return to hotel
  • 7:00 – dinner included – not very good buffet
Dead Sea, Israel 2

Dead Sea

FF – (FUN-fact) – The Dead Sea is actually a lake with half lying in Jordan, half in Israel. At 1,348 feet below sea level it’s the lowest point on earth.
More FF – Masada made UNESCO World Heritage List in 2001. The camps, fortifications, and assault ramp at its base constitute the most complete surviving ancient Romans siege system in the world.
Not so FF – I could not believe that the Isrotel hotels today and yesterday were remotely related. The room wasn’t that bad but the service and food were horrible here. We are on the water and there is no outdoor patio connected to the hotel or room balcony.

FUN-travel: Holy Land – Eilat to Mitspe Ramon, Israel – Day 8

April 8, 2013 by · 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

    Aqaba, Jordan-Eilat, Israel 15

    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

    Avdat, Israel 1

    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, Israel 16

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, Jordan-Eilat, Israel 1

Aqaba