Days 4-5 in Israel--through the Dead Sea region to Bethlehem

September 24-25

We crossed the border from Aqaba, Jordan into Eilat, Israel on the eve of the Rosh Hashanah holiday.  We were blessed to find one of the last rental cars in town available, and we proceeded gratefully along our way.  We drove north to the Dead Sea (with a brief "swim" or rather float in it)

David floating in the Dead Sea in the middle of the photo (the whitest guy there)

then checked into a very charming B & B in Arad.  We were especially proud of ourselves that we roused at 4:15 a.m. the next day to get ourselves to the fortress ruins of Masada and up its mountain on the "Snake Path" in time to see the sunrise from the top of the plateau over the Dead Sea. A bizarre twist on this trip--as we were driving in the dark from the Arad Guest house down the mountain to get to Masada, passing through many hairpin turns, we were joined by motorcycles weaving in and out and around.  As it turned out, they were going to Masada, too!  In fact, there must have been about 2,000 gathering ala Sturgis in the very place we wanted to go.  Thankfully, they weren't all in lines for tickets for the hike up. Somehow we found the ticketbooth through the crowd  in the darkness and were able to leave the revving of engines below us. By the time we came back down a couple of hours later, only the cyclists' trash remained.

Kathy half way up the mountain looking back at the line of motocyclists lights far below (and she didn't turn into a pillar of salt)

David triumphant at the top of Masada with the sun rising over the Jordanian mountains on the far side of the Dead Sea.

Masada from the bottom after our descent (cable car lines at the top for wimps who don't make the climb)

We also worked in a stop at the oasis of Ein Gedi just north of Masada--a lush stream in the desert.  It was really crowded with the Rosh Hashanah holiday going, but still a beautiful last stop before moving on to Bethlehem.

Because of the holiday, we had to drop the rental car off at Ben-Gurion airport outside of Tel Aviv, catch a shuttle to Jerusalem, then a taxi to Bethlehem--rather complicated and expensive, but we had just enough money (and several angels along the way) so we made it to Bethlehem and our apartment the night of September 25.  We are glad to be "home."