Morning on Masada and Floating with Friends

Morning Minyan on Masada 

Debbie:
Hi everyone! Today was a day we were all looking forward to, we climbed Masada. The day started very early, and by early I mean 4:30. Wake up wasn't our favorite part of the day, and neither was the weather, but it was definitely worth it. We had a little snack and then left the tents that we slept in. We got to Masada and then hiked up the short way. We prayed at the top which was amazing because of the view and the inspiring history of the place. After we prayed and walked around the top of Masada. We went down the long way which had a beautiful view. When we got to the bottom we all had breakfast together which was also very fun. I'm very excited for tomorrow's hike.  

Emma: 

Hello!!! So today we had to wake up at 4:30 AM to hike Masada while the weather was still reasonable. We hiked up a short path and at the top we prayed and saw the history of Masada. We hiked down the snake path and I have honestly never sweat harder in my entire life. I got sun burned but I can deal with it. We then had breakfast when we got to the bottom because by that time it was 9:30 AM!! We had a short drive to the Dead Sea which smelled absolutely horrible and we were all expecting the water to be hot and brown but it was refreshing and crystal clear. It was so much fun. We covered ourselves in mud and walked as far out in the Dead Sea as we could until we couldn't stand so our feet would float. We had the best time besides the burning from the salt. We then went to the pool at the Dead Sea to refresh ourselves. We had lunch at the Ein Gedi spa and it was really good. 

After lunch we got on the bus and began our 2 hour ride to the next Kibbutz we are staying in for 2 nights. We began our journey in Israel in the north and now we are all the way in the south. We had a lot of free time and the kibbutz we are staying in has a little super market. So a group of us decided to go and on the way we made so many friends with kids who live on the kibbutz. They are so nice, funny, and down to earth. We are hanging out with them tomorrow night also. So fun. We then had an activity after dinner and now we are all sitting on our porch talking - like all 24 kids. We got really close. Miss you guys a lot but I'm nowhere ready to come home... Xo

Bella:

As we first arrived to the Dead Sea, everyone was excited to escape the strong heat and get into the water. We took steady steps as we entered the water. The water felt very thick and it was also a little warm and we kept walking until the water was at our waists. We leaned back and let the water carry us, we felt as though we were flying. The water stung anyone with cuts, but we stayed in and loved every minute of it.  After we got out of the water, we continued the fun by covering ourselves in mud. We then went back into the water and let the mud wash off off of us, we all loved it. We concluded our Dead Sea experience by playing around in the pool. Although by the end of this we were all exhausted, we will never forget this amazing and once in a life time experience of going to the Dead Sea with all of our new and old friends.

Dead Sea Mud

Misc. Friends Snapshots . . .!