What an
amazing trip! We only went for 7 days, but packed so much into the short trip
that it felt like so much longer. After what seemed like an interminable flight
from JFK direct to Tel Aviv and then an hour train ride to Haifa, we finally
met up with Rebecca. We took the bus up to the university and checked out
Jason’s lab and the awesome slipper lobsters! As you can see, they are so completely different
from the lobsters in the US.
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| Mediterranean slipper lobster |
The next day,
we went up to Akko where Jason was doing some field work. Not only did we do
some shopping in the local shuk where I bought the most amazing dates. But, being scientists, no trip to the local market is
complete without collecting some data on the lobsters. Of course, no trip to an
ancient city is complete without climbing onto the fortress walls and seeing
the sights. We even checked out the old Templar
tunnels before heading off to Nahariyya and swimming in the
Mediterranean Sea.
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| Measuring lobsters in Akko's market |
The next day
we traveled to Zichron Ya’acov to touring some gardens and taste some wine. Given
that Israel is a desert, the greenery found everywhere is amazing.
Craig’s
favorite thing of the entire trip was the next day, a trip to the Dead Sea and
the lowest point on the planet. We visited Mineral Beach and spent hours
floating in the water, you could float on your stomach with your hands as a
pillow and not have to worry about sinking! Of course, no trip to the Dead Sea
is complete without slathering your whole body with mud and floating in the hot sulfur
pools. We also went for a quick camel ride at the local gas station. How often
does that chance come up?
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| Don't try this at home |
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| Camel Ride! |
After the
Dead Sea, we headed into Jerusalem for the night. While our hotel was nice, the
one across the street, the American Colony Hotel, was amazing. The best part of
the evening was the bisht (robes) that the restaurant gave Jason and Craig to wear. The
rest of the evening they couldn’t stop laughing about it and enjoying showing
them off to the rest of the patrons.
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| Jason and Craig having a little too much fun! |
We saw so
much in Jerusalem, I don’t know where to start. It's an unbelievable city with many things to see and do. We did the usual tourist sites including walking the city ramparts.
After
Jerusalem, Craig and I abandoned Jason and Rebecca to travel to Eilat and
Petra. We left at 6:30 am to head to the Jordanian border where we walked through
the crossing. On the other side, we got in a bus and started the 2.5 hour drive
to Petra, arriving around 10:00 am. We spent the next 8 hours hiking all over and
saw some amazing sights. We were originally scheduled for a two day trip, but
were so exhausted after 8 hours in the sun going straight up, that despite
there being so much more to see, decided to leave after breakfast (rather than
lunch) and return to Eilat. Once there, we wandered around the city and swam in
the Red Sea. Despite the crowds, the beach was nice and the water was chilly.
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| Petra |
On our last
day in Israel, we explored the Underwater Observatory Marine Park where the
aquarium descends over 12 feet into the Red Sea and is surrounded by amazing
reefs and zillions of fish. You can climb up the top and look out over the
Red Sea from the observation tower. The rest of the aquarium was pretty amazing
also, there were more sea turtles than I could count and a dark room to admire
phosphorescent fish and corals.
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| Red Sea Observatory |
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| Corals |
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| Reef and fish! |
Itinerary
Tues: Arrival
in Haifa, trip to the University, dinner
Wed: Trip to
Akko, shopping and exploring, trip to Nahariya, swim in the Mediterranean Sea
Thurs:
Gardens and Zichron Ya’acov
Fri: Trip to
the Dead Sea (Mineral Beach), dinner at American Colony Hotel
Sat: Trip to
Jerusalem, explore the Old City, stay in East Jerusalem, travel to Eilat
Sun: Jordan
and Petra, spend the night in Wadi Musa
Mon: Return
to Eilat, explore the area, swim in the Red Sea
Tues: Explore
the Underwater Observatory Marine Park, travel to Tel Aviv and back to JFK
Thanks Beth for writing up this post! There are more photos of Beth and Craig's trip in our photo albums.
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