Desert Survival?

(I began writing this on September 28)

Last Sunday (three weeks ago…) we woke up at 5:30 to take our last showers before boarding the buses at six and heading off to the desert for three days. Or so we thought. After stopping at a youth hostel in Ein Gedi for breakfast and tefilot, Yossi gathered the group together for an announcement.  Due to the 100+ degree heat, a ban had been placed on hiking in Israel for the next three days.  Many Israelis take advantage of the Sukkot break to go on various hikes, so our group wasn’t the only one whose plans had been changed.  There was one shady area that remained open for hiking, so that’s where we headed, along with what seemed like every youth group in Israel.  After a short “hike” that was more like a nice stroll, we took a break to cool down and drink some water.  Then we all got in Jeeps and were driven to the original destination of our hike.  We all survived the bumpy ride and made it to Ein Akev where we took another short walk, but this one ended at a spring!  Some of us took at refreshing swim (in our clothes, since no one knew we would be swimming) and then we had lunch while we were drying off. After another Jeep ride back to our starting point, we waited on the buses for the rest of the group before being driven to our campsite.




Me and Elana Pentelnik after our refreshing swim...



...in the clothes we wore for the rest of the day



Once at the campsite (a random patch of desert), we set up our tents (though many people ended up sleeping outside) and established a hidden area as the girls’ “bathroom.”  Dinner was made for us (I was even given my own pot of gluten free soup!) and after eating, I listened to my friend, Becca Rosenthal, play guitar and sing songs she wrote (check her out on iTunes, she’s great.  My favorite song of hers is Speechless).  Later, each group went on a night hike, but before the Be’er Sheva group left, we had a special treat: we got to clean up from dinner!  About five of us ended up washing all the pots and pans and got completely soaked and dirty in the process.  Though it wasn’t the highlight of the trip, the dishes got cleaned, and the men who cooked our food really appreciated it.  We finally went on our night hike (again, more of a walk) during which we learned a little about the solar system and were given the opportunity to find our way back by ourselves (not too difficult since there was a giant van with blazing lights at our campsite, but still pretty exciting).



At our campsite



Once we were back at the campsite, everyone sat around a bonfire, toasted marshmallows, and played more guitar—pretty typical camping trip activities.  What made this campfire more exciting though (besides the fact that marshmallows are gluten free), was that when Elkana (the assistant director of Nativ) played guitar, he played Hebrew music!  Instead of the typical Dispatch, Greenday, etc., Elkana played Mosh Ben Ari, Idan Raichel, and Shai Gabso, some of my favorite Israeli artists.  After the bonfire, most people slept outside rather than in tents, under a full moon that literally lit up the entire sky and even made it hard to see very many stars.

The next morning we woke up at 4am to finish up the least demanding desert survival trip a Nativ group has ever been on.  After watching the sun rise during tefillot and walking around in a circle shaking our lulavs, we had a quick breakfast and set out to hike Mitzpe Ramon (Rmaon’s Crater).  Each group was hiking separately, and we all had our own guide.  It just so happened that the Yerucham group’s guide had celiac disease!  I had brought my GF cereal for breakfast, but I was curious what he had eaten, since nothing they gave us was gluten free.  He showed me the GF rolls that he eats and even gave me one to try.  It was without a doubt the best GF bread I’ve had since I’ve been on the diet, and definitely one of my best discoveries, because I can now eat sandwiches (and because I love bread).  Hiking Mitzpe Ramon was tough, but a great challenge.  There was even a part where we were sort of rock climbing, which was a little scary but very fun.  The view was beautiful, and when we got to the top our guide gave us bubbles, because apparently you blow bubbles when you do a big hike or have a big achievement…?  That’s probably not what she said, but I don’t really remember to be perfectly honest.



Exhausted, but not quite there...




Made it to the top =)




Bubbles!



When we got back to base we all took some much needed showers and spent the rest of the day relaxing.  We also had the opportunity to take part in the Sukkot celebrations going on in Jerusalem.  Nativ is usually on desert survival during these celebrations, but due to our abbreviated trip, we were able to catch the last few days of Sukkot in Jerusalem.   Some of us saw a parade that included delegations of people from all different countries in the world walking with their flags and apparel from their respective countries.  It was nice to see people of so many different nationalities who support Israel and who were so excited to be there.  So despite an unexpectedly quick desert survival, Nativ 30 had a meaningful and exciting Sukkot, though it wasn’t quite what we had expected.



Switzerland loves Israel





The Brazilian delegation was HUGE