Technically, I am not at the Dead Sea. I am dead tired back in Chicago having coffee at a place called Letiza's. I was not smart enough to stock any sort of food or beverage options for my return. So, here I am, out in public with a gross cold very early on a Saturday morning. I arrived yesterday after a short delay at Newark -- I heard later that most flights after mine were seriously delayed or cancelled so I'm glad to have made it back.I wanted to share some pictures of the awesome Dead Sea and Ein Gedi Oasis. I also wanted to issue this warning about the region to those travelers under 60 and over 16....there's not much in the way of nightlife, or decent food, in the area. I imagine the food situation may have been different at a more frou frou hotel. We were not at such a place. The hotel we stayed at was kinda like a kibbutz without the work and most people ate in the communal hall around 5pm. While not ideal for us, people seemed to enjoy the group atmosphere. On the way there, we saw our first camel. Here he (she?) is.
We ended up having a great night. After dinner we picked up some beer and went down to the beach to hang out. There were people playing music and bbq-ing a little bit down the way. One of the guys came over and invited us to join them. He and his friend had made a bbq for his birthday and there was lots of food left. After messing with us for a bit and claiming that they swam from Jordan with the hibachi in a knapsack, we found out that the two guys, one Jewish and one Arab, are old friends who have worked in the region's hotels together for years.First thing to note: Best lamb I have ever had. Ever. I wish I had taken a photo. Awesome. Second thing to note: your Jewish mom has nothing on an Arab bbq chef when it comes to force feeding. I think we had three full meals that night. It was very cool to talk to them about their experiences as friends and their thoughts about Israel. Both of them have a deep love for their country--and both seem to see it as thiers collectively--but can't see fighting one another for any of it. It was a very different take than what I had been hearing during the last week. Like most conversations over food and wine, we ended up talking about relationships, one guy was in the midst of a breakup, music and whatever else. It was a warm and perfect night.
The next day, not so warm. We floated about in the salt for a bit and then braved the wind and went to Ein Gedi which was so, so cool. It rained in the afternoon a little, apparently this happens about once a year down there so I feel like we witnessed something special.We took off for a last hurrah in Tel Aviv in the evening where we went back to a few places we'd enjoyed the first time. It's funny how not getting lost and going to the same place twice on purpose makes you feel like such a local. We also found a few other neighborhoods we missed the first time around.
After that, all airplanes, all uneventful. Next: Sleep. So much sleep.
