The Negev desert!

I knew we'd reached the desert when I started seeing all the signs warning drivers to watch out for stray camels!

And before long I did indeed see camels, though they were fenced in on the edges of the shanty Bedouin villages, along with sheep, goats, and donkeys. And once we reached town, a remote hiking center called Mitzpe Ramon, we saw ibex (ibexes?) assessing the prospect of getting or stealing snacks from tourists at the Visitor's Center. (One guy with a minivan quickly closed the doors and back hatch as an ibex moved in for a meal.)

Mitzpe Ramon overlooks the so-called Israeli Grand Canyon, a huge eroded crater that's truly the desert. We have a very nice view of it from our apartment.

The crater is shared by hikers, bikers, rock climbers--and the Israeli military. This end of Israel is a sliver between Egypt and Jordan, the the military presence is everywhere. We drove through the crater, past observation posts, bunkers, firing ranges, etc. And armed soldiers are everywhere. 

Security is serious here. You have to pass through a metal detector and have your bags searched to enter the mall.

Kibbutzes are everywhere, too, and the local market has some amazing fruit and vegetables. Bob scored some wonderful fresh dates and figs to serve as snacks.

And, finally, no post would be complete without our latest accomplishment: Bob got his feet in the Gulf of Aqaba in Eilat, a bustling resort town across the water from Jordan. From the beach, we could see the city of Aqaba, where I once looked at Israel from the other side. Who knew that I'd one day be on the other shore!

Out and about in the Galilee

Another two days of excitement! We have been driving up and down the lower Galilee in our scruffy Fiat, which has the pick-up and suspension of a low-end go-cart. It's teeny, which is a great help for parking, but really struggles to go up the hills:

Here's the sad part of the story: Bob grew up speaking Yiddish at home, learned some Russian along the way when he was young, and studied Hebrew for a couple of years for his Bar Mitzvah. So here in Haifa, he's been having a great time swapping languages in conversations with the people we've met. Haifa has a lot of Russians. But he was looking forward to Tsfat, where the very religious Jews are said to speak Yiddish.

So yesterday when we arrived in Tsfat, he approached a young Hasidic man and greeted him in Yiddish. The guy gave Bob a sort of blank look and then replied in a Southern drawl. He was from North Carolina. So we sat down for coffee and were approached by another very religious guy, but when Bob spoke to him in Yiddish...he was an American, too. Finally, while we were looking at a map, a very nice woman asked us if we needed directions. She was from Washington, DC. So we had to settle for wandering around the very picturesque town, which is seemingly filled with Americans.

But today we accomplished at least one item on Bob's bucket list: He put his feet in the Sea of Galilee:

We also wandered around Beit She'an, the best preserved Roman town in Israel.

But we're reluctantly saying farewell to the north of Israel and driving south to the Negev tomorrow. There, Bob is hoping to complete his quest by putting his feet in the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aquaba. And I'm hoping to ride camels out into the desert.

Ruins upon ruins

Thanks to jet lag and lots walking around under the hot sun, I was too weary last night to write, so settle in for a long post...

Yesterday we went north to the Crusader castle and fortifications in a town called Akko and today we went south to Roman/Ottoman/Crusader ruins in Caesarea, a town built by Herod. Here is a quick history: the Romans built lots of things until they got kicked out by the Turks who built more things until they got kicked out by the Crusaders, who built more things, etc. Each set of conquerors destroyed whatever came before and then built on top of it. The tradition continues. Here is a modern home in the Old City of Akko built directly on top of sections of the Crusader castle wall:

The ancient lanes have been retrofitted with homes, too:

Caesarea is purely an archaeological site, though one where people can run around on all the ruins. Here is all that's left of Herod's palace:

The square section in the middle is his swimming pool.

The hippodrome, where they had chariot races and pitted slaves against lions, is still there, though:

The past two days are big holidays here, so everywhere we went was filled with jolly families enjoying their outings. The historical stuff was fascinating, of course, but it was also a lot of fun to see the locals at play.

And another historical event: Bob achieved his long-held goal of putting his feet in the Mediterranean Sea:

After hiking around hot stones in the hot sun, we finished today on a nearby beach, where the ruins of a Crusader fortification have been adapted as part of a prison. But the tumbled-down fortifications were still evocative as the sun lowered on the day.

The Ups and Downs of Haifa

And I do mean up...and up...and up and down...and down...and down. Today I think we ascended or descended most of Haifa, starting with a hike up to the top of Mt. Carmel.

Haifa is a very congenial town, with the modest areas down near the harbor (where we are staying). As you go uphill, where it's cooler, the neighborhoods get increasingly affluent. And greener. Bougainvillea grow tall and lush in this climate:

Guided by Google Maps, we set off for the Bahai Gardens and the shrine of the founder of the religion, and soon found ourselves going the long, long way. A passerby told us it was too far to walk, but we eventually arrived and--by amazing good luck--arrived at the right place at the right time. The gardens and the shrine are incredible, for both the landscaping and the extraordinary views:

After the gardens, we walked down, down, down to the street you can see running from the shrine to the harbor. We were looking for lunch, but that main thoroughfare was too fancy for the likes of us, so we turned into the Arab quarter and--joy!--found a great Middle Eastern food joint that served amazing hummus, babaganoush, salads, etc. We pigged out, with great enthusiasm!

My friends who are tired of hearing me whine about the cold will be happy to hear that I'm hot (and happy). Our AirBnb rental is simple, but in the center of everything:

It was a great day. A perfect introduction to the trip. Tomorrow we--tremble--are going to rent a car. After seeing the driving--and even worse, the parking--in this town I'm madly screwing up my courage now.

Israel--at last

After talking about it for years, Bob and I are finally heading to Israel on Tuesday. This trip is courtesy of my heroic sister, Misty, and her husband, Jerry, who came all the way back from the remote mountains of Guatemala to keep an eye on my parents and the dog while we're gone. Stay tuned for more after we get to Haifa.

I'm off to California with Bob today--in the miserable rain! Watch this spot for updates on our adventures.

My restful trip to the Dominican Republic

It's hard to say much about this trip because I did almost nothing. But here are a few photos to prove I was there. Here is where I spent most of my time.

Note the 'teapot' on the table next to the hammock.

Here is my buddy Luna, who was usually hanging around. The adoring expression has everything to do with beef jerky treats. She is still recovering from a horrible wound and is the latest in Edit's (owner) "I'm not going to adopt any more street dogs!" series.

The cottages are in a lovely garden setting and there are a few flowers that the donkeys don't eat.

Paco and Flora, the resident donkeys, are always willing to help you with your meals when you're sitting out at the picnic table.

I did venture out to shop for food (it's a good thing I like eggplant, which was pretty much all they had in the vegetable markets) and to read on the beach. I'm always impressed by the Dominicans' skill at adaptive reuse. Here, for example, is some creative pothole repair.

And here is a popular way to roast chicken. A big metal drum (not, I hope, an oil drum) is cut in half length-ways, fitted with hinges and a handle, then filled with coal and used to cook chicken.

The weather was unsettled, and though I did some lovely swimming in calm water, a recent storm had whipped up the surf by the time I got around to taking photos.

On my last day, I finally stirred and went out to see a famous waterfall in the area. This entailed getting a gua gua (licensed private bus service), which in this case was a pickup truck with benches lining the bed so you can cram ten or so people in the back. The road to the waterfall was steep and very muddy. Most people hire a horse/donkey/mule and a guide, and I did, too. The waterfall was lovely, but the best part was the ride up through the forest.

That's it for this winter. I'm already planning my trip back next year.