Day 36 Israel and day 35 Sea

Katie and I, middle back

Margaret in fore, Dan Katie and I at back

Old Jerusalem

View from cable car looking up

Looking down from Masada

Cable car

More cable :)

Me pretending to hold a spear !

Masada with Dead Sea in background

Masada

Yellow bit is some shade cover in water

We are now sailing on the Mediterranean Sea under sunny skies but with
slightly cooler weather than we have had, its around 23c......But back
to yesterday and our incredible tour in Israel (with Princess) of Masada
and the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea was one of the most anticipated visits
for me when I booked this trip and I wasn't disappointed. We started the
day off early, just like the last couple and found ourselves on bus
number 2 of 3, our first stop was on Mt Scopus overlooking Old Jerusalem
for a photo stop. Imagine our surprise when we got out of the bus that
it was quite chilly.......early morning, high altitude, who would have
known! We then began our descent to the Dead Sea and Masada, passing the
oldest city in the world Jericho and also Qumran where the Dead Sea
scrolls were found. If you haven't heard of Masada (I can't be the only
one), do yourself a big favour and look it up, fascinating place and
definitely worth another visit. As we neared where you start the tour I
could see the cable cars that are required to get to the top and being
scared of heights they looked terrifying. The only other cable cars I
have been brave enough to get on are the benign ones at Sea World (and
they had me nervous). I did say to Katie that I didn't think I could do
it, but once off the bus I came to my senses and actually with the 50 of
us squeezed in they were fine. So fine that I told Katie I'll be able to
do The London Eye now without a care in the world......In fact on the
way down I didn't feel nervous in the slightest, this was Israeli
engineering not some 3rd world country!! Without going into a history
lesson, Masada was amazing , the views were breathtaking and I decided I
could actually live up there, not that you can.
We left Masada for a short ride to a Hotel on the Dead Sea for a buffet
lunch and then about 2 1/2 hours free time.......The photos of people
floating in the sea can't do it justice, it is so much fun. You can't
swim or even splash because the water is so salty and full of minerals
just a drop in your eye stings a lot. Dan some-how got his face wet 3
times and each time had to get out and rinse his eyes out. We all also
knew soon enough if we had any little cuts on us, ouch. But the feel of
your skin (silky smooth) and the floating outweigh not being able to
lick your lips :) Even when the water got to a depth where you couldn't
touch the bottom, you couldn't actually touch the bottom, you would just
bob like a cork. Katie found it most comfortable on her stomach despite
the fact that we were warned that a few people drown each year because
they get stuck on their stomachs and can't turn over. Not sure how it
would happen but maybe they are very unco......
We made the most of our time there and spent the majority of it
floating..............bliss. Katie didn't take her camera so the photos
are from Dale's camera, lucky he took his down.
Sadly we had to leave and we returned to the ship via a different route
then the morning's, more Bedouin camps this time and crops and camels :)
Today we slept in and spent the day very lazily. We have a few hours in
Mykonos tomorrow and plan to just wander about and find a scenic spot
for lunch.
I put a few more pics in this entry than normal, it is really hard not
to put all 250 in each day!!
Trying not to bore with the tiny details of each day, such as..... I put
one foot in front of the other and then I stepped on a rock, hopefully
the pictures tell a better story :)