The Judean Desert

I may have had the most exciting weekend of my life (in Israel)! On Friday, I was invited to dinner with Roni, Ido, their friend Rivka, and Roni's roommate, Alma. Dinner was followed by a bar, where I enjoyed a beer. I then rushed home to Skype with Kate since she was leaving Dakar for a couple of days the following morning with Robyn and Pil.

But the truly exciting part of this weekend was a trip to the Judean Desert today with Roni and Rivka. Lately I've been aching to escape the urban life for something more pastoral or natural, if only for a short time. Roni and Rivka are both expert hikers and former and current guides, respectively. I knew I was in good hands. We went to an area of the desert close to the Dead Sea, which could be seen from the parking lot -- yes even deserts have parking lots. Only thirty minutes from Jerusalem, the weather felt about 10 degrees C. warmer. I was wearing a t-shirt until the sun set. Our route took us from a high plateau to the bottom of a canyon by way of a circuitous, winding path. From the top, the views of the stream-carved hills and steep gullies were incredible.
The walk was quite leisurely for most of the trek with mostly gentle slopes. It was only towards the end that we had to descend 20 to 40 foot walls. Not to worry, there were tourist-friendly ladder-like steps. The danger was minimal. In fact, Roni had personally installed one or two them and I trust her.
The route ended as the canyon changed form a fissure path to a wide expanse. This short trip in the desert has both satisfied my desire to get in touch with nature and whetted my appetite for more. Unfortunately, the bones don't analyze themselves, so I guess I'll have to do these sorts of things only once in while.