Sweet Water, Salt Water

So the last of the planned OSP trips was to Nahal Arugot and the Dead Sea. Nahal Arugot is a waterfall/stream in the Ein Gedi Preserve, and of course the Dead Sea is the Dead Sea (known here as the Yam Hamelach, Salt Sea). For those who don't know, Ein Gedi (meaning Spring of Goats) is thought to be the oasis where King David sought refuge back in biblical times. The area is absolutely breathtaking, and our hike through the stream and rocks was beautiful. 

During the hike we learned how the springs were formed, using Adam as the Jordanian Hills. As it rains in the higher elevation of the plateaus and areas where it actually rains (aka not the middle of the desert) the water travels off the edge of the plateau and through little valleys where streams like Nahal Arugot and Wadi David exist.

(Yes, we did end up pouring water on his back as the "rain" that came down through the valleys formed by Sam's hands)

At the end of the hike was a gorgeous waterfall that we were able to rest at and play in the water a little before hiking back through the rocks. It was the perfect oasis in the middle of nothing-ness, exactly where I would want to seek refuge if I needed to. It definitely got me excited to spend a whole week (at least) hiking through Jordan and I did not want to leave, especially to return to the heat of the Dead Sea.

This trip was certainly not my first time at the Dead Sea. I've been so many times that the floating aspect isn't so novel anymore. Of course it's still something cool and unique, but it's not new. But it's always fun going with friends who have never experienced the odd sensation of floating with absolutely no effort involved. Being in water so concentrated with minerals that it is more difficult to stand up in the water than it is to float. I was able to just sit back (literally), relax, and laugh as Adam, Melanie, and Zoe seemed to have the time of their lives floating and truly understanding what it meant to float in the Dead Sea. We pondered the possibility of swimming to Jordan but realized dehydration would be too big of an issue to actually make it across. We stayed in until the sun got too hot and the salt water started to burn, and quickly ran to change out of our salty suits before climbing back on the bus and crashing on the drive back to Beer Sheva.

As it was, of course, Friday, it was time for Shabbat dinner, and since some people had stayed in Ein Gedi and others went to Tel Aviv for the night, Adam, Kristof, and I were the only ones left. Thus we made an Israeli spin on an American classic, burgers in pitas instead of in buns. Delicious, of course, and hanging out with the guys made me realize that I can definitely spend a week with them hiking, we're gonna have so much fun.