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photo page 32 |
Hmmm, we could get used to this: the plane is fully booked, and we get a free upgrade to business class.
Giga-wide chairs, giga-leg space, and the whole trip we are pampered with a la carte dinner,
drinks, newspaper, the lot! We would appreciate many repeats of this ;-) |
Amitsa's mobile litter box doesn't work this time: just as she settles down at the airport to relief herself, a floor sweeping machine
turns up with lots of noise. Amitsa panics, dives for her cage, and refuses to come out. This poses a little problem, as, when we left
home this morning, she had not been to the toilet. When we finally arrive in Eilat, it has been 24 hours since her last visit, and
with the panic in her eyes she sprints to her room. Henk quickly dumps some grit into the box, and with a sigh of relieve Amitsa starts
splashing. |
We have planned a 2 day tijoel (desert trip) with Ruth and Yuval. Our goal this time is the spice route, which starts about 100 km
north of Eilat. |
The Land rover is filled to the rim with supplies. We first head to Moa over the Arava road, to fill up with fuel. |
After filling up, the engine fails: every time the gas is released, it shuts down. It looks like the trip has come to an end
even before it has started. We manage to reach a roadside restaurant, to get some inspiration from café hafuch. |
Henk and Yuval delve into the intestines of the Land rover, and appear after a few minutes with big smiles. The gas cable has been
fixed with a piece of wire, good enough the commence the trip.
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The distance is measured in camels. Or rather, in days of travel for the caravans in the old days. They brought spices and
valuable merchandise all the way from Yemen to Gaza at the Mediterranean. |
The route runs through wadis (dry river beds), over mountains and along fortresses where the caravans used to stop overnight.
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Ruth takes the car up the first mountain. She has not driven a car in Israel for years, but takes the jeep off road and up the steep
rocky path. |
Yuval is itchy, just there where you cannot reach. Help is available....
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Driving through a wadi in a steep ravine.
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The route is partly loose sand and gravel, and the land rover slips and turns. | |
The maps says: hard place to pass. And indeed: the rocks look like a staircase, pretty high for a car. The articulation of the axles
is enormous: the front wheels are all the way to the left, the rear wheels to the right.
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Only the front left wheel and the rear right wheel are on the ground, and it feels like the car is rolling over.
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That does not happen, although the side comes perilously close to the rock. Sonja and Yuval put some extra boulders under the wheels, and
with Yuval leaning on the bumper to keep 3 wheels on the ground, Henk makes the car crawl slowly upwards.
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yeah, right, we reached the top...
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The land rover has tilted so much that the refrigerator fell over...
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...but the eggs survived!
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At the end of the first day we reach the crater of Mitzpe Ramon. This is a famous point, where the horizontal layers of the
crater wall is suddenly interrupted by a vertical "chimney", pushed up by volcanic activity.
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Sleeping at the Field School. We intended to sleep in the big bedouin tent, but a group of 30 had planned a stag party there that would
last all night. So we moved to one of the cabins, which gave a strong feeling of "back to school"!
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Mister Ibex is sleeping very relaxed with his feet over the edge. The edge drops down vertically over 300 meters! Imaging being an Ibix
with vertigo! |
We drive to Sde Boker, the place where David Ben Gurion is buried. |
In the valley, amidst spectacular mountains of chalk, is a well. There is a surprising number of water wells in the desert,
essential for the caravans traveling the spice route. |
Well with book stands. |
After Sde Boker we drive to Yeroham, then through the big crater (Makhtesh Hakadol) to the small crater (Makhtesh Hakatan).
And again we make a pick nick, frying eggs and filling pita, at one of the most beautifull spots you can image. The silence is deafening.
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The crater was formed by volcanic activity, pushing the bottom of the sea up until it broke and formed mountains. Rain and water from
streams took the sand away through the only exit, where the crater wall collapsed. In the distance, just behind the breach in the
wall, is the most southern point of the Dead Sea. |
Time to relax: we sit here for hours, just enjoying the views, the silence and the ravens that soar by.
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And then it's time to go home. We take a part of the old road to Eilat, paved in 1954 after the south of Israel was liberated. It is
a narrow road with many hair pins, but stunning views over the Arava. |
