Dec 26, 2011 - Drive to Eilat

On this trip, we physicially touched the Red Sea, Dead Sea, Med Sea, and Sea of Galilee. Today, we drove from Tel Aviv to Eilat. We stopped at the Israeli Air Force Museum and then the Mizpe Ramon Crater. As we drove deeper and deeper into the Negev Desert, it became dark. There were no cars in front of us and none behind. We could see the Israeli Army with flashlights moving on foot through the desert. It was an eerie feeling. At one point, we were only 5 miles from the Sinai Penn in Egypt. We were told there were three roads and the one...

Feb 7, 2009 - From Israel to Egypt

Leaving Israel for Egypt. Today was a long bus ride from Jerusalem to St. Catherine’s Monastery at the foot of “Moses Mount” also known as Mount Sinai. The journey took us down the west side of the Dead Sea, passed Masada to the evaporation pools of the Dead Sea. At these pools mining companies are extracting salt and other minerals from the waters of the Sea. There is concern because the Dead Sea is slowly drying up. At the Southern tip of the Dead Sea is an area known as Sodom. It is believed that once the great cities of Sodom and...

Jan 1, 2009 - Welcome to paradise

2009 brought a first in my adult life. I awoke on New Years Day without a hangover - I am pretty sure that hasn’t happened since I was like 18 or so. I even went to the gym before we packed up for our departure from Tel Aviv. Our flight to Eilat, in the southern part of Israel, was out of the smaller Sde Dov airport just a few miles north of town. It is a small airport but we still arrived 2 ½ hours before the flight as we were still in Israel and you just never know with security here. While running our luggage through the x-ray machine,...

Jun 24, 2008 - Eilat

We arrived to Eilat at around 10pm and with great luck, found Jordan waiting for us at the bus station. We rejoiced at finally being together and began sharing some of our experiences over the last 2-3 weeks, which will undoubtedly take several more weeks to reveal them all... Jordan brought us to a Christian hostel, and told us how he had spent his day playing with Sudanese children, who fled their country first to Egypt, but made a greater journey to Israel where they felt they could rely on more open policies for political refugees. In...

Jul 21, 2007 - Dahab - Eilat (ISRAEL)

Tome un colectivo de Dahab a la frontera con Israel. Al cruzar la frontera, se nota la diferencia (o mejor dicho, los judios te hacen notar la diferencia). Por ejemplo, apenas pasas al otro lado hay sprays de agua, como en los restaurantes elegantes, para bajar la temperatura. En que frontera del mundo ponen sprays de agua? Despues de pasar todo por los rayos X, me revisar todos los papeles que traia, y empezo el cuestionamiento. Por que iba, por que habia comprado la guia que compre, por que fui a Yemen, si conocia gente en Israel, etc,...

Apr 27, 2007 - Aqaba

I finally arrived in Jordan after a very long and tiring transition. I found a fairly cheep flight from Luxor to Sharm El Sheikh. This helped me avoid a long bus trip to the east side of Egypt. Once in Sharm I spent one night at a diving and snorkeling resort but I didn't stay here very long. I still had a three hour bus ride to Nuweiba to catch the ferry to Jordan. Getting on the ferry was a little complicated and confusion but I finally managed to get through the various immigration and customs steps. To make things worse the ferry ended...

Oct 15, 2006 - Eilat

This place is really nice. I have to say that I am finding the Israeli culture highly attractive. The people are really nice. The sun is really hot. The girls are very cute. They even make a damn good burger... even if kosher means you can't have cheese on it. It's just such a civilized place compared to their middle eastern counterparts. Also, its the first people we have met in a long time that are just genuinely interested in your story and what your about when they ask you stuff which feels really good. Nice to be treated like a human...

May 13, 2006 - Wadi Rum

On the way to wherever we were going to bush camp we came across some random place in the desert and decided to camp there instead. It had flax tipis and a guy that called himself Desert Wolf. Around the campfire he told afew Arabian stories including one about his Grandfather during the war. For his final story pulled out his mobile and showed us a video he had downloaded via bluetooth from a mate of his, ..not what anyone was expecting. Went on a jeep safari around Wadi Rum which is just a big desert with huge rock formations and carvings...

Oct 18, 2005 - Eilat - Israel

I had to laugh. The sight of gorgeous female bodies in string bikinis was just too much after six weeks without as much as a glimpse of skin. The resort of Eilat is Israel's southernmost town, filled with young Israelis sipping drinks on the beach while the latest beats blast you from the beachside cafes. Sculpted bodies and designer sunglasses are the norm here. It is an oddity of the modern world that all you have to do is cross a line to go from a culture where women are invisible and alcohol is frowned upon, to a place that's more like...

Aug 18, 2005 - Eilat, Israel

Eilat is the southernmost city in Israel- it makes out with Egypt to the west and Jordan to the east. Speaking of Jordan, while we were in Eilat, some rockets were fired from Aqaba towards US ships in the Red Sea. One hit Eilat but didn't explode. Oh, boy, did we go scuba diving. We loved it so. Took a four hour Discover Scuba Course where we taught how to, get this, put on a scuba mask, and... get moisture out of it while under water. So we breathed under the water for two 40 minute periods of fish and coral watching without moisture in...

Apr 2, 2005 - Aqaba, Jordan

Aqaba, Jordan April 2 Aqaba is the only seaport in Jordan. Before the embargo against Iraq , oil was transported and shipped from this port. Sadaam Hussein built the "King's Highway" and it is still heavily traveled by trucks and buses. As we left the city by bus, it was strange to see people standing on the highway waiting for transportation into the city. There is no oil in Jordan, so they depend on tourism. A few luxury hotels are here, sandy beaches and very friendly people. There is so much history here. The ancient city of Petra that...

Mar 18, 2005 - Jordon

Hi All JC's turn - our last entry was up to the lengthy process of the border crossing from Egypt to Jordon at the ferry terminal to Aqaba. a 5 hour process for one hour's travel. Note - All photos seem to cost 1 of the local currency. Jordon Aqaba Duty free port at top of Gulf of Aqaba, close to borders with Saudi Arabia, Israel & Egypt and famous from Lawrence of Arabia fame WW1 when Arab militia with Lawrence captured the city from the Turks and therefore cut off their supply line. First impression of Jordon compared to Egypt is like...