A How To Guide...

Make that Camel sit down!!!!

I finally got to ride a camel!!!! I know it is a cliche thing to do in Egypt but it had to be done, especially since we were missing the pyramids. I just took a quick jaunt on one while we were at the blue hole snorkling, it was much fun! They are such peculiar creatures, hee hee.

When we went snorkling our new friend Moustafa (the 26 year old heart surgeon from Cairo)had an underwater camera. We snuck some bread in and wham we were attacked! hopefully got some good pics, he is going to mail them to us when they get developed.

The food in Dahab was cheap. We spent many evenings relaxing with our texan friend and our egyptian friend by the serene waters of the Red Sea (which is surprisingly reddish at sunset due to the reflection of the red tinged mountains in the distance). It was a sad departure when we finally left but we have finally arrived in Jordan! I am going to try and get a guest post from braedon who is heading towards Cairo as compensation of not going... and perhaps I will make a contribution to his travel blog, Coach Merril.

Also, below is a pic of the lovely letter and drawings Moustafa did for us....in Arabic as well! He stayed up all night working on the dragon...I love it! Going in the scrap book!

-Over and out, D

Black Hebrew Israelites

Picture via gutmusic.garagepunknyc.com

While in Mitzipi Ramon, we learned about the black hebrew settlement in the village. Apparently there was an influx in immigration from the United States, specifically Chicago, of a group of people who claimed to be descendents of the Israelites or of the ten lost tribes of Israel. Although officially identified as practicioners of Judaism, the black hebrews are not fully embraced by the jewish community. they posses their own destinctive traits and traditions. Mainly they are identifiable and known for the long, colorful robes; intricate hairstyles and headdress; vibrant music; adherence to a strictly vegan diet devoid of alcohol and pharmaceuticals and of course their chicagoan dialect....maintained even by second, third and fourth generation Black hebrews living in Israel.

The Black hebrews also settled in a place called Dimona, about a half hour from Be'er Sheva. It is known for its music festivals and vegan/vegetarian restaurants.

For more info I found a wikipedia link for you to check out!

African hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem

We might visit Dimona, if only for vegetarian cuisine, mmmmm!

-Delilah

Eleven Easy Steps to Enter Egypt

After our stay in Mitzipi Ramon with Adi, and the last night with another couchsurfer Jenny (an english teacher from South Africa) with whom we took in the sunset and saw the hyena 'skulking' around as we decided was appropriate to term it at the end of the world. The end of the world is what Jenny called it when the road stopped. It literally turned to dust and a rough, rocky track descended into the crater floor.

The next day we decided to hitchhike to Eilat to try to cross the border, since hitchiking in Israel is common place in the South and safe. Mostly we saw young families heading on the one road that led to the resort town of Eilat. Jack and I crooned away on the guitar, danced and tried to get a ride. After we exhausted our efforts a white truck (everyone seemingly drives white vehicles) pulled up. A young guy, whose name I cannot remember nor pronounce, loaded us in and we set off. He spoke a bit of english and told us he was visiting friends in Eilat. He was a twenty three year old army officer who cammanded a battalion of tanks, even spending time in the war torn region of the gaza strip. At one point in the trip the traffic was backed up and we went off roading, bypassing the line of cars... and we made it in due time to Eilat and he dropped us off at the bus station.

As I mentioned above, it takes eleven exciting and easy steps to get to Egypt across land. (1) Catch a bus to the border area (called Taba) and walk a hundred feet; (2) Little taba snack bar and cold water fountain; (3) Passport pre-check; (4) Passport control booth, one has to pay 95 Israeli shekels to leave the country, 95! Ludicris!; (5) Israeli last pastport check where they stamp your passport; (6) Stroll through no-mans land; (7) Egyptian passport control- fil out entry form, get stamp; (8) Egyptian security (X-ray machine); (9) Past border passport check and entrance to Egypt fee; (10) You are now encircled by twenty bedouin tribesmen who bicker in arabic about who gets to drive you to your destination because the buses are done for the day, you try to strike a deal, the tourists in your group look either bored or confused, your luggage is loaded and strapped to the top of a random mini-bus so you get inside; (11) Welcome to Egypt! As you speed across the Sinai, taking bends in the road at a neck-cracking, bone crunching speed....you hold on for dear life! Plus pass a million border security checkpoints.....

Luckily, we arrived in Dahab unscathed....life is good and food is cheap! Unfrtunatly we cannot go to the pyramids, long story short, we did not recieve the appropriate visa to visit anywhere outside of the Sinai, nor do we have the funds to retrieve that visa, nor the time....


It is HHHOOOTTTTTT, more updates soon....plus I want to tell you about the Black Hebrews! remind me....

-DDDDDDD

Watching the Sun Rise Over the Negev Desert

" The sun rises, and the sun drops away. While hundreds of years roll by. The desert is calm, bursts to storm, then silence steals back too its place."

-Chaim Nachman from 'The Dead of the Desert"

The Alpaca Farm and the Epic of the Lost Keys

The next day, we went to the visitor centre in Mitzipi Ramon and our host took us to see a movie about the desert. We enjoyed the fabulous vistas at a lookout point and Adi dropped us off at the Alpaca farm and left us to our own devices. When we arrived he was adament that he only had one set of keys which were lost by one couchsurfer, thus the blue lanyard attached, so "BE CAREFUL GUYS!". We walked around the farm, had a presentation about Illamas and Alpacas and why there was farm here. Above you can see Jack admiring 'Bambi' the Ilama who was used as a demonstration. Ilamas and Alpacas are indigenous to South America but the owners brought them to Israel after living with native peoples in many countries (such as Bolivia and Peru) and learning about the ways of the animals and their sacredness to the peopes there.

In Israel the Ilamas have begun to be used by the Israeli army to carry supplies. They can withstand extreme temperature, can carry a lot of weight on saddle bags and are very calm. They could be in the midst of war, with bullets flying overhead and will sit quiet and still, chewing their cud. The lady doing our presentation was very nice but did not possess all the words in english to describe some of the Ilamas habits, we had a great time trying to use words to help her describe their poo: "excrement?", "feces?", and we finally decided "turd" was appropriate...like a bunny, heh heh.

The Alpacas are smaller animals and like the ilamas are distant relatives of the camel. They are mostly used for their soft wool, and are a bit more excitable then the Ilamas. When the presentation was through, we were given a canister of food pellets and let loose to walk around. The Ilamas and alpacas mostly were given free range of the farm and ket in check by the border collies...to make sure they did not run away.

We wondered out among them when we heard a peculiar noise. "grough, grough, grough, spppp......", the alpacas had by this point encircled poor Jack as I jumped backwards nervously. He was trying to reach out and feed them, but when one animal was not getting its share it prepared to spit! Ilamas and alpacas spit their cud, food regurgitated from one stomache to another (similar to a cow). We both got spit on a few times but it washed off, although the smell lingered. By the bottom of the food canister we were more content to feed the ponies, donkeys, horses, ilamas and even the dogs...but nt the alapaca's because we prefered not to get spit on.

Afterwards we set off into the desert and walked back into town, had lunch and meandered. We were about to pick up some groceries and to our surprise the keys were missing!!!! An epic search ensued. We walked back to the patio we ate our falafal on, we walked back to the apartment, back to the watertower, we even had the audacity to sneak by our hosts place and peak in his truck to see if they fell on the seat! We felt horrible! After his implicite instructions to "NOT LOSE THE KEY!", back up the big hill to the visitor centre, Jack and I walked dejectedly in the glaring, mid afternoon desert sun. We searched the entire centre while one of the ladies working there diaed the Alapaca farm. The keys were found!!! Now we only had to walk all the way outside f town, about a five mile trek to the farm. We set out, with water in tow and walked along the crater edge, the Ramon Mahktesh. We met a nice dude bicycling and chatted, rested beside an army compound (where we saw an Ibex and two babies!), and began to cut through a rocky outcrop when a large blazing white landrover pulled into view on the road. We ran towards it and the lady asked if we needed a ride. "We are going the otherway"..."jump in" she said and she drove us to the farm, we picked up the keys and deposited us outside of a key cutting centre. She thought we were nuts walking out there without a hat! All is well that ends well, we presented the newly cut keys, our fantastic adventure and a botte of wine to Adi and his wife later that evening...

-DDDDDDD

Mitzipi Ramon and the Negev desert

We took the bus from Tl Aviv to Be'er Sheva and then jumped on another to Mitzipi Ramon (pronounced Mitz-ahh-peh Rah-Mone...Jack had trouble buying the ticket b/c no one could understand his mispronounciation!)

The bus was loaded up with soldiers heading to the huge army/ training base in the Negev and Jack and I stared out the windowin awe at the desolate and alien landscape that stretched before us. The bus driver was a young guy with a smile plastered on his face and was wearing a mint green shirt and black tie. He bopped along to the music as we hurtled through the rocky desert...I remember the song playing distinctly, it was the fifties classic "Its my Party and I'll Cry if I want To."

Upon our arrival to the tiny town of Mitzipi Ramon, we hunkered down for a falafal to find our bearings. All one could see for miles was rocks, dust, and an endless blue sky. We had arranged two couchsurfers in the town, and we dialed up our first host Adi. When he arrivd he excused himself to go into the corner store then drove us to where we would be staying. To our surprise we would be occupying Adi's mothers apartment that she frequented every few monthes, in other words we got our own pad! Out of the bag of things he bought at the store he pulled out chocolate chip-hazelnut cookies and a few beers. We got acquainted and Adi showed us around the place.

That night we went over to his beautiful house down the street. He gave us a tour of their garden in the back, full of herbs and fruit trees. Then we relaxed on the rooftop terrace with his wife, who served us tea (made from the garden herbs) and wraps (veggie for me and chicken swarma for Jack). They were the most hospitable hosts and we chatted for a bit. Adi is a theatre teacer at the local highschool and spends his summer vacation writing (currently a book of shortstories based inthe serene desert town of Mitzipi Ramon).

I gotta wrap up the post for now...we are going snorkling (we are in Egypt by the way)...but internet access is secure so more posts will follow shortly! I will regal you with stories about Alpacas spitting, the lost keys, traversing the endless desert, seeing a hyena, sleeping under the stars, hitchhiking, the longwinded process of trying to cross the egyptian border, the crazy bedouin drivers in the Sinai and all about Moses and the Ten Commandments! Phew, that was alot. I am going to get biblical on you!

-Delilah

P.S The weather in the desert was beautiful...imagine...it even got cold at night! It is a dry heat during the day- no humidity like Tel Aviv and nighttime was comfortable and breezy....

Shalom שָׁלוֹם

Sorry it has been so long for a post! After our initial arrival in Tel Aviv we have been sightseeing and absorbing the Israeli culture! We have been staying with a girl named Noa from the couchsurfing community (if you have not heard of it check it out!) who had been so kind to host us for a couple of days. She tok us out with her friends, to the beach, a restaurant she enjoys and we have had many great adventures. It is extremely interesting meeting somebody from Israel, to recieve the inside scoop about the city and about Israeli life in general. Noa (not like Noah's ark she informed us...which is mispronounced when it is anglicized....it should sound like Noa(esh)) grew up on the Kibbutz and has been living in Tel Aviv for the last year.

Jack and I were excited to meet Noa. After we called we set up a meeting place near her house, where we waited for her after work after having a nice nap in the park. We walked to her place in a quiet and beautiful suburb of the city called Kiryat Ono. After introductions...and a much needed shower!.... we hit the town. We spent a few days traversing Tel Aviv...going to an outdoor antique market on Sabath (Israeli weekends span Friday and Saturday and the week starts Sunday unlike our own weekend), went to the beach, went hat shopping for her friend, visited an awesome indian restaurant (where we spent the night on the terrace roof for very cheap). We split up for an evening and Jack and I stayed in a hostel in the Old Jaffa District of the city and spent some time being smashed by the waves on the mediteranean coast plus getting a mean sunburn (Boo).

Last night we returned to Noa's for a farewell dinner and to retrieve our bags. We are planning a trip to Galilee for the weekend after next so we will meet again. I have to finish up the post as we are catching a bus to the Negev desert in the south...will update soon! Lots to say!!!!

The beach at sunset.....breathtaking!

The Port of Old Jaffa.

The crazy cats in Kiryat Ono, whom are fed by an old lady. There are so many of them, I could not believe it! When we went back to Noa's we remembered how to get there after seeing the cats milling about near dusk...heh heh...
A cool performance artist at the artists market that opens on Friday mornings....He was surreal.

-DDDDD and JJJJJJ

Amazing Graffiti in Tel Aviv

Well Tel Aviv take ths prize for the best Graffiti we have seen on our trip so far. The walls of this city are plastered with amazing street art which reveals the cool vibe the city emotes. Some are politicized, some pose for pure asthetic purposes, and there are many identifiable artists who do multiple pieces around the city. We'll post more from around Israel as we head south!

-Jack

Arrival!!! At Last!!!

We finally have arrived!

The last three days have been absolutely exhausting but Jack and I are ready to go explore the city of Tel Aviv...After a much needed shower that is. We notice that flies were suspiciously hovering only around us at the airport in Bucharest...hmmm...hope our smell did not offend anyone.

Our last day in Bulgaria we loitered at the train station aka laid on the floor and devoured our books until our departure time at 22:00. Side note: currently Jack is reading 'What is the What' by Dave Eggers and I am infatuated with 'Reading Lolita in Tehran' by Azar Nafisi. Anyways our last super cheap meal in Bulgaria was pizza and peanuts and then, as I mentioned previously, our destroyed loaf of bread that was better suited to feeding birds.

The train was a soviet era 1950's contraption, which had windows that would not open, despite the ferocity we used to try and crank them. I slept fitfully in the heat but at least it was a bed not the ground or an uncomfortable bus seat. The toilet on the train, when you flush it your excrement and pee goes right onto the tracks!!!! I personally could not get over that part! But I guess it is better, au natural.

The comrades arrived in arms in Bucharest at 6 am, a city not known for its good reputation. We meandered, we weighed our options and slept in a park. One was on lookout duty with the other caught some much needed shut eye. We only saw a few questionable characters, including a raving old lady complete with a cigarette dangling in her mouth and a two-litre bottle of the cheapest beer money can buy in Eastern Europe. Luckily she chose to bypass us in her ramblings, likely because she thought we were in the same circumstance as herself...sleeping on a park bench and all, or so we joked.

Arrived at the Otopeni International Airport and killed time playing Rummy and chess with our new friend Clara... a nice Romanian woman who could speak Spanish, Italian, Romanian, English and Dutch! She fed us traditional Romanian pastries and a green pepper (who she curiously ate like an apple)! It was amazing! She had a soft spot for Canadians as her husband hailed from Vancouver.

Our flight did not board until 21:00. It was a small Romanian Airlines plane; 737 Boeing. Eager to take off, Jack and I sat and waited while the engines revved up. We held hands as the plane prepared for take off when, all of the sudden a muffled voice came over the speaker phone. We could not quite make out what th voice had informed us of as we exchanged hesitant glances with the Romanian gentlemen seated next to Jack. The plane returned to the hanger. People stretched their legs as the lights cam back on. After a half hour delay, Jack and I held hands, tighter than before as I had become quite nervous about the flight by this point. The plane shuddered to life, we approached the runway, the pilot tested the brakes one more time and we ascended into the dark, starless night... A blood red moon hanging low on the horizon was creeping towards us, visible from the right hand window. It leant an eeriness to the whole experience. Anyways, we arrived in one peice after almost three hours. And to our delight, they fed us! The food was terrific!

Israel. Customs was no problem. We spent the night sleeping in the airport as it was past midnight by the time we arrived and we (a) were too cheap to pay for accomodation for the night and (b) were hesitant to go wandering around a city we knew nothing about in the dead of night. The chairs were very uncomfortable but we made do. Ventured into the city and here we are!!!

Arranging to meet up with a friend of a friend to see the city and get a tutorial in Hebrew...so far our impressions/ observations of Israel:

• It's hot!
• There are palm trees everywhere
• The food looks delicious
• There are soldiers everywhere (military enrollment is a requirement for both men and women)

Too tired to think of anymore, will update soon....

Shalom, Delilah

Heading out today....

Quick update.... We are jumping on a night train to Bucharest, scrambling to the airport and flying to Isreal (Israel...I can never spell it!).... Next post will be from Tel Aviv!!!! We are starting to run short on funds so we are eating a loaf of bread for dinner, bon apetite....


-DDDDDD + JJJJJJ

P.S

Picture via Engage