Today was another great day.  One thing that I started thinking about was all the tourists that were complaining, not smiling, and worried about details that don’t matter (like if we are going to drive on road X coming back from the tour since there is traffic on it now).  I don’t think that I would like traveling if I let those things bother me.

Today was a day involving a tour to Masada (a castle built by Herrod the Great before I was born), the Dead Sea, and Ein Gedi (a desert oasis).  I think it is important that I answer your most pressing question first, the mud/zest in the Dead Sea is superior to the zest at South Mountain.  The Dead Sea was really weird.  The water is 33% salt and it actually felt oily because of the salt and mineral content.  It was so dense that you could actually stand up in the water without kicking or treading water.  The mud/zest supposedly has healing properties so we all zested up and got cured of all of our ailments.

I am a little ahead of myself because the day really began at 330am when we hopped on a minibus heading to Masada.  We then walked 1000 feet up to the “castle” and watched the sunrise.  It was about 90 degrees by 9am and I was a little warm. The castle was mainly destroyed, but there were some rebuilt parts and some original mosaic and plasters left.

Ein Gedi is a natural oasis (I suppose as compared to a man made one) with water falls and some swimming pool.  It was pretty cool when the Italians and I got away from the masses of tour groups and had areas to ourselves.

I came back and did laundry (probably for the last time until I come home, I might be “that guy” on the plane).  I then went to the Old City which is a 1.6 mile walk for some hummus and Arabic salad and pita.  I then went back to the market and attacked it with confidence, buying more oranges, crackers (the guy thought that I couldn’t read Hebrew so he told me that they were sugar free in Hebrew (my Hebrew is still pretty rusty (I can say hello))) then I said “in English please” and he said they were sugar free and the normal ones were on the bottom shelf and smiled, it was the friendliest an Israeli shopkeeper has been), and some more pastries for my bus ride tomorrow.

Tomorrow I will take a bus, a walk, a border crossing, a walk, a border crossing, and then a taxi and I get to Aqaba.

Castles:1

Horses:0

Horses in Castles:0