It’s been a couple of days because it’s been a bit tough getting wireless at a Bedouin encampment…
Well, all we can say is camels, Mohammad and…Uno??? And Stacey adds, “and used sleeping bags.” The experience brought all of our ”senses” to life! But first…the formal part…we started the day with a driving tour of Jerusalem and a visit to Yaki Dayan, the incoming Consul General in LA. The visit to the Foreign Ministry was exciting. Gorgeous building, gorgeous diplomat, and fascinating discussion about Middle Eastern affairs. We also discussed his transition to LA, and Rabbi Schuldenfrei took this opportunity to invite Yaki to speak at Shabbat and send his kids to Sinai Akiba. We departed Jerusalem, and headed for the Negev desert, stopping for schwarma (grilled meat cooked on a rotating skewer) at a local gas station. But, trust us — the food at the gas stations here are equivalent to a B-rated restaurant in LA!
After filling up with meat and gas, we went on to participate in an archeological dig and spelunking. The mission of “Archeological Digs” is to allow visitors to actually help them excavate caves (of which there are 5,000 in the region). After sifting through the buckets of dirt, we found pieces of bones and pottery that the organization may be able to use to put together artifacts over 2,000 years old! We can honestly say that ATID “digs” Israel!
After getting our hands dirty, we were more than ready for our camels patiently awaiting our arrival at the Bedouin camp! Two by two, we were hoisted up by our respective camels and we were on our bumpy way! (we have unforgettable pics, but as we have dial up here at the Kibbutz, they will take long to load at this time. We’ll see about posting some when we get to Tel Aviv!)
No time to freshen up from the camel rides as we had to meet Mohammad, our hospitality guide, for traditional music and ancient coffee grinding. While Mohammad played, Michael, Stacey and Barbara volunteered to play the coffee grinder. Who knew they were professionals? We’re trying to convince them to start a band in LA! 
Looking forward to the Masada and DEAD Sea!
