Just catching up?  Read about our first two days in Tel Aviv and Jaffa here.  On our third day in Israel, we were up at 2 am (which is not even waking up early, it’s like taking a short nap where you wake up feeling ok, but as it gets later, you feel worse and worse).  Anyway, we spent of the third day traveling from Tel Aviv to Masada since we had plans to hike to Masada and visit the Dead Sea.  We waited for over an hour for the bus driver to show up and then I was impossibly carsick for the duration of the ride up to Masada, so THAT was fun! Luckily, the demons passed right in time for our sunrise hike up to the fortress and I’m so glad because it was INCREDIBLE. 

If you are unfamiliar, Masada is a fortress from between 37 and 31 BCE and what remains now are some of the structures built by Herod the Great, as well as amazing views of the Dead Sea and mountains in the distance.  If you want to read more about Masada, click here.  Fun fact, I had my Bat Mitzvah there! (wish I had a photo to share!)

So we arrived at there around 5 am, I vomited on the side of the road (TMI?) and then we bought tickets and headed to the base and started the hike to Masada.

 

It was dark when we started, a bit chilly, but with each passing minute it got lighter and lighter.

 

And by the time we arrived….

Sweaty and accomplished!

 

We were able to spend 45 minutes watching the sun come up while taking in the views.

 

After about 45 minutes, we headed back to catch the bus. 

Good thing we left when we did because the bus driver was ready to leave people who weren’t back on the bus! Crazy!  I wish we had had more time to walk around and learn about Masada, but I’m grateful for what we did have  If you ever find yourself in Israel, do yourself a favor and book a trip to hike to Masada.  These companies pick you up in the city center and drive your sleepy self there, drop you off, and let you do your thing.  If you’re interested, the company we used was Tourist Israel.

 

From there, we headed to Ein Gedi for a quick stop for hiking to see a beautiful waterfall in a nature reserve close to Masada. 

Our legs were definitely tired from earlier that morning, but the hike was so worth it. 

 

Nothing makes you consider the wonders if the world like driving through the hot dessert and then ending up in a nature preserve with waterfalls.

 

Our last stop of the day was the coolest (errr the hottest?).

 

We stopped at the Dead Sea for a quick float session and some mineral mud facials… on the body.  The Dead Sea is 430.5 meters below the Earth’s sea level and 9.6 x saltier than the oceans!

I’ve done it before, but floating in the Dead Sea is one of the coolest experiences.  Want to know why people float in the Dead Sea?  Click Here.  Unlike the other times I’ve been there, the water was cold! 

As you can see, Luis loved it! We only wished we had remembered to bring his financial times newspaper! #fail

 

After each of our respective 30 second float sessions, we used some of the mineral-rich mud for a full body facial.

 

We let it dry, then rinsed off and headed back to our caboose.

 

The bus dropped us in Jerusalem and we went straight to our (filthy) Airbnb, showered and fell asleep for a 3 hour much- needed nap. Afterwards, we went out to hunt and gather some dinner which brought us to one of the few open spots since it was the tail end of Shabbat and almost everything was closed!  Luckily, we found a good (completely not kosher for Passover) option.

 

We found Focaccia Bar, which was a nice spot for a big pizza and a salad, which we shared. We liked it so much that we ended up going back!  That’s later to come, since this post is getting a bit wordy. 

 

Coming soon- all about our 2 days in Jerusalem and then back to Tel Aviv.  Thanks for reading!