Ein Gedi

Today, I was blessed to be able to take one of my last trips here in Israel to a place that I had been wanting to get to for some time: Ein Gedi. Ein Gedi is an oasis in the southern desert of Israel, just off of the Dead Sea. It has many pools of water, several waterfalls, and caves in the surrounding mountains where David hid from Saul during Saul's reign as King of Israel. We took the bus there early in the morning, but because there are multiple stops labeled "Ein Gedi" we got off at the wrong place and had to walk a couple of miles to our destination. The oasis is nestled in between several mountains, giving it some shade and a small breeze, which makes it much more bearable than the surrounding desert. The main trails in this oasis follow the river that works its way down into the valley below, so there are many opportunities to relax in cool pools of water, or to stick your head underneath a waterfall. There are several of these, but the best one is the furthest back into the valley. This waterfall thundered down into a broad pool from twenty or thirty feet above, and it was roped off because of the fear of falling rocks. After seeing the main areas of attraction, my friends and I turned around to head back. At a fork in the road, we realized that we could climb up the mountain path to see the actual cave where David hid from Saul. Realizing that we probably would never come here again, we decided to attempt the climb. The going was rough, with very steep and narrow paths that hugged the mountainside giving way to very steep and slippery steps that reminded me of the Minas Morgul steps that Frodo and Sam climbed on their way to Mordor. After an exhaustive climb, we found the cave that David stayed in. It was an amazing place, and I was happy that we had taken the time to go up and see it. We then began the extended climb back down, reunited with the main path, and went back to the staging area at the bottom of the valley. After we had eaten and replenished out water bottles, we set out for the bus stop and home. Ein Gedi was an amazing place, and I'm glad that I ended my travels throughout Israel