Israel - Masada, Dead Sea & Eilat

After spending a few days in Jerusalem, we headed South! We stopped for lunch on our way to the hotel and I had another amazing falafel. Check out this action shot:

I'm very tempted to create my own falafel. Now I'm craving it!

After a few hours ride we arrived at the hotel for our last dinner and session with our Israeli travel companions. We talked about what we experienced throughout the trip and touched on our now changing views of Israeli and American stereotypes. Here's a look into the mind of an Israeli:

#truth

We were off to bed on the early side because we had a 4 AM (yep) wake up call for our sunrise hike. I was actually looking forward to this all trip so it wasn't too difficult to get up and out of bed when the alarm went off. We hiked up to Masada, an ancient fortification on the eastern edge of the Judaean Desert, overlooking the Dead Sea. It was built by Herod the Great between 37 an 31 BC! It has a pretty interesting story -- supposedly the siege of Masada by Roman troops ended with a mass suicide of the over 950 people living there. Eek.

Masada is one of Israel's biggest tourist attractions, but we were the only souls there that morning. The very steep hike was totally worth it for the sunset and panoramic views:

Long way down!

These bird were so crazy and friendly!

We took a short break during the sunset to do some yoga and stretch out our already sore hiking muscles!

We spent a few hours atop Masada learning about the history and touring the grounds.

Hayley dressed as a rabbi...LOL

Extremely old mosaic floor

We walked around to see the other side of Masada and did some yelling into the mountains. I've never heard such a legit echo before!! I love this picture I took of Ben (below). I wish I had the balls to climb up there because I think this is a sick shot. As you can see in the next photo I was even nervous to get close to the edge. I'm gripping that railing!

After a few hours we hiked back down what felt like 10 million steps. My calves were tight for the rest of the trip!

We grabbed breakfast, then hopped back in the bus for a quick trip to the Dead Sea! This was one of my favorite activities by far. I don't know what I was expecting, but I just didn't believe people actually float in the sea. Not only do you ACTUALLY float, but once you're up it's pretty difficult to get your feet back on the ground. So freakin' crazy!

We got ourselves mudded up, took some obligatory warrior-style photos, then waded into the salty water. Nothing (except minuscule amounts of bacteria) lives in the Dead Sea (hence the name), and the floor is covered in salt rocks. It's pretty necessary to wear shoes so you don't cut your feet.

Floating!

I think my skin was the softest it's EVER been after I washed the mud off. I was literally rubbing my arms and legs for the rest of the day. Ha.

We showered off, ate some lunch, and then re-boarded the bus for a drive to Eilat, the "Las Vegas of Israel." Despite such an early wake up call, we were more than ready for a night out on the town. Hayley and I stayed in our own room in Eilat (most of the rooms were for 3 people) and we lucked out with the honeymoon suite! Not actually, but we did have our own balcony with a gorgeous view!

I've never been to Vegas, but I don't really think Eilat can compare. That being said, we had a ton of fun drinking and dancing the night away. And ending it with some pizza!

As was per usual on Birth Right, we had a curfew and another early wake up call. Next up was the last stop of our trip: camping in the Negev Desert!