On Tuesday we had our last wake up with a view of the Machtesh, loaded up the bus in RECORD time (shoutout to the luggage committee, they girlbossed the luggage like the women in STEM they are), and hit the road to head south. We arrived at Kibbutz Keturah where we were greeted with cold lemonade and cookies before learning about the history and current functions of the kibbutz. We even saw the date tree that comes from a date over 2000 years old! We had a yummy lunch on the kibbutz and then had our own Havaya Aseyfah (very different from our normal Havaya Aseyfah, there were no moose nor llamas involved in this one) where we discussed different scenarios on a kibbutz and what we might do in each of them. Because Kibbutz Keturah is one of very few public kibbutzim left in Israel, it was interesting to think about all of the details that go into every decision as it will affect everyone. It was super hot so we relaxed at the pool in the afternoon, had a barbecue for dinner and then had a fan-favorite, night swim pool party, a perfect way to close out the evening. We hit the hay early because we had a very very early morning the next day!
Our day started with the Boker Tov Brigade knocking on doors at a sharp 3:50am! We loaded up the bus and drove 45 minutes to Mount Tzfachot for a sunrise hike. The hike was pretty steep and definitely not easy, but we made it to the top with plenty of time to watch a beautiful sunrise overlooking the Red Sea. A couple cool facts about where we were are that from the peak of the mountain, we could see four countries (you can ask the teens on the trip if they remember all of them to see if they were paying attention). Also, our first hike was in Tel Dan National park and that’s the beginning of the Israel trail, and this hike is the very end of the Israel trail. Although we didn’t walk the entire country top to bottom, it was cool to spend time at both the start and the end. At the top, we participated in a more traditional Camp Havaya Aseyfah starting with the Boker Tov song and ending with “ohhh what a day.” It was early and hot but everyone had great energy!
We headed down the other side of the mountain and had a packed breakfast by the water before going snorkeling in the Red Sea. We had time to hang out and chill on the beach before driving to Ice Mall for some pizur lunch and shopping. Even though it was 105 degrees outside, the mall had an ice rink in the middle of it! We finished at the mall, came back to the hotel and relaxed with some more pool time after an early morning. We ate dinner and had a breif discussion about Tisha B’av which starts tonight. It was a super fun day, but everyone is excited for a good night’s sleep after such an early wake up!
Until tomorrow,
Havaya Israel 2023