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2008 EMYR Schedule

Wednesday, June 25th, Petra, Jordan
 
Returning to Israel from Egypt, we planned some down time before our next adventure.  The final rally dinner was scheduled for Wednesday night and we had piles of dirty clothes and plenty of tidying up to do.  We also wanted to meet up with an old high school friend of mine who is from Israel and living in Tel Aviv. 
 
In the midst of hanging out the laundry, a local journalist came by and grabbed a few minutes to ask some questions.  She was primarily interested in our children and cornered Cassie to find out what she thought of our crazy lifestyle.  Unfortunately, the website the story was published on is entirely in Hebrew and I couldn't figure out where to find the link to the story.  From what I could tell, Cassie had mostly positive things to say!
 
I think I speak for most of the rally participants when I say the emotions were mixed at the final rally dinner.  With the dinner tables set up right alongside Zia, we chose the most convenient one to share with our friends on Artemis and Twice Eleven.  Here, Dick, Ginger and Tamsin are seated with me, and Dave from Gone Native is joining us for the photo opportunity. 
Cassie had insisted that we stay until the bitter end of the party and I did not disappoint her, although she still wasn't ready to go to bed just because the party was over.  The high heat and humidity did nothing to slow down this group of hardy sailors on the dance floor.  There were a few changes of shirts throughout the night, but a good time was had by all.  We will miss all of our new friends but look forward to the chance to meet up with some of them in our upcoming travels.
 
One of the greatest joys we've had during the past three years of living and traveling on Zia is meeting up with old and new friends alike.  I had the privilege of attending a boarding school in Rome, Italy for three years of high school while my father worked overseas as a foreign correspondent for the Los Angeles Times.  I've had a surprising amount of success in keeping in touch and rekindling friendships with many alumni from St. Stephen's School.  Here in Israel, I tracked down Shay Simkin, class of 1980, and his brother, Itay ('79).  Although we had lost touch over the years, through a combination of the St. Stephen's Alumni network and a little Google action, I found a current email address for him and gave him a few months' warning about our intended visit. 
 
One never knows what things will be like after all these years but with Shay it was easy.  He came and picked us up on Thursday night for a private tour of Old Tel Aviv, Jaffa and the new port complex that has been recently constructed along the waterfront of the city.  Although at 10 o'clock it was still a little early for things to really get going, we got a taste of the magnificent night life one can find around the clock in Tel Aviv.  When invited to join the extended family for the Friday night meal, we were thrilled.  Shay's wife Limor had a little help in the kitchen from his mother, cousins and nieces.  It was a feast for the palate and a wonderful view inside the lives of a "typical" Israeli family, if there is such a thing.  Shay's eldest son, Dor, was home from training for the army and his girlfriend of two years was there with him.  Together with Itay's daughter, (Itay and his wife unfortunately couldn't make it), they gave us a small glimpse of coming of age in this sometimes harsh environment.  Surrounded by family and friends, it is easy to forget just how hard life can be in a country with enemies on all sides, where every 18 year old is required to do at least two years military service.  We were also amazed by Shay's fourteen year-old son, Guy, who had more questions than you could imagine about life on the boat, our travels, and America.  Six year old Yuval was devastated that she couldn't talk to the girls and was hugely relieved to find an English cartoon show on TV to keep them entertained.  After three or four hours of visiting, we felt completely at home, wealthier in spirit and experiences thanks to our Israeli hosts.  Thank you Shay, Limor, and everyone who helped create such a wonderful evening for us.
 
The next morning, we were off and running again.  This time, the masters of our own schedule.  Zia and the two other kid boats - "Cowrie of Cowes," with Mark, Emma, Tom (12) and George (9), and "Gone Native," with our famous doctor friends Dave and Desi and their twin 12 year olds Ryan and Wesley - set off on the infamous "Med-Dead-Red Road Rally." 
 
   
We picked up rental cars and headed back to Jerusalem and the Wailing Wall, where Joe and Mark sought out a little shade in a somehow appropriate location.
   
We were clearly very fortunate on our first viewing of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher as it was jammed packed on this visit.  The kids were happy to find a bench on which to sit and wait for the adults to finish their tour.
At dinner that night, we found a trendy restaurant recommended by Twice Eleven that served great food and didn't mind sitting the kids at a separate table!
 
After our mandatory float in the Dead Sea ...
we traveled towards the center of the country on Road 31 where trucks and camels were the only dangers.
 
Whose idea was it, do you think, to visit the Israeli Air Force Museum in Be'er Sheva? 
Actually, some of the facts were pretty fascinating.  Did you know that Israel has the fourth largest Air Force in the world?  In a country whose population numbers less than most large American cities, that is pretty astonishing.  And this isn't just any Air Force.  The ratio of Israeli aircraft downed versus enemy aircraft is something like 41 to 1.  Each of the planes on exhibit proudly displays a placard that lists the Israeli pilots that flew it as well as all the enemy planes that were shot down by that particular aircraft.
 
We did have a bit of a fiasco on the next part of our "Rally."  We had intended to cross the border into Jordan that evening and spend the next two nights in the Red Sea port of Aqaba, Jordan.  We arrived at the Arava border crossing at 8:45pm to find it lit up like a football field for the Super Bowl but completely deserted.  We honked and whistled and even had fleeting thoughts about climbing the fence, but finally turned around and left in search of a hotel on the Israeli side of the border in Eilat.  In our defense, none of the guide books mention anything about the hours of operation for the border crossing, nor were there any signs posted on site.  Turns out it closes at 8pm.
 
Lying by the pool at the hotel's beach club the next day by 11am, we had a good laugh about it with the Cowrie crew who had elected to skip the museum stop and had gone straight to Aqaba from the Dead Sea.  They found our hotel Alcazar in downtown Aqaba a little tired, but clean.  Tired is a generous description but the people were very nice and at $90 a night for two double rooms compared to the $180 we paid in Eilat, we weren't complaining.
 
After a day of relaxing at the beach, snorkeling the reefs outside the beach club, and exploring downtown Aqaba, we were completely enchanted with Jordan.  The people were universally friendly and helpful.  The "milk them for as much as we can" mentality that we experienced in Egypt and were wary of here, was nowhere to be found.   I was embarrassed to expect a fleecing when someone was simply being helpful.  Realizing this  changed our whole perspective and we were eager to experience and enjoy it all, even the more challenging aspects of touring in Jordan.
 
   
We took off the next day for a 4x4 excursion in the Wadi Rum desert and the evening in Petra.  The desert tourism industry is run by the Bedouins in conjunction with the tourist agencies.  Our group had split into two, with the Gone Natives opting for the full overnight experience and the rest of us electing to spend only two or three hours bouncing around the back of a thirty year old Toyota in the full 110 degree heat of the mid-day desert sun. 

On our first stop, we climbed up to "Lawrence's Spring," a watering hole used by Lawrence of Arabia, a British explorer and author who helped to organize the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire during World War I.

 
Going back a few thousand years, the Nabataeans were actually the force to be reckoned with in these parts.  Originating in the northwest corner of Arabia, this ancient people migrated to the area around the Dead Sea and established a profitable commercial empire with a capital city of Petra.  Before we explored the remains of that city, however, we trekked through a bit more of the desert that they called home.  The heat was brutal but with a reliable vehicle and plenty of water, we were ready for anything.
 
The scenery was spectacular, with huge natural crevices carved between towering rock walls.   Funnily enough, after an hour or so in the heat of the desert, a hot cup of Bedouin tea, sweet and flavorful with mint and sage and a wonderful combination of herbs, was just what we needed. 
We tried on the customary head dress of the more traditional local women while we were at it!
 
About half way into our trip, a common concern developed about the state of our transportation.  Our Bedouin driver seemed to be having some trouble shifting his trusty Toyota.  At about the same time, we noticed that Ibrahim wasn't actually using a key to start the car, but hot wiring it at every stop.  He took to starting it in gear to avoid the shifting issue.  "Brace yourselves, kids," we would shout just before the jolt.
 
After a few unsuccessful attempts to bring the truck back to life, Ibrahim finally found the gear fluid, which turned out to be a bottle of corn oil.  Of course by this time, the battery was dead.  He filled her up and turned to us; "Can you push?"
 
We only had to push ourselves to salvation twice.  By the time he got the cooking oil into the gear shift box and recharged the batteries by running the engine a few minutes without stalling, we were good to go!  On to the next desert attraction! 
 
What is it that you have always wanted to do in the desert?  You see a big, smooth, heaping pile of hot sand and ......
 
you want to climb up it!
 
 
And then you want to run down it at top speed!
 
 
That's Joe leading the charge ...
 
 
with Cassie, Juliana, George and Mark following close behind.
 
Down to our last sip of water, hot, covered in sweat and red sand, we were whisked back to the Bedouin village and our waiting car.  We climbed in and took off for Petra where a hotel room and pool awaited.  We were still traveling in a group with a budget so we weren't expecting much, but were pleasantly surprised at the quaint, convenient and cool rooms at the Petra Palace Hotel.  With grandiose ideas of seeing a bit of Petra that evening, we wound up merely washing the dirt and sweat of the desert off in the hotel pool and finding a good restaurant for dinner.
 
Our first glimpse of Petra came the next morning.  Breakfasted and out the door by 7am, we walked through the half mile long crevice, dubbed the Siq, which opens up to a view of The Treasury. 
 
Petra lay at the intersection of great caravan routes between the Mediterranean Sea (Gaza) and Damascus, the Red Sea (Eilat and Aqaba) and the Persian Gulf.  The Nabataeans flourished on taxes from the spice and incense trade.  Petra's most famous building is its best preserved - The Treasury.
 
Wanting to explore the site from end to end, the Zia crew was set to make the journey up the 800 steps to "The Monastery."  Joe and I knew this would be a lot to ask of the kids so were willing to cough up the $40 for them to ride in comfort. 
 
It turned out to be quite the equestrian adventure, even for Joe and myself, as we couldn't resist the discounted rate for a donkey ride that we got further along the trail.
 
Standing at the top of the ravine, marveling at the enormous shrine carved out of the sheer, natural rock walls, we wondered at the simplicity of life back then.  Was it really easier to be faced with the mere task of chiseling through a ton of rock than it is to confront the challenges that we face today?  
 
We've had some sad news recently about a couple of friends who have lost or are losing the battle with cancer.  Life and death was even more ruthless back then.  This young Bedouin boy's brother told us about the three baby lambs that grazed nearby.
The mother had been killed by a wolf just yesterday.  He took us to the top of a ravine to show us where the mother's body lay.  Throughout time, regardless of geographic location, religion or faith, the cycle of life and death is inescapable.  I do not intend to compare a human life to that of a sheep, wolf or lamb.  I am just struck, as I sit here writing this, scrolling through the photos and thinking about the sad news we have received in the past few days, by harsh reality. 
 
 
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Many thanks to our friend Craig Homenko for his assistance in setting up the website.
We also would like to thank our buddy Scott Brunner who has been kind enough to host the website on his server.
 

 
   

 
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