Once again, we awoke to a spectacular brunch with Anne and Daniel and got the day going from there. After a fun night in Tel Aviv, Chase and I needed a day to relax and soak up the sun. The beach was nearby the Cohen’s house so we were able to walk to the dunes in under 10 minutes. Before we walked out the door, Anne equipped us with all of the essentials for some fun in the sun. This includes: two paddle ball rackets, towels, large waters, and two chilled coronas. We were in heaven. By design, our entire day was filled with the beach and we could not have been happier with the rest and color we received. To make it better, we were able to rinse off in the pool once we got back to the Cohen’s. It was just what we needed because we had an early wake up the next morning for the tour of a lifetime.Well rested from the night before and well fed from every meal since we arrived from Russia, we were ready to travel South of Caesarea in order to visit the Dead Sea and Jerusalem. Daniel informed us that we were to take his car and pick up Roe, our tour guide for the day. Although we were excited for the tour, Garrett was a little nervous, as he was designated to drive for the day. Driving in a foreign country is one thing, but when it’s a very nice car that doesn’t belong to you it’s a whole other story. Thankful for Daniel’s trust and the tour he arranged, we took to the highway and headed south to the Dead Sea. After a quick introduction and some small talk, Roe began the tour and informed us of everything he could along the way. As we drove through the green line, Roe pointed out the difference between the cities on either side of the road. To a tourist, it may just look like foreign neighborhoods on both sides, but with Roe’s expertise we could see the difference between the Palestinian villages and towns on our left and the Jewish synagogues and buildings on our right. It was fascinating to see this divide up close in person.
Arter an hour of driving, we began our descent to the Dead Sea. Nearly 420 meters below the sea level, we had reached the lowest place on earth. At the Northern tip of the Dead Sea, we noticed that the temperature increased significantly. The only reasonable thing to do after this was to go to the lowest bar in the world. We grabbed a drink and headed into the water to see how salty it really was. We made our way out slowly because of how loose the mud was and found ourselves sitting in water that came up to our shoulders. We leaned back, and sure enough, both our bodies floated to the surface instantly. We could not believe how buoyant we were, even after eating all of the delicious food the Cohen’s had prepared us. Our wounds from shaving our thick beards began to sting because of the salt. We both also recommend not getting the water in your mouth. It’s way too salty. After rinsing our tongues for about 10 minutes, Chase and I grabbed a few handfuls of mud and did what every tourist does; put a smiley face and a big D for the Dead Sea on our chests. When in Rome.
The Dead Sea was extremely refreshing, but Chase and I knew that we couldn’t spend the entire day there if we wanted an in depth tour of Jerusalem. Roe directed us West from the Dead Sea and got us to Jerusalem safely in an hour or so. Once we parked the car, our tour began with the Jaffa gate. The Jaffa gate was the original gate to the city and designed with a sharp turn at the entrance to fend off attackers on horseback. After seeing how sharp the turn was and hearing Roe’s story of a biker smashing into the wall, it made perfect sense. From the gate we moved into the Christian quarters of Jerusalem. The Holy Sepulchre was our next stop. Moving from the 10th to the 14th stations of the cross, we found ourselves engulfed by the holiness of everything around us. Each section was filled with tourists, all moved by each station, some getting extremely emotional and flustered with the power each spot possessed. We are not pretending to be the most religious guys on earth, but the atmosphere in there really does make you feel like one with God. It was a spiritual moment that we will never forget.
After the Sepulchre, we moved into the Jewish quarters for another great experience. Unlike the lines and somewhat of a sideshow that is found in the Christian quarters, the Jewish quarters were more personal and intimate. After reaching the Western wall, we noticed that everyone was their to pray, not to take pictures and shove one another in line. The sheer size of the Western wall surprised us as well. It was massive.
The day was slowly slipping away and Roe wanted to take us to one last stop before heading back to Caesarea. To reach the amazing view atop of Mt. Olives, Roe led us to the entrance of a Palestinian neighborhood. The view was on the other side of the neighborhood so my plate was full with driving. Besides the fact that I was driving Daniel’s nice car, I was extremely anxious because there seemed to be no driving rules in this neighborhood. For instance, traffic was at a stand still on the right side of the two-lane street and the guy behind me decided to pull out and fly down the opposite side, playing chicken with whatever vehicle was coming his way. It was nerve-wracking to say the least. However, the view was worth it and proved to be the perfect conclusion to one of the best days on the trip.
We arrived to the Cohen’s and could not have been happier. To make our stay even better, Anne and Daniel took us out for our last meal at a very nice seafood restaurant in the port. The Sea Bass and White Snapper filets were delicious. The only thing that could have made our last night in Israel better was a victory for the Women’s World Cup Team.
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