Oct 11 – Eilat Mountain Jeep Drive

We spent most of the day relaxing and working on photos and travel stuff.  Mary finished up putting together our new calendar for 2023 as well as our holiday letter.  We will hold off sending the letter to the printer until after we finish in Egypt.  That way the letter will cover the entire year (minus December).  That was a big project and she is glad to have it done so that she can move on to all the backlog of blog and photos. 

At 4:00 we were picked up for our last tour in Israel.  We are taking a jeep drive up into the mountains around Eilat.  The jeep was so rattly that we were concerned about parts falling off…but it survived the trip.  There was another family in our jeep and there was also a second jeep.  Our driver spoke very little English but the driver of the second did so at the two stops he explained things to us. 

Shortly after hitting the dirt and rock road we passed a camel camp.  And shortly after that we came across a group of people out on the camel ride.

And right after that we ran into a number of ibex.  Some were very close to the road.  We also saw more later on. 

But the real treat on this trip were the mountains themselves.  They were breathtaking.  Often seeming without any vegetation at all, they were rouged, imposing, majestic, and desolate.  Magnificent.  The mountains are extremely arid.  

Our little caravan stopped once and we climbed up the side of a rise to get views.  It was beautiful and arid.

A little later on we stopped for a “picnic”.  The drivers lit a fire and heated tea and then very large flat breads that they smeared with a cheese and herb mixture.  

After our little snack the group headed up to a communications tower.  From there we could see four countries:  Israel, Egypt, Jordan and, in the distance across the Red Sea, Saudi Arabia.  The Egypt border was quite close and we could see the wall separating the two countries...and a road that paralleled it.  Wow.  

This one is Egypt...very, very close.  Photos of the others just didn't turn out.  Too dark and too far away. 

This is where we are today.

The sunset itself was reasonable but not spectacular.  

A group of ATVs on a tour. 

After sunset we headed back and were back in the hotel about 7:00.  We had a snack at the hotel bar and then took showers.  The jeep ride was very dusty.  Then it was packing and to bed.

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More Eilat Mountain Drive
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