ISRAEL SEA WORLD AND SAFARI





Today was a day of fun sightseeing and relaxation... did I mention shopping? We began the day at the Underwater Sea Conservancy which was just beautiful. The conservancy allows land lovers to descend 20 feet under the sea into the middle of a coral reef. Fish, anemone, and coral abound.

After being underwater, we boarded Jeep-like Land Rovers for a trip up the Eliat mountains. This part of the desert gets less than .025 inches of precipitation each year. Fortunately for us, two months ago they had a deluge which they considered a "ten year" rain event which lasted several hours... and the desert began to bloom. Trees and flowers that had been conserving their precious water, seeds, blooms had come to life. WOW.

We continued up the mountain for about an hour over rough terrain until we reached what was undeniably the top. From there we could see (with the help of our guide) the borders of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Egypt. There were stunning mountain ranges all around us, and a cool breeze even though it had been 90+ degrees on the bottom where we began.

We are very close to the location of King Solomon's mines and we've learned more about some of his finery. There's a semi-precious gemstone called Eliat, which is only mined here. It's a combination of malachite, turquoise and lapis and is the colors of the most beautiful seas. Surely he had enough of these rare stones to decorate the temple as well as Cleopatra! Eliat shopping was on our agenda.

The final leg of our journey, 5 days in Jerusalem, commences tomorrow. In a way all that we've seen and done thus far is setting the tone for our time there. These past two days in Eliat have been very much like Jesus' last days with the disciples before heading into Jerusalem; good food, good friends, good conversation and aware that something momentous is about to happen.

Bless those of you who are at home keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. You are never far from our hearts. Thanks to all those who are keeping watch over cats and birds and dogs and children! I've read the comments you've left to these updates, to the pilgrims on the bus each morning.

The week ahead will be both exhilirating and exhausting we're trusting that the rewards will be great. BLESSINGS AND PEACE TO YOU UNTIL WE ARRIVE IN JERUSALEM! THE CELTIC MONK

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