Birthright Day 5
Day 5 began at the Bedouin Tents, but we did not stay there long. Before the sun had even risen, we were on our way to the next destination. The mountaintop of Masada. Looking for a personal challenge, I ran up the mountain with a backpack that I intentionally put weight inside of. Adding to the challenge was that the entire area including the mountaintop itself is under sea level, in the middle of a desert.
Once at the top of Masada, I watched the sun rise. And as the burning ball in the sky rose above the surrounding cliffs, the temperature intensified. This was the one and only time I reached near points where I would have been dehydrated. Luckily, my exhaustion did not prevent me from seeing the ruins at the top of the mountain that had served as an outpost to countless nations. I especially felt emotions at the story of the Jews who held out against the Romans before they chose to take their own lives rather than be slaves.
Next, we returned to the Bedouin tents where we were shown all the cool innovations one can create with what we consider garbage here in the United States. I also realized that many of the laws in Florida that pertain to using clean energy are Draconian at best.
We continued doing even more on this very very busy and active day. Next I got the chance to explore some deep caves within a cluster of mountains. I would be lying if I did not mention that up until this point, this was my favorite activity of the trip. Its one thing to travel into caves in a video game or see them in a movie, but to actually enter them myself, that was something very special to me.
As we finally felt tiredness take grip over our minds and bodies, we ended our journey nearby Jerusalem, ready for even more adventures the next day.