By the Sea...

By the beautiful sea. We left our lovely hostel and took a cab to the rental car office. It took a while to get all the paperwork done and then we set out to Eilat. As you head out of Jerusalem you go into the West Bank retracing much of the route we had taken last night. But, we turned right and headed to the border with  Jordan and finally headed south. There is excellent signage and a very good road. Soon we got to a rest stop with a sign that said sea level. We stopped to get some juice and talk with the personable guy running the stand.

The ride took about four hours, but we broke it up by stopping at the Dead Sea to see Hana, Meir's mother. We passed miles and miles of mountains and desert landscapes. To our left were the purple mountains of Jordan. We passed Qumran with its caves and crevices and mysterious rock formations. We saw Masada 

and then Ein Gedi with its trees and greenery. Along the route were many tree farms with beautiful greenness breaking up the brown landscapes.

Finally we got to the hotel area of the Dead Sea with high rise buildings set in a lush oasis. Hana's hotel was just beautiful with great views of the salty sea and a beautiful outdoor pool. Their lower level had two salt water pools. We had lunch in the dining room with large windows looking out on the sea. We talked and talked as we had not seen her in many years. Hana had come to visit us since our last time in Israel and her English is perfect. She told us the story of how her family had come to Israel from Iraq when she was a young girl and how they settled in Netanya. We said she should write a book.

We finally had to leave and continued our drive until we got to Eilat. This southernmost city is a bustling area at the very bottom of Israel. It is a large port and bigger resort. Right across the Red Sea is the city of Aqaba with its red roofed buildings and twinkling lights at night. We checked into our small hotel and chatted with Eli, our French manager. Found out we are all Jacques Brel fans.

We had dinner al fresco at a place with schwarma and falafel. 

We sat around a long time enjoying the fresh air and then walked back and sat outside near our room. They have several comfy seating areas on each floor. Now we are in bed and planning tomorrow's adventures.