This first day was all about the desert wilderness where the children of Israel traveled in the Old Testament. We started our journey in Abraham’s city Beersheba to understand why Abraham dug his seven wells (Genesis 21:22). We continued our journey deeper into the Negev Desert to experience the fulfilling of the word of the prophet Isaiah that olive tree would grow in the desert. We traveled from the Negev Desert to the Zin Desert, where the children of Israel traveled along the Zin River. We visited Ein Avdat in order to view the sources of water in the desert. From the grave site of Israel’s first Prime Minister, Mr. Ben Gurion, we had full view of the dry river.
From the top of Mount Avnon, we had a panoramic view of this huge crater in the wilderness that was awesome. Btw, did I mention it was hot. It had to have been around 100. So the best way to end the day was a floatation experience in the Dead Sea. The tour guide gave us three pieces of advice; 1-No diving, 2-don't get water in your mouth, 3-don't get water in your eyes. Of course I did two out of three. I did not dive in and that was a good thing. As soon as the water touched my eyes I had to get out and get fresh water to wash it off. Not only did it sting, it was the nastiest tasting water I have ever tasted. Lesson learned.