I can now officially say that I have climbed through a hole in a fence. And that was just the start of a day that would bring all kinds of new adventures to me.
We climbed through a hole in a fence to reach our breakfast. Not sure why; I think our leaders were just having a laugh. But we climbed through and came out onto a beach where our breakfast was waiting for us. There, I got to have milk in a bag, chocolate milk at that, and it was awesome. Something about milk being in a bag makes it even better. Milk in a bag is not something I’d ever seen before (although I have since discovered milk in a bag in Ontario as well), but evidently it was a common thing in Israel.
We ate quickly as it would soon be time for our first activity of the day. We hadn’t been told anything, except that we needed to wear our bathing suits because we would be getting wet – very wet.
As we approached the water’s edge, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I don’t think a million guesses would have gotten me even close to what we were actually doing. I looked into the water and I saw… a giant yellow inflatable banana.
Yes, you read that right. I had never heard of it before and now all of a sudden I found myself banana boating. For those of you that don’t know, it’s essentially what it sounds like. There’s a giant inflatable banana and you get tugged through the water on it by a motor boat and try not to be thrown off. It is one of the most fun things I’ve ever done. It’s like jet skiing, except the jet ski is a banana.
We clambered aboard, 5-7 at a time, and took off, soaring across the water. I held on for dear life as we took the sharp turns, screaming in pleasure. It was amazing. We all fell off numerous times, and were bounced around, ripping through the water atop a giant banana. Such fun!
We slowed things down a bit in the afternoon, meeting with one of the original founders of the kibbutz. He chatted with us and told his stories.
Our next adventure came when the sun had set. We were split up into groups and found ourselves being loaded into jeeps. I sat in the front seat and it afforded me a great view. I’d never been on a jeep before (or since), but I could tell we were definitely off on a ride that only a jeep could do. It was like an Israel nighttime safari. We were driving through mountains, on a very bumpy road, crashing through bushes. We even splashed our way through a flowing river. It was awesome. I felt like Indiana Jones, off to find some mystical hidden treasure.
We saw all kinds of animals – chameleons, vultures, cows. At one point a pebble flew up and hit me in the face but I didn’t even care; I was having too much fun.
We drove down the side of a mountain, the jeep jerking down natural rock steps. Every time the right side of the jeep, where I was seated, lurched down, I felt like I was hanging right over the cliff, which was terrifying, my body pressed against the seat belt, the strap the only thing holding me in. It truly was an adventure. And it was awesome.
We returned to the kibbutz and celebrated our last night there with a pizza party.
I was exhausted by the end of the day, but it was all so, so worth it.
violetsams 