Eilat, Israel

I’ve already been in Israel for over 3 weeks and it still feels like I just got here. Yesterday I completed the Med, Dead, and Red trifecta as I swam in the Red Sea on the shores of Eilat. Eilat is a full on Red Sea beach town located on a thin strip of Israel sandwiched between Jordan and Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. It's northern shore is packed with hotels, shops,  and colorful night time signage. It's where Tel Aviv goes to party.

This morning I awoke in one of the quirkiest hostels I’ve ever stayed at. My single bed accommodation is like a small tool shed with bed on the floor, a toilet, shower, and air conditioner that runs all the time because of inefficient construction that allows plenty of hot air in. The owner, a colorful older gentleman, is an artist and wood worker who appears to have a talent for all mediums. The tables, chairs, buildings, paintings, and statues are set up in a diorama movie set fashion. The colors and style are reminiscent of gaudy Mexico with a Jewish Hebrew twist. Moses with day glow green is adorned with plastic flowers. African looking statues stand next to a small yurt like synagogue above a booth set up for check in’s. A statue of a monkey eating a banana reads the bible as reindeer fly across the top of my single bed shed. A large eagle spreads his wings above. I’m not sure if the accommodation is worth the 140 shekels I’m paying but the funk factor makes the place somewhat irresistible for at least a couple of nights.

I said goodbye to Peter and left the Dead Sea for Eilat with a couple of Dutch gals who I met at the field school hostel in Ein Gedi. We waited at the bus stop for about an hour. When the bus showed up it is was full, standing room only. About half of the passengers were military, all young kids just out of high school, some carrying guns, which is fairly common in Israel.

Before leaving  for Eilat someone told the Dutch women that the beaches on the Egypt side are nicer and that there are no tourists. They were interested in going straight to the Sinai Peninsula but I told them I thought it might not be a good idea. Recently Hamas has moved into the region and two tall blond Dutch ladies are liable to be noticed. They joined me for a short walk to the quirky hostel instead, checked in, and we all went for a swim in the Red Sea along the Eilat waterfront.

The following day, the Dutch women Inga and Eineke along with myself took a short taxi ride towards the border of Egypt and planted ourselves next to a beach bar dive center called Aqua Sport. Clear water reef runs ashore with the deep blue sea as a backdrop. Colorful fish swim up close as people dive and snorkel right off a beach where you can see Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.

Music played all day across the tops of the umbrella like Tiki Rattan shades firmly planted in the sand as we lounged, swam, napped, drank, and ate from morning till night. In the evening Inga rented a popular Arabian Shisha (water pipe) to smoke honey flavored tobacco and we took lots of funny selfies (photos).

For me it’s three more days in Israel with a desire to stay on the beach or return to Jerusalem to take in a few sights I missed. For Inga and Eineke it’s off to Jordon and Petra. I chose to return to Jerusalem.