Friday 4th - Sunday 6th July: Biking, Relaxing, Abseiling, Jeeping and more...

We have had a very busy and fun weekend.

Friday:
On Friday we went biking on the Burma road which was fun, energetic and had the most incredible views. After this we enjoyed a much earned lunch before going to haggle at the Machaneh Yehuda Shuk. It is an incredibly busy market and especially on Erev Shabbat in Jerusalem we really got to experience it at its most hectic. We then went back to the Ein Tzurim Kibbutz to prepare for what we hoped would be a relaxing and enjoyable shabbat. 

Liat Oberlander: "The view from the bike ride was amazing, so worth the hills."

Adam Grant: "I am really looking forward to haggling in the shuk, and having Shabbat with new friends."







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Shabbat:

Shabbat is always a highlight of Tribe trips and especially of Tribe Israel tour. Being the first Shabbat of Tour, it was bound to be extra special. Shabbat was welcomed with a tuneful and uplifting Friday night service, the whole group looking smart and refreshed after the first days busy touring. An amazing atmosphere was created through the singing, dancing and clapping, not just during the Friday night service, but at meals and other services too.

After a well-earned, longer rest, it was time to enjoy the rest of Shabbat on the kibbutz. Following davening (prayers) and lunch, the group had some free time to bond more, as well as this the madrichim led some games and discussions and the group were given a tour of the kibbutz. During this tour, the group learnt about the origins of kibbutzim, the communal ethos and the importance of all the production that goes on at Ein Tzurim.

In true Tribe style, Shabbat ended with an inspirational havdalah with everyone singing and swaying arm in arm. It really felt as though we were becoming an incredible family.

Yaniv Grunberg: "Shabbat was a great, relaxing experience that broughtr us together as a group."

Nikki Ohayon: "It was lovely to spend Shabbat with so many different types of people and it felt great to see al of us united as one."

Sunday:

Continuing our exploration of the South of Israel, we kicked off the day with a short hike. The hike gave us brilliant views over one of the most beautiful features of Israel’s diverse landscape.

After this it was then time to get the adrenalin pumping by abseiling down the rock face of the Ramon Crater - an incredible (but a little scary!) experience. The Machtesh Ramon is the largest machtesh in the world – a geological land  form unique to the Negev. Abseiling down this gave the group the opportunity to see the amazing rock formation and how beautiful the desert area is, whilst dangling from a rope! We also had the opportunity to see the spring at the bottom of the crater. Abseiling was a really useful tool to help the group dynamics and allow us to let our hair down a little more, as were the jeep rides which got the group extremely excited, as well as a little dusty! 

A drive through the desert took us from Machtesh Ramon to Eilat, where we will be staying at the Adi Hotel for two nights. On arrival we walked towards the shoreline, near which stands a statue of soldiers hoisting a flag. Here, at Ink Flag, we heard the story of Eilat and how this handmade Israeli flag  was raised during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War to mark the capture of Eilat. 

Sam Shamia: "Rappeling was scary at first, but the view was amazing, so worth it. The jeeping was so much fun and a good thing i didn't eat before."

Bianca Shirk: "Rappeling was a great accomplishment as I realised how brave i could be when trying new activities.