My host family saw my excitement so they took us to a rest stop close by where people have the opportunity to ride the camels and see them up close. I have ridden a camel before, and it is a bit scary, so I did not get on, but my friend, Morgan and host brother climbed right up! My host brother was a bit scared but Morgan made sure he felt safe. At the rest stop there was also a donkey!
When we finally reached Ein Gedi, after about a two hour drive, we were able to spot lots of animals that are unique o the area. First, we were all thrilled when we spotted the ibex. The ibex kind of looked like deer with curled horns. We saw a whole herd as soon as we entered the nature reserve. We also spotted many rock hyrax. These are smaller animals that look like big guinea pigs sitting on the rocks. We were able to come up close to a few of them!
Fortunately, we did not encounter any of the nocturnal mammals known to inhabitat Ein Gedi, which include leopards, striped hyenas, wolves, red foxes, Afghan foxes, Cairo spiny mice, golden spiny mice, snakes, bats, and more!
This week, my roommate and friend, Sarah and I ventured out to the Weizmann Institute of Science. The Weizmann Institute is located right here in Rehovot, a five minute walk from my apartment. It is one of the world’s leading science institutes and is very well known! I love being so close to such a renowned institute for the gorgeous campus. I often go to one of its green spots to sit and just listen to music or journal about my life here in Israel. This week, Sarah and I went together to pick some oranges from the orange trees!
