Julia, Max and Phoebe
We started our day off with a hike at Ein Avdat, a nature reserve with hidden water pools in the desert. During the hike we stopped and learned about the plants in the desert and the fascinating ways they adapt to their harsh environment. We ended the hike with an uphill route which was pretty exhausting and hard… you will definitely be hearing more of this when we hike Masada!

We then headed to Makhtesh Ramon, the largest inlet erosion crater in the world, where we split into two groups to go rappelling and to go on the safari tour (both groups got to do both activities). The rappelling was down a 40-foot cliff. At first, it seemed really scary because we had to control our own speed, but once we started it was such an awesome experience. On the safari tour, we got into an off-road bus where we went on a bumpy ride to the highest mountain inside the crater of Makhtesh Ramon. There we learned more about how the makhtesh was formed. Although learning about the history of the crater was pretty interesting, I think we can all agree we had more fun driving on crazy bumps with high winds. 

To end off our day, we celebrated Yom HaAtzmaut in the center of Mitzpe Ramon. There was a stage set up where we got to see singing, dancing, karate, and so much more! You could say our grade went pretty crazy for all of the Israeli themed toys, costumes, and of course the cotton candy and other snacks. We had a fantastic night full of dancing, the amazing firework show, and celebrating Israel!