Cave day

So, the last update was more of an introspective post, I feel I should post about goings on as well.

Yesterday I took a caves trip. It started out somewhat slowly, since I had the same tour guide on ein gedi and while he wasnt bad I had heard some of his spiel before. Luckily Cary and a few others who were not interested in his spiel and we sat on the curb and quietly talked, joked, some slight mocking.

Though, actually, I should have started this story on the bus, where Cary and I started coversation with a guy named Jared. Jared just got his masters from Cornell (so many Ivy league kids here!!!) in engineering, so brilliant much? I assume so. Anyway, somehow we got talking about converting which he is in the process of, since his mother isn't jewish- actually he had already converted to reform judaism, decided it wasnt for him and moved to conservative and finally now knows he really wants to be orthodox. So a great fountain of information just happened to be sitting in front of me on the bus. Through almost the whole bus ride we chatted about judaism and he was very helpful about sects and whats what and what to read up on. Wonderful.

However, when we were talking to the group Cary pointed out that he was a bit like Jesse, in that he had to prove people wrong/ his answer was right/ somewhat liked to hear himself talk, etc and so she seemed uninterested in him for these reasons. But I pointed out, hey he's well educated maybe he IS right and has a right to defend his points, after all he has a graduate degree, Jesse hasnt started college, bit hard to compare.

Anyway I didnt think he was that egotistical at all, in fact later when we chatted he said he knows he talks alot, it's just his character trait. Doesn't necessarily mean he liked to hear himself talk. Anyway, so I was really interested in talking with him most of the trip. He also has this quirk of walking without shoes, even on hot, rocky Israeli hiking ground. But he's been doing it for over four years so I guess his feet can take it.

It was nice to really be able to converse with someone new, and that brought a great aspect to the trip. Anyway, we started by plucking carods off a tree and eating them. I didnt think they were bad and most people seemed to like them but I think it was just the novelty of it being the first time and gettig to pluck them off the tree. On the bus they didnt seem nearly as yummy. Anyway, the first cave was HUGE, it was callled a Columbarium and there were hundreds of niches where pigeons were raised. Yes, pigeons, because they needed them for sacrifice. They also sold them to pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem. It was very nice and cool down there and well lit and rather tame, I was a bit disappointed about that part.

However, our next cave was the exact opposite, you had to get in by crawling, and continue crawling down this cramped rocky passageway. At one point you had to climb up into another passage where you had to wiggle on your belly! In a tiny cramped passage trying to hold a flashlight this is hard. Some people didnt HAVE flashlights (even though they were told to bring them!!!!) so we had to have them go between people with flashlights and even then at points there were screams of I cant see anyting! It's so dark! And when it's pitch black in such a tiny space, thats scary ince we didnt have a clue what was ahead. Especially since that small climb on the way back became a drop and you had to pass along to people behind you to MAKE SURE THEY WERE GOING FEET FIRST. Everyone was saying in the U.S this would ever be allowed, there were no safety measures, no lights except for those of us with flashlights, no rope to guide us, no attendants around the cave to make sure you came back out. We should have had to sign waiver after waiver but nope, they just took us into these tiny tunnels. lol.

We made it into a big cavern with more niches for pigeon raising and the tour guide told us of when the Jewish rebels were fleeing and hiding from the Romans in the caves the Romans would seal them in or smoke them out. Now dont think nice big cave, think tiny passage ways impossible for soliders to fit that twist and turn and are rocky and impossible to light. Imagine being trapped in there or smoked in so that you die choking on smoke, blocked in. Terrifying!! Espceially hearing about it from inside the cavern which was not exactly near any exit, no comforting sign of light, just pitch black with a tiny hole to escape, that is to a tiny passageway you have to crawl and wiggle through.

So that was quite the experience! Im rather glad it was all extreme, at least in my opinion. Jared of course had been 6 times already (something Jesse would have poited out, I'm sure =P) and was telling me about how it's better with a smaller group and even less light. But I enjoyed it the way it was anyway. The whole ride home I talked more with Jared, about childhood experiences (he was a boyscout/ eagle scout- while I played in the streets) and dance since he does Israeli folk dance and I used to do more traditional dance for ten years. It was a nice trip home.

So that's that, whew.