Extremes

Today was a bit unique for several reasons. First we had the rest of the group with us today. They arrived late last night no worse for the wear, but ready for some food and a good night's sleep. This morning started with a good breakfast and then it was off to the camel ranch just up the road in the desert. (Since Eilat is in the desert I can say that.) :-)

We spent some time riding camels and hanging out in some shade enjoying the local cooking, then we headed for the water. While some just enjoyed the water, others snorkeled and the rest of the gang that has been here since the beginning of the week headed out for our last two dives while here. AS always it was a great time diving, the fish, the coral, the water was beautiful. Hardly a wind today so the waves were minimal as we dived in the Coral Reserve Park. So desert camel riding in the morning and SCUBA diving in the Red Sea in the afternoon, pretty much opposite ends of the spectrum.

Tomorrow we head to Jordan to visit Petra. I'm looking forward to it.
Peace!

Standing on the Cherbourg

Today was a fun day diving, not that the others haven't been mind you. But today, I did a ship wreck dive. We started off the coast right in front of our hotel and swam to a depth of 18 meters or 60 feet. There was deep blue water with lots of fish and then all of the sudden appearing out of the deep blue was a French missile boat called the Cherbourg that had been sunk by the Israelis for a ship wreck dive.

SO COOL!!! I can't describe what it felt like to hover weightlessly over this hunk of metal that once spent it's life on the surface of the water. Most of the cargo doors had been removed so you could see into the cargo holds where fish had taken up residence. Where men once maned their stations, Huge blue angel fish and groupers now held down the fort from inside. The tower  you see in the picture to the left was still there and the seats on top of the captains bridge were still there just waiting to be sat in.

I peered in the square holes that were once the windows to the bridge only to see a huge blue angel fish as acting captain of the sunken vessel. The dive continued as we looked all over the vessel, just soaking in the experience. We continued on to see more very colorful fish, mating octopus, and a large school of Trumpet fish. It was a wonderful experience, and i'm so glad I took the advice to get certified for this trip.

Tonight the rest of group arrives after a very long almost 18 hours of travel to get here. After a good night's rest, they too will be able to experience some of the beauty of the Red Sea. 

More to come!

Israel 2012

Well yesterday, I arrived in Israel for the second time. Lisa and I came here in March of 2011 and I have been lucky enough to travel to this amazing place for a second time to do some videography for the church.

One twist I added this time around was I began training to become a certified SCUBA diver so that I could dive in the Red Sea while here for the first few days. What an amazing thing to do. The water is crystal clear and the fish and sea life are amazing things to look at. To look at the surface of the water is to look at the ceiling of a whole other world.


We did two dives today and I am up for two more tomorrow, then I will be certified to dive anywhere to a certain depth. Hopefully the pictures I attach will come through, if not I will try to post them again when I get a better signal.


 In between dives, while rehydrating and grabbing a quick snack, I realized I was standing 100 yards from the border of Egypt, so I asked Denny to snap a picture of me. Normally I wouldn't pose in a wet suit, but hey when in Eilat....:-)

Tomorrow we I go to Timna Park just north of Eilat to do some video taping in the desert at the life sized Tabernacle, then back to the water for the afternoon to finish off the training.

I will try to keep posting here to the blog as we make our way through the Holy Land with pics and info.

SHALOM!