# 224 – The Negev

January 28, 2013

After any election, what does one do next? Well, you travel down to the Negev desert for a weekend. This time, our destination was Mitzpe Ramon, the World’s largest craters, formed not by foreign bodies, but by titanic geological eruptions. This is a BIG place.

First, on the way down, we visited the Ein Avdat Park, and walked along the gorgeous Wadi Zin.

We were welcomed by some of the local ibexes, and, being the cute animals they are, a family of them said goodbye to use on the way out…

(This is a real photo of mine)

Before sunset and dinner, we visited the Alpaca farm. Strange creatures, these. Similar to llama, but special, in that you rarely see 2 alike. Each has a different colouring, teeth formation, stare. The youngsters are so cute, and literally race around on the lightest feet. They claim here that the Israeli climate helps these fascinating animals to produce almost twice the wool yield as their brothers and sisters in South America.

Today, we went on a 4WD into the desert, and saw some of the spectacular rock formations. This is cuckoo land for geologists. They can stand in front of some of the rock faces and see millions of years right there in front of their eyes. One area is called The Carpentry, although they are not sure where the name comes from. I thought the answer was quite simple.

The rocks strewn around all have forms that resemble a carpentry shop after the craftsman has been at it for some time. In fact, the rocks are more prismatic. This comes from the fact that here is the only area where the rocks are made of the same material as simple sand. Over time, the heated sand became liquid, and then, upon drying, naturally created these forms.

We aim to return in a month, when the results of the rains here can be seen. Unlike the Grand Canyon, which has a way in and a way out for the Colorado river, Mitzpe Ramon has many ‘hollows’ which just fill up from the annual rains (if there are any – and this year there was), and then the vegetation comes out in all its glory. Even the brush bushes, which eventually will be blown away, are expected to burst into purple and yellow blossoms, some time in mid-February.

For those of you who want a little bit of luxury while you’re in the area, check out the Beresheet hotel, completed just 2 years ago.

Stephen