Israel 19,
March 31, 2024,
Hi Everyone,
We said good-bye to our ‘older’ new found friends and made a new group of friends going off to a new base. I chose this time to go to the naval base in Eilat. It was a 4 hour drive through the desert that is very arid with no sand dunes. There were occasional oasis’ to break up the scenery and far off mountain ranges.
53 years ago I spent 3 months in Israel, 2 months on a kibbutz and 1 month exploring Israel and sleeping out on various beaches. I hitch hiked back and forth from Tel Aviv several times. In those days, hitch hiking was easy and safe. Often I would hitch hike with a girl which made it rather easy as a couple is less aggressive looking to a driver. When I came here in 1971, there was nothing. There was 1 small youth hostel, 1 cafe and no place to buy a beer. There were no hotels or restaurants and very few inhabitants. The 2 lane semi paved road has been replaced by a 2 or 4 lane very well maintained road. There are large apartment buildings and hotels as Eilat is now a medium size city.
We arrived at the base after 2 pit stops along the way. We were greeted by the soldier in charge who showed us around the base. We went down to the naval port and saw the ships in the harbour. We will probably be invited for a tour of the ships later this week. We could see Jordan across the Gulf of Accaba. The border runs in the middle of the gulf. Here, they are very strict about taking photos. We are absolutely not allowed to take photos of soldiers or ships. We were given our uniforms and were allowed to take pictures of each other and the water. The accommodations are so-so, 6 in a room with bunk beds, smallish, but with air conditioning. It is 35C outside, and hotter in the sun. We have not yet been given our duties.
Love,
Brian
gobriantravel 