20180607 Mizpe Ramon, Tel Aviv: Late breakfast among screaming children and parents piling so much food on their plates that they either are throwing much of it away or sticking it into bags to eat on the beach. This is a tourist destination and hotel. Would not come back here unless it was for what we did yesterday as a good place to cross the border to go to Petra.
Left at 10:15 and drove about two hours to Mizpe Ramon on the edge of the Makhtesh Ramon “Crater.” I will get to the quotations marks later. The visitors center tells two stories. The first is about Israel’s first astronaut, Ilan Ramon, who died in the 2003 Colombia Disaster, and loved the Ramon Crater and surrounding desert area. The second story is about the crater and how it was formed. Lovely tribute to Ilan Ramon.
After a falafel lunch nearby, we took a two-hour jeep tour of the crater. So, here’s the deal in short. Most craters are formed either by volcanoes or by asteroids hitting the surface of the earth. So, this is not what really is a crater. It was formed by water eating away sandstone until the floor collapsed and limestone walls remained. It’s active and, because of water and rock formations, can expand. Interesting and bumpy tour and guide. Was down at the bottom where we saw what happens with flash floods hit and at the top to survey a 360 degree view of the rim.
Then it was two hours into Tel Aviv arriving at 7:00 and checking in at the Dan Tel Aviv. The Dan Hotels had upgraded us to this property from the Dan Panorama given the booking there right on the beach where a Gay Pride parade is scheduled for tomorrow. We’re in room 467 here.
About 7:45, Tracy and I walked and others took a taxi up to the old port area where there are lots of restaurants and shops. Ended up at Meat & Eat since our first choide, Kitchen Market, had no tables available. Nice dinner. Needed to split up, so we got to eat with Anna, which was a treat. Then all of us walked back to the hotel. Each way is about 30 minutes. Long day. Early day tomorrow for our last “touring” day with Yael.
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