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Published: October 1st 2007
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Moving Residence
Can we move the mountains to me?
This is a 5:30 a.m. viewing This is what a corner of my heaven looks like.
Climbing in the Middle East Climbing in Wadi Ram in Jordan is simply the BEST climbing I have ever done in my life.
There are more pictures and videos to come, but I will tell you that it is sandstone, trad climbing, and multi-pitches that seem to go on for miles. In my heaven (when I pass on from earth) I am going to stay there. But the only downfall is that there is no beach. Which is why I have not yet picked up and moved residences there.
If anyone is a climber, I STRONGLY recommend that you put that on your list of places to climb. HIGH up on the list, in fact.
Jordan is one of my corners of heaven. When in heaven, however, there are a few changes. I want the happy environment of Tonsai beach... their food, their laughter, and the massive amount of climbing partners. I heaven, however, there are no ropes, (no fear of death!) and therefore your climbing buddy that you choose is purely for companionship. You don't have to worry about heavy packs since you dont need to
Pre-climb Photo op!
Here are my Israeli buddies. drink, and your body and gear never gets knackered.
In another corner of my heaven, is the beach of Greece. Beautiful and clear, and perfect temperature... Maybe, though, God can add more fish for the eye to see. In another corner of heaven is my friends and family... laughter is present!
In another corner of my heaven is
New Experiences including a machine that can cause you to reincarnate when you are ready to leave your heaven, and if you desire to go back to the physical (any species you choose!).
Petra What's the big deal? How is it possible that it is on the Top Seven Handmade Wonders of the world? I don't see it at all. I bought a two day ticket, and left early. I sold my ticket to another girl who was keen to go, and off I went. It might have been amazing back in the day: 2500 years ago... but now, I think it is eroded away into nothing special. I wanted to climb the beautiful mountains, and as a rock climber, I was pissed that they dug into the mountain. Look at all the routes that were climbable. (Not that there isnt
Wadi Ram
Sandstone... amazing climbing. These mountains are one of the views in my heaven. 20 lifetimes of routes in Wadi ram, but this while this might have been cool a couple of years ago... (like 2000 years ago), I am not impressed now.
Going to Sinai to Dive Crossing over to Egypt, I passed the Israeli border. I didn't realize the effect of staying in a Muslim or Islamic country for so long. I was able to joke and smile for the first time in a week, and felt alive and self-expressed. I had no idea how much self-expression I was with-holding by being in the country. While I felt physically safe, there is not end to the depletion of man's needs in this religious environment. Women cover their whole bodies, even their faces. Jordan was a world where you meet your wife the day you marry. Love, (hopefully) comes after marriage. And so you can only imagine the divorce rate here.
I went climbing with one of the Bedouin men there, and we had so much fun. I asked him why he would want an Islamic wife... one that would cover herself and stay home all day. Since he and I were having so much fun, why wouldn't he want an adventurous
Top of the climb
Standing on top of the mountain. wife who would go rock climbing with him. It is simply the culture. When he gets married, his wife will stay home and clean. It is my great fortune to be able to openly enjoy the climbs as a woman, as I am not a native.
Diving in Dahab Diving in Dahab is supposed to be the best in the world. I got my Advanced Open Water so that I could go in the famous Blue Hole. I think, that diving was better in Thailand. BUT, that might be simply because I dove with my brother. Sibling Love has the capacity to make everything more colorful and more alive, and it might just be my imagination that it was better, or the fact that Mathew knows so much about the Sea World that it made it more educational and fun.
Paint me a Picture "What have your days been like? Paint me a picture" My brother's girlfriend - Kendra - asked.
Well, this morning I woke up and did a little studying for my advanced diving training. Then I did yoga with a wonderful woman from Oz. Then I ate breakfast of crepes, eggs, cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, fruit,
Penis Envy
Here, Oren is peeing in the background. Other than this convenience men have, I like being a girl. and my favorite tea. Then I went diving. We did two dives. One of them famous... the blue hole. We had lunch, then came back. I met a girl who is going climbing tomorrow and got invited. I planned to finish the rest of my dives when I come back. I studied and read more, and ate dinner, even tho I promised the oz girl I would eat with her, I ate anyways. Then went to the Oz's place and didn't eat dinner because I was full, which was good becuase I didn't like what they were serving. Then we drank tea and played backgammon. I did some energy work on her since she had a headache. Then I walked around egypt seeing what crap people sell, and then I came to do emails.
Adventures in Sinai Next time I go to this part of the world, I would like to climb in St. Catherine. Despite the picture I painted above, Dahab is quite boring for me, a part-time diver. I needed excitement and adventure so I left Dahab... and adventure I found!
On the bus, I lost all my money. I had enough to last about a week.
Last pitch of the climb
Is this not a Beautiful climb???
The bolts at the bottom are the anchor for the last pitch. (I just went to the bank).
If it was stolen, or I lost it, I have no clue. I fell asleep with my purse open and on my lap since I was listening to my IPOD, and maybe that was when someone stole it... who knows. All I know, is that I wasn't careful enough, and paid the price. A nice Israeli gave me some money... Enough to take me to the border. Once I went to Eilat, I realized that I left my water bottle in the taxi on the other side of the border, and was about to lose it (it was a tough day!) a man offered to buy me a drink, and bought me several with dinner. (Hard day, good evening) He left, and I went to go find a phone card. On the way, I snapped some photos of some kids skinny dipping. (pictures below, rear view only) They made me coffee later, and we talked for hours. They let me stay in the hostel with them as they had an extra mattress, and the next morning gave me 20 Shekels and said, "Don't hitch-hike!"
Well, I hitch-hiked. (In England, it is called a 'lift')
At first, I got a lift with a man who spoke no English. We drove for three hours, and only speaking in Hebrew. I guess I am not toooo bad if I can carry on a conversation with someone for 3 hours. He was a driver of 18 wheelers with a wife and twin boys. He has a dream of going to America and being a driver in America since they make more money. His wife was worried that he would find another woman and marry for a green card, and break her heart. Of course. Sound familiar? I told him this was called in English, "the American Dream" and translated that. I told him it was not true, and he should focus on being happy in Israel, because it is a great country, and a great place for his children to grow up in.
He dropped me off in Areva, and then I got another lift to Be'er Sheva, and from there, I got a bus to Tel Aviv for 13.70 Shekels, and then another bus to Ramatgan to my family's house for 5.10 Shekels, and voila. Thank you, men, for your generous 20 Shekels.
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