Eilat and the Red Sea

Earlier this month I went to Eilat with my friend Theresa. We wanted a weekend out of Jerusalem and November is a great time to go to Eilat, so we were told. And, we were told it's very touristic. Indeed, it is -- if you are looking for a Hedonistic escape, Eilat will not disappoint.

Eilat Cruise Ship Hotel

Eilat -- with the airport in the middle of town

The Mountains of Jordan

Eilat -- looking northeast to Jordan

Our morning started with the nearly five hour bus ride down and east to the Dead Sea and then south along the Dead Sea to Eilat at the Gulf of Aqaba.  I look forward to visiting Masada and Ein Gedi, but much of the rest of the stuff along the way doesn't invite further exploration. There are patches of hotel developments along the Israeli coast of the Dead Sea. And then there's not much of anything until the edge of Eilat. (Except for the grimy rest area-restaurant-gas station complex we were obliged to stop at in both directions. Note to self: pack a picnic lunch next time!) Not much of anything but increasingly fantastic scenery. I was sitting at the east facing window so I had a great view of the mountains of Jordan.  In my Kibbutz post I mentioned the Great Rift Valley that extends through the Jordan Valley, Dead Sea, and down to the Gulf of Aqaba (Red Sea). Basically, the bus follows the Valley; you have to gain some elevation to get back to sea level. (Aqaba is the name of the Jordanian town that is about a 20 minute walk and a border away.)

Eilat -- looking at main beach, and beyond to Aqaba and the mountains of Jordan

So Eilat, as promised it is totally touristic.  Not much town and a super-developed beach front that has a carnival atmosphere -- people selling kitschy stuff, music blaring, food stands everywhere, and fair-skinned northern tourists burned flaming red by their enthusiasm for sitting all day on the beach at >30C at 30 degrees N latitude. It's a sight.

Highlights

• The Underwater Oceanarium -- a pleasant mix of aquarium and theme park. Sorta goofy, but sorta cool. And, sorta sad. We had a glass bottom boat tour of the coral reefs which was super cool - they are fabulous and so is the tremendous variety of fish. But, the amount of garbage in the water is appalling. Not surprising, but appalling. So, use fabric bags and carefully dispose of your plastics, try to recycle them! As for the corals themselves, they are under threat from increasing development pressure, both tourism and land-use decisions.

The Oceanarium has its own sugar packs!

And themed garbage cans!

It was hot!

Red Sea coral reefs

Red Sea coral reefs

• Swimming in the Red Sea. Last time I was at the Red Sea it was at Sharm el-Sheik (on the Sinai in Egypt) in March (not this year!). The water was freezing: I ran into the Red Sea, dunked my head and ran out. The next three days in Sharm I didn't go near the water. Really, it is not warm like the Mediterranean. I'm not sure why. The Red Sea is an extension of the Great Rift Valley, and some 2 km deep in part. That means the volume of water is huge, maybe this makes it cooler and means it takes time to warm up. Or it's something about the amount of wind that you can get at the seashore. I don't know, but all the Israelis I've asked say, no, it's not warm enough to enjoy swimming until late in the summer. I am happy to report that in November, the water is magnificent. Swimming at Eilat felt much like swimming in a lake in BC in August, when the water has warmed -- slightly refreshing at first, and once you are in, you could stay all day. It's also super salty, not like the Dead Sea, but enough so that you don't have to work very hard to enjoy a long swim. Highly recommended. 

It was overcast, but about 30C

Just out of the sea