Chapter 84, Water and More Water

     Not only Lili tried to make me feel better. Avi my brother who just left his Military Academy – being dyslexic like me, he had a hard time catching up with physics and chemistry. One thing did go well for him, he was tall and handsome, and girls loved him. So, he decided to introduce me to one of his girlfriends’ friend. Like a double date. His girl was from a small village a little Northeast of Netanya called Bitan Aharon, it was bordering with the House of the First Pilgrims. Rootie was the friend of his girlfriend. She was very cute wavy dark-haired girl with blue eyes. We went dancing that night at one of Avi’s friends’ house and to the beach. 

 

    The next day Dad let me borrow his car to pick up the girls. We all had a great time. We exchanged addresses and I promised to write. As soon as I arrived back to camp, that night I wrote Rootie a nice letter, thanking her for the nice time and telling her that I hope to see her on my next vacation. I signed the letter with my name next to something new I started doing, a little drawing of a fly next to my name. It took two weeks for her note to get back to me. She was very polite and nice thanking me for the good time but, as she put it, she couldn’t wait three weeks for the boyfriend to come back. She was young and loved to have fun. She didn’t think it was a good idea. Oh, “PS” she wrote, “cute fly!” Oh well, at least she didn’t tell me I was Yemenite, or her Mom didn’t like me.

 

    “Go home,” Efri said to me when I stopped at his house one Friday afternoon. “You need to pack.”

 “Why? Where are we going?” 

 “Camping overnight at Tantura’s beach.” He said with a smile.

 “Wait, the beach belongs to the kibbutz, it will be closed.”

 “Remember you directed me on the Tustus to Nachal Taninim to the natural pool? And then you took me to the northern side of Hof Dor? That part is open to the public.”

 “Oh yeah! I love that spot.” Just between Nachsholim and Hedonism. We’ll need to navigate through the banana fields.”

 “Yup!” he said “We will be a few cars, only boys”

 “Who else is coming?”

 “So far, Dubi, Doron, Buchbinder, Udi, and Nuri, he is going to bring his cameras. You better bring the guitar and some fishing gear. We hope to grill the fish. Go, I will pick you up in 2 hours.”

 

    He was late, he arrived at my house about an hour late. In the front seat next to him sat Nurit Berman, the daughter of the driving tester.

 “I thought it was only boys.” I said, “I could have called Efrat or someone else.”

 “Sorry, she twisted my arm. I told her, Even Ariel left his girl home, and they are never apart. She promises not to cause any problems.”

 

    We drove in three cars, Efri in his Sussita with Nurit, Nuri and me. Udi behind us in his Fiat 500 driving with Dubi. Behind him was Ariel with Doron and Buch in a Volts Wagon beetle. We drove on the old road north. There were two main roads leading from Tel Aviv to Haifa the old one, closer to the center of the country. And the newer shore highway, as its name was along the Mediterranean shore. The old road was stretched amongst the agricultural fields and groves. Somewhere in between the bananas groves south of Zikhron Yaakov was the natural water hole. It took me a few moments to find the place. It was still surrounded with wild raspberry bushes. We camped there for the afternoon and swam in the clear water. By the time we dried up it was getting dark and the best time to get to the beach unnoticed. Those days, the kibbutz had the only rights to the shore at that area. We didn’t think it was fair and so we found a way to get there without causing any problems or conflicts. 

    We hid the cars in the banana grove and took our gear with us to the shore. Efri and I went looking for some wood to start a fire while the rest were clearing a spot for all of us to gather. Doron brought beer for all of us Buch brought potatoes. Nuri pulled out his cameras and started to take pictures of our little fire. Dubi washed a few potatoes in the sea water and threw some under the burning wood. I pulled my guitar Efri did the same and we played and sang alternately. Nurit just sat next to Efri and didn’t say a word as if she wasn’t there. The sea was calm we couldn’t even hear waves. The stars were all visible, except for the small fire there was no light around us, and we enjoyed the privacy nature provided us. Nuri told us about the new Anti-Tank mistles he got to work with. Dubi told us about the new Galil assault rifle. Efri Doron and Buch who were still at the college program had the most questions. There were about to join the military in a few weeks. Slowly we all fell asleep but woke up with the sun. 

    The first thing we did was jump in the water and splashed around. The water was cold compare to the warm temperature at night. It takes all day for the water to warm up and all night to cool down again. As soon as we could see the sun over the banana trees Nuri pulled his cameras and started taking pictures of us. We paused for him naked, Nurit was still sleeping. I paused like the “David statue, Efri, Buch and I paused like the three monkeys; hear no evil see no evil speak no evil. We even held hands in a line walking out of the water all naked. No one was at that beach until late in the morning. Udi and Dubi went fishing for us to grill and eat. As soon as people started to show up in the beach, we packed our gear and drove back home. 

 “Nurit,” Nuri Said, “You may come with us anytime you want we really didn’t feel you were here.”

 

    “Why are you so wet?” Asked Captain Pinkel when he entered the car.

 “Sorry Capitan,” I answered, “I lost the track of time. I was training at the pool for the swim across the Kineret.”

 “You’re a swimmer?” I nodded. “Nice!”

 “Well, I love anything to do with water, swimming, diving, snorkeling, sailing, you name it. In fact, I wish I could be a lifeguard in the base’s swimming pool. Things don’t look good for me at the lab. They don’t bother promoting me or giving me any responsibilities. Even with this Driver’s duty they keep on giving me unrelated chores, I accumulated three vacations again.”

“Hmm…”

“Well,” I continues, “I am not complaining, the good thing is I am taking a vacation to Eilat and Sharem for two weeks. I will save the other week for the winter so I can go to Eilat again.”

 “You like that place, don’t you?”

 “Like I told you, anything to do with water.”

 “Good luck with crossing the Kineret!” Captain Pinkel said when I dropped him off at his home in Hertzelia. “See you when you get back from your vacation. I will miss our talks”

 “Thanks Captain!” 

 

    It was time to call Rachel from Afula. Remember? I got some phone numbers from girls on my last trip to Eilat. Rachel was one of them. She loved my guitar playing and also loved Israeli folk dancing. When I called her, she was very excited and invited me over to go dancing on the night before the swim across the Kineret. Afula was on the way to the Kineret. We went to some school in her neighborhood that evening to dance. Israeli folk dancing is a group activity. We danced in circles and in lines, but my favorite as well as others is the partner dancing. Rachel was my partner for that evening, and we had a lot of fun. That night she set me up on the sofa at her parent’s house. Early the next morning I got up and continued my way to the Kineret for the swim. I promised her to be back that afternoon after the swim.

 

   Swimming across the Kineret was a yearly tradition. There was one with the civilian swimmer which was across the wider part of the Sea of Galilee. The military swim was across the shorter distance, maybe because they didn’t want to take the soldiers out of their duties for too long. I was lucky to be able to get the day off. Like me or not, the lab was happy to have a representative. I did swim a distance like that before, if you remember. I swam with Efri from downtown Netanya north to Ein HaTchelet a while ago. But this was in salty water. The only distance swimming in fresh water which was harder were the laps at the pool. This time there was no way to rest in the middle or to stop. Once you are out there the only way out is to finish the race. I decided to take it easy and not to rush. I knew I was in no way in a condition to win or even come close to it. I let most of the swimmers go ahead and jump in in front of me and swam breaststroke the whole way. I don’t remember how long it took but when I got to the end I was starving and was happy to find tables with food for all of us. 

 

    When I arrived at Rachel’s house, her parents prepared a Moroccan dinner, and right after Rachel and I went for a walk. Rachel Lived in the northern part of Afula on a hill. The southern side of Afula was more the business side. It was known for making the best sunflower seeds in the country. We walked down toward the southern side and I told her all about the swim. She extended her arms and pulled me for a kiss. We gave up of the idea to walk south and walked back to her house and as soon as we entered, she grabbed me for another kiss. She took her shirt off and pulled me again. As soon as I kissed her, I felt something very odd; she went limp for a moment, I almost lost her. I grabbed her quickly before she hit the floor. 

 “You’re OK?” I asked.

 “Sure, why?”

 “I thought I lost you for a moment.”

 “I don’t know what you are talking about,” she said and pulled her bra off. Again, she pulled me toward her and kissed me while trying to take of my shirt. Suddenly, she went limp again, this time for a bit longer. I laid her down on the sofa as she woke up. I didn’t know what to say or do. Should I confront her? Should I ask her about it? Instead, I just told her it was time for me to leave – I had to be back at the base before midnight. She promised to write to me and I her. I kissed her once more and went on my way.

 

    Buch and I planned the trip to Eilat and south to Sharem El Shaikh. We heard that the best place in the world to SCUBA or snorkel is that part of the red sea. Buch was about to join the military and he wanted to go on a nice vacation just before. He was in that special program with Efri and Doron. They were enlisted as reserve soldiers as long as they are at college. Now that their program was about to end, one at a time they were to join the military. Doron and Efri were to join as mechanical engineers at the Airforce and Buch decided to volunteer in the new special airborne combat rescue and evacuation unit 669. It is an arduous training course that includes parachuting, rock climbing, SCUBA diving, driving all kind of vehicles and some even learn to fly. The unit was created mainly to rescue pilots who fall behind enemy lines. I felt special being connected to them somehow, being in the plane rescue team. Even though I didn’t get to go behind enemy lines yet.

 

    We spent the weekend sorting through our gear and packed our snorkels, masks and fins. We each had a sleeping bag some food and a water canteen. And how can I forget, the guitar. This cheap guitar was almost a part of me. It went with me everywhere and I loved it. It didn’t have the best sound, but it helped me make a lot of friends. 

 

    We left early on Sunday morning. We met at the Shore Highway’s hitch-hiking post with other soldiers making their way back to camp after the weekend. We let many of the soldiers go in front of us; they had a more important place to be and besides we were waiting for someone going pass Tel-Aviv. It didn’t take long; Netanya’s hitch-hiking post was a busy one. Many people were generous and very friendly to soldiers. Unlike places like Afula, I never understood why, I could be standing for two to three hours at that junction and no one would stop and give me a ride. Not that it was difficult to stop there, it was a small road, not even a highway. 

 

    Anyway, we lucked up and the first car we jumped on was driving all the way south to Be’er Sheva. It was a military pickup truck with wooden seats in the back bed facing each other. We were 6 soldiers seating in the back. Two of them jumped off next to Tel-Aviv. Once we arrived to Be’er Sheva We walked to the south entrance of the town and from there waited for our next ride. This one, was a big truck, it took us to my favorite kibbutz of the Arava – Prairie, Kibbutz Yotveta. As expected, we stocked our backpacks with Choco and dates. We got lucky with the next ride. It was another pickup truck of soldiers who served not too far from Nueba. The radio was playing so loud, we could hear it in the back. They were nice enough to take us all the way to the beach before turning back to their camp. It was dark already before we found a place to camp. We dumped our bags on chairs in the restaurant and ordered fish and chips. There was something so special about eating fried fish that was caught just a few hours ago. At the distance we saw a small bon fire with a few people around it. We decided to camp next to them. It was a long day; we fell asleep early.

 

    One of the singers I discovered those years, was Cat Stevens. I was trying to learn to play some of his songs with my friend Tzvika but didn’t spend enough time practicing them. The last song we heard on the ride we caught to Nueba was “Wild Word” by Cat Stevens. I didn’t know the words or how to play it. Yet, at about four AM, I was dreaming that I was playing and singing just that song. I woke up, and half a sleep with no regards to all the other people on the beach started playing and singing that song as if I knew it all along. I think I played it about three times when I felt a hand on my shoulder and a female voice singing with me softly. I turned around and saw a curly blond girl who whispered: “Better get back to sleep, we can continue this in the morning.”

When I woke up in the morning, I saw that blond smiling at me from her sleeping bag.

 “We can continue singing,” she said.

 “I’d love too,” I replied, “but we are on a schedule. We need to get to Sharem before dark today. What’s your name?”

 “Yafa.”

 “I tell you what, give me your phone number and I will be happy to play for you when I get back.”

 

   We walked from the beach back to the road hoping to catch a ride south to Sharem. Not many cars were driving south that early in the morning. It took about half hour before a small motor home stopped next to us. It had a foreign plate – I thought from Germany. 

 “Shalom!” The old couple said in unison. “Ras Mohamad?” They had European accent, now I was almost sure Germany. Ras Mohamad was exactly where we wanted to go. It was south of Sharem El Sheikh. It was a divers’ haven and that is exactly what we wanted to do. We heard so many stories about it.

 “Yes! that is precisely where we want to go.” I answered in my broken English. Buch spoke better English but he was shy.

 “Great! Said the old man. “We were never been here before and we thought you soldiers should know the way better than us. No one wants to get lost in this desert. Find yourself a seat here in the back”

 “Where are you from?” asked Buch quietly.

 “Holland” 

 “You drove all the way from Holland?” I asked surprised.

 “Oh yes, we managed to get a special pass so we can cross the border with Lebanon.”

 “Wow! We both said.

 “How long did it take you?”

 “We left six months ago. It is our retirement trip. We drove through Europe to Turkey down to Syria and Lebanon. And now we are in Israel.”

 “How are you planning to go back? You know, once you have an Israeli stamp on your passport, you will never be able to go to an Arab country.”

 “We know,” said the older lady, “We will sell the camper here and fly back home. I think I had enough camping food. Sorry, forgive my roundness, would you like some tea?”

She didn’t wait for an answer, she got up and walked to where she kept a thermos and poured two cups of tea for us.

 “Sugar, milk?

 “Two teaspoons please,” we both said, “no milk.”

The road south was just breath taking, on the right we had the sand dunes or rocky hills and on the left the turquoise color of the Red Sea. By the way, there is nothing Red about the red sea; It was originally called the sea of reeds. I guess someone dropped one of the “Es” …

 

    Sharem was a small Fishermen village with a few military bases. One airport and a few navy boats in a small harbor. We filled up gas and asked for directions to Ras Mohamad. The Gas station attendant drew a map for us. We decided to stay overnight in Sharem and tackle the rest of the way early in the morning. 

 

    There was no paved road leading to that site, not yet. The RV was jumping up and down, side to side and everything was rattling but that little camper managed the bumpy road pretty well. About an hour after we left Sharem we made it to the tip of the Sinai Peninsula. There was nothing there. The only way we could tell that we were in the right place was the flat land with tire marks of other cars parked there before. Dust was rising as we stopped abruptly at the edge of the lot. In front of us was a shallow lagoon with very clear water. We got very excited – even the old couple. I am not sure why they wanted to be there; they didn’t even have snorkels. After all the talk about that spot, I think they believed it was a public place with glass bottom boats like in Eilat’s tourist center. The older man walked with us to the lagoon, his wife stayed to prepare something to eat. She wasn’t much of a swimmer. It turned out nor was he. I lent him my mask, he put it on and bent over to the water, dipped his head in and got up a few second later. I felt bad for them. Driving all the way to here and not trying to see the view.

 

    Buch and I started walking backward with our fins on. Once we got to water above our knees we turned around and started looking for fish and coral. There was almost nothing. Besides a few really colorful fish and some dead corals nothing was really exciting. “Is that what everyone’s talking about” I thought to myself. I was sure Buch was thinking the same because he as making signs like going back to shore. Far at the edge of the lagoon was a little almost straight ripple of water.

 “What’s that?” I asked Buch.

 “How do I know, probably nothing, let’s go back and join the old folks.”

 “I’d like to check that.” I said and without waiting for his reply started swimming to the direction of the ripple. Buch was frustrated but came behind me. As we approached the ripple it looked like the water behind it was getting darker, much darker. It was almost scary, I felt that if I pass the ripple, I will fall over a cliff. As impossible for a thing like that to happen I approached slowly, but once I passed the cliff, I gasped and forgot to breath for a long while. 

 

    The cliff was facing east. It was about two hundred meter deep. The sun was shining at it and once I turned around to face the wall, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Buch arrived just behind me and almost swallowed a gallon of water. The entire wall was made out of corals, red and yellow, blue and green. Anemones of any color I could think of were big and bright. In the mixt of all this were fish. Big parrot fish shining in green and blue nibling on the corals. Clown fish were hiding in the anemones and so much more. I took a deep breath and dove deep while a school of shining yellow golden fish were surrounding me. it felt like I could reach and touch them. Yet even when they were all around me, they kept just enough distance so we couldn’t touch each other. I will never forget that experience and I don’t think I will ever finish describing here what I have seen or how I felt. I just felt bad for our new friends who were missing that experience. Buch and I were very thankful to the old couple who drove us back all the way to Eilat where we stayed at a military hotel just north of the town before continuing home.

 

***

 

Salad Shiraz (Persian)

 

A simple, healthy and tasty Persian salad.

 

Ingredients:

1 Tomato

1 Cucumber

¼ Onion

½ Bunch Parsley

½ Head Romaine Lettuce

½ tsp Salt

2 TBSP Olive Oil

¼ Cup Lemon Juice

 

Cut up large pieces and mix 

 

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