Saturday October 19, 2019
JERUSALEM, Israel – Since our travels abroad began in 1995, something happened on Saturday that never occurred.
We stayed home!
Mainly because we were grounded in our airbnb due to Shabbat, we found a few places to visit but unsure of the bus schedule coming back. For that reason and physical, we never set foot outside on Saturday.
Overall, reliability of the bus became a rather significant concern. Not only are schedules not printed but most arrivals and departures are sporadic, at best. In planning our stay here, we considered two travel options, and both concerned bus transportation.
First, there is the ability to get around in the metro area and second, to secure bus transportation to outline areas, such as the Dead Sea, Masada, Bethlehem and other sites. So, we pulled out our calculators and began crunching numbers.
We decided that a car rental was our best option to avoid any bus issue, prevent stranded and held hostage by cabbies. Plus, we’re not certain whether cabbies would actually drive this far out as we are very close to the border with Ramallah in Palestine.
In securing a rental, we found some great rates. Having a car gives us the flexibility to get around and not held prisoner to bus transportation and its marginal reliability.
That will also provide easy transportation for day trips and allow access to Ben Gurion Airport. Our stay in Israel ends Tuesday October 29 (we fly to Athens) and tried to figure out how, with all of our luggage, to get to the airport. Having a car easily solves dilemmas, real and the unexpected.
After breakfast, we each pulled our phones and the lap top. The wifi here is great and, unlike other locations on the trip, I’m able to easily get on the net with my laptop. Mazel Tov, as we say. That means, “congratulations.”
We settled on renting a car from Eurocar, but they are closed until 8 on Sunday morning. From there, we’ll drive to Eilat, park our car, cross the border into Jordan and head to Petra. Rental cars, we understand, are not permitted from Israel but there is taxi transportation from the border to Petra, about a 2-hour ride. We’re planning the rest of Sunday and all day Monday in Petra and that will have to be enough time. Can’t wait to see the Treasury and Monastery in the Siq and experience this site.
We plan to drive back Monday night, or possibly Tuesday, and it’s about 3 and one-half hours between Jerusalem and Eilat. Beginning Tuesday, that gives us eight days to see the sites in Jerusalem and day trips on our itinerary.
Back to Saturday.
After we cleaned up the breakfast dishes, and Waynette proofed today’s blog for final publication, we pulled our maps and discussed the day.
“So, where do you want to go,?” she asked.
“Right here,” I replied and crawled back into the bed. “Sorry, it’s nap time.”
The physical demands of the past weeks caught up with me and the thought of going anywhere was just not appealing. Pulling the covers over, Waynette quickly joined me and together, we had a delicious, 3-hour nap.
We want to venture out at night but not sure of the bus schedule. That’s why the car now looms as a vital form of transportation.
For tonight, we’ll likely chill out here and munch on chips and soda. We have to be in Jerusalem early in the morning and pick up the car.
For Saturday, there are no pictures and that’s because we did not venture out of the house. Plus, no steps and felt proud that I saved by legs and shoulders (from carrying the backpack) for at least one day.
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