Ein Gedi

Ein Gedi Spa turned out to be a dream come true! We arrived hot and sweaty and although our rooms weren't ready for us yet, we were allowed to use the spa and pool while we waited. I went straight to the spa and got a massage. 

The resort has beautiful grounds full of tropical flowers and plants.

I had a lovely room: spacious and very clean.

 

 

 

Here is the road outside the dining room.

  

The dining hall has enormous choice - with several islands of food choices. At the very first table (usually some big chunk of meat that is carved by a special chef) they had this lovely flower painted in spices.

There is a long table on the left (which you can't see) and then this one on the right that contains salads and vegetable dishes.

The dessert table is farther to the right on the back side of the one we just looked at.

Best of all there was all kinds of really wonderful, healthy and delicious bread.

Here is a view of the buffet across (a part of) the dining room.

Not only were there beautiful flowers, but also I got a chance to cross one of the animals I had been looking for off my bucket list: The Nubian Ibex.

Behind the dining hall there was a huge mountainous area:

It turned out the the Nubian Ibexes came into the Kibbutz to bed down.

The parents are ready, but...

 

the kids just wanted to play.

 

The kibbutz also had lots of birds and even gave us signs to identify them. 

I never did see a hoopoe.

  

I did see this guy.

And these guys were outside my room door.

So was this guy - in fact, the cat hung out with me for quite a while while I sat outside at my table and did my email.

 

The resort/kibbutz also had a small zoo. I didn't manage to get to it while it was open, but I did peek through the fence to see what I could see.

Honestly I'm not exactly sure what I did see. What is this?

  

These guys were loose but inside the fence that surrounded the zoo.

 

Here is another animal I'm not sure about. It was moving around in there, but I never got a good look.

 

 

  

These guys look like they were expecting dinner or something.

 

 Here are some more shots of food that we got a chance to eat! Cakes and Pies!

Quiches and breakfast foods!

It was a beautiful place to wander around with a swimming pool that faced the Dead Sea as well as the spa, a miniature golf course and of course the zoo.

Here are some bungalows in the middle of the Kibbutz.

Many of the plants were labelled and from exotic places and there were also signs to explain the history of the place.