After the past two days in busy Tel Aviv it was great being back on the bike again, and heading for the desert. I was on my way to Mitzpe Ramon, which has the worlds largest crater, or Makhtesh (geological erosion). It is not formed by a meteor, or volcanic but is believed to have been made by extreme water erosion. They only exist in Israel where there are 3, out of which the largest is the one close to Mitzpe Ramon. It measures some 40 km, and there are some stunning views, particularly at sunrise and sunset. I have not at all managed to capture the beauty and grandeur of this place, in the pictures you see below.

Arriving at Mitzpe Ramon shortly before sunset, I found the track into the desert and the Bedouin camp about 5km into the crater, on some pretty rough roads. At the camp I was received by someone who couldn’t speak a word of English. Apart from 1 tent with 3 people, everything looked totally deserted. I was allocated one of the huge Bedouin tents, accommodating 2-300 people, to sleep in - or put up my own tent if I wanted. Time to get out my Trangia cooking equipment and make myself a delicious Italian pasta in tomato sauce. Tasted delicious. Don’t get the idea that I am a great cook: open one bag of Blaa Baand freeze dried pasta packet, boil 4dl of water, pour into bag, reseal and wait for 10 minutes. Open bag and enjoy.

The temperature in the desert was really pleasant, and considerably cooler than I had experienced in the past month. Had a great sleep in my sleeping bag on the mattress given to me, and woke up to a great sunrise. Not a sound to be heard anywhere.

My plan was to take a 200 km route to Eilat in the far south - also called the Las Vegas of Israel. I haven’t been to Las Vegas, but I am not quite sure the Las Vegans are going to approve of that comparison. I made myself a nice cup of coffee (getting quite proficient in boiling water), packed up and took an early morning drive on the 5 km dirt road leading back to the tar road to Eilat.