Happy birthday to me

Having a lovely day - well it is my birthday. Time flies by and I am not even going to mention how old I am, except to say that it is rather a lot.
Went on a great march around the island with Darren today and I can't argue with the prices here in Madeira. As it was before noon our first stop was for coffee, which arrived with a boiled sweet on the side and cost 90 cents each.
Our next stop was at a tiny local bar up on the hillside and we had the local drink called Poncha. I don't know what's in it but it included freshly squeezed lemon and honey. It almost took the roof of my mouth and was unbelievably potent. The barman then brought us out a plate of salted sweetcorn so we decided to stay for a second Poncha each.
It cost seven euros including tip and we left feeling very happy, and I am sure that we will never catch another cold in our whole lives.
Back down at the hotel I was just having a little snooze when there was a knock at the door and one of the staff brought me a chocolate cake complete with candle.
Yesterday I bought some beautiful protea flowers and fizzy wine, so it's all good this evening.
Back to normality tomorrow.

Calheta, Madeira

After all of the excitement of Israel, we have come to Madeira to relax for a couple of weeks!
We have got a great deal at a fancy hotel in a little village called Calheta. It is very quiet - we are down by the sea and the town is nearby, but it is an almost vertical climb to get to it.
We walked up the zigzag path in pic 2, with me stopping frequently and pretending to take a photo, but really to get my breath back.
We also explored the marina and I practiced star jumping. Daz said that my feet hardly left the ground, but I felt as if I jumped at least a couple of feet high. The only thing I can think is that he missed the top of my star and took the photo on my way down.
Ps, we did try a few times to get the perfect shot, but this was the best I could do.

Tel Aviv to London

It was our final morning in Israel and we stayed overnight near the sea front in Tel Aviv. We started the day doing things that we enjoyed, Darren went for a run along the boardwalk, I went for a walk by the sea and Darren's mum did a bit of shopping.
After that there was only time for one final photo shoot, but at least they were fully clothed today.
We caught an afternoon flight to London and arrived home a few minutes ago.

Masada fortress, and an amazing story

As well as visiting the Dead Sea yesterday, we went to the Masada Fortress on the way. It is in a very remote and barren area, but was built near to a spring and oasis. In ancient times it was an important security post on trade routes from Jerusalem
The fortress is situated on the flat top of a mountain and had high walls all around the cliff edges. It was built in about 35 BC King Herod, and he used it as a luxurious winter palace.
Move forward about 100 years, and it then was occupied by a group of rebels who were hiding out from the Romans.
We caught a cable car up to the top to look around. The views were tremendous and we saw the remains of huge storage rooms that would have been filled with food and provisions.
The story continues - in 73 AD Masada was the last rebel stronghold and the Roman Tenth Legion arrived and laid seige to the mountain. They built a wall all around the base of the mountain and camps for the 8,000 troops to live. Almost 2,000 years later the stone remains of both the camps and walls are still there - look closely at pic 2.
After a few months the Romans had managed to build a huge ramp and broke down the rebel defences. They decided to wait overnight and then start the final battle the next morning.
The rebels knew then that all hope was lost and decided that they would all rather die, than live as Roman slaves. There was about 960 men, women and children in the fortress and instead of preparing to fight the Romans, lots were drawn amongst the men. Ten were chosen to kill the others and everyone else laid down and waited to be stabbed to death.  The remaining ten then drew lots for one of them to kill the other nine and then the final rebel committed suicide.
They did it that way as it was against their religion to commit suicide, so only one of them would have committed that sin. Also, only ten of them would have committed murder.
It all went as planned and the next morning the Romans were amazed when they advanced to find the Fortress completely silent.
The rebel group was called the Zealots, and this is where the word zealot originated.

Floating in the Dead Sea

What fun we have had today at the Dead Sea. It is 450 metres below sea level and has the saltiest water in the world. The salty water makes things really buoyant, fortunately including us - check out the photos.
When we got to the water's edge the sand was covered in a solid salt crust and we walked over it and into the sea.
Darren's mum can't swim and had never floated before so the first few attempts were a bit traumatic, but she soon got the hang of it.
Obviously, the only thing there is to do is to pose for silly photos, mess around and just have a good laugh.
We took it one step further and covered ourselves in salty mud, then stood around waiting for it to set. We tried to wash it all off, but got the hotel towels really dirty, so I hope they don't mind too much.
The tour guide said that the mud would make us all look 20 years younger so keep an eye on the blog over the next few days to see if you still recognise us.

Jerusalem by camel

Darren's mum mentioned that she had always wanted to ride on a camel - and today her wish came true.
A price was negotiated, and then the camel's owner gave her a helping hand onto it's back. I was a bit worried that she might tipple forward and over the camel's head, but no, in a very smooth manoeuvre she was on and up. Even more impressive was that she didn't even hold on and got a cheer from the whole tour group!!
It was a very gentle and friendly camel, and the only slight worry came when the owner said that it would be an extra 50 shekels for the camel to sit back down again.
Also, the view of the old city of Jerusalem behind the camel was incredible.
As expected we had another action packed day that included a visit to the Garden of Gethsemene, the church next to it (pic 4), the church of John the Baptist and the extremely moving Holocaust Museum.