Eilat Day Three

Today we split up—Eva, LaDonna, Gee, and Em went back to the aquarium (our tickets were good for three days), while Bradley, Zee, Hebs, Yum, and I went back to Coral Beach. The two places are right next to each other, which was very convenient.

Zee and Hebs were on a roll this morning—something something coconut song—so it was a very jovial ride to our destinations.

The sea was choppier this time, with larger waves and more wind. We rented life jackets for Yummy and I, so we could concentrate more on snorkeling and less on simply staying afloat. Thus reinforced, Yummy was bold enough to snorkel in the drop off zone—practically the open ocean. It was very scary and exciting!

We snorkeled and splashed and played to our heart’s content, and then went back to the apartment for lunch. After lunch, we (minus Eva, who stayed home to rest) ventured out to the air-conditioned Ice Mall to explore the “local” shops, e.g. The Children’s Place, Tommy Hilfiger, and Addias. 🤣

The “cool” thing about the Ice Mall (see what I did there?) is the giant ice rink in the middle of it. You, too, can go ice skating in the midst of the blazing desert! Okay, only Hebs, Yum, and Zee chose to partake. Yummy rollerblades, so she was right at home, and lapped her brothers mercilessly. They were less sure and stuck to the wall, mostly.

Despite the much-advertised “no tax” status of this mall (for some reason the 17% VAT (value added tax) doesn’t apply in Eilat?), things were pretty pricy. Gee bought a cool wrapped rose quartz, Mema (LaDonna) bought some linen capris, and I bought a headscarf. That, and some aloe vera for sunburn + ice cream for the non skater kids, was the grand total of our purchases.

We stopped at a grocery store and dropped another $100 (330 shekels) on food. Feeding nine people in Israel is expensive!! We have eaten FIVE dozen eggs in the eight days we’ve been here. (That’s pretty impressive, in my opinion.) Eggs are easy, cheap protein; hard-boiled they make a nice lunch, especially with the ubiquitous pita bread (sooo delicious) and a little salt. Too bad we don’t have the millions of eggs here that our chickens are laying at home.