The Red South

To celebrate Spring arrival, I joined a guided day trip to the 'Red South' - 'red' referring to the wild red flowers  (anemones) growing from December to March in  various parts of the country, the southern part being one of them.

The weather was glorious - perfect for an outdoor escapade. During the trip we were treated with fresh strawberries, cookies, coffee, lemonade, cold water - stored in the underneath baggage compartment  of the bus - and that made it all very pleasant.

The view of the red poppy-like flowers near kibbutz Beeri, in the north-western Negev desert, was lovely, though not breathtaking, as no red carpets covering vast fields were seen . After all, it's the last month of their blooming season; the red carpets of anemones can be seen here mainly during January-February, so we were told.  

red anemones

Kibbutz (communal settlement) Beeri,  has turned the region into a bicycle country with trails to suit every level of cycling. In front of the gate to the kibbuttz , there's a bike center called  La Medavesh (The pedalist),  where one can rent a bicycle, get tips and maps. buy refreshments,etc..
(By the way, Michelle Bachman, the american republican politician has served here as a volunteer in 1974).

Our trip  included some interesting sites: wheat fields, bridges (the Rope Bridge), rivers (Tzehelim and  Habesor which are subject to annual flooding following heavy rains),   memorials (ANZAC) , and the port of Ashdod.

South of Beeri region - the "rope bridge" hanging over the Besor stream. It's 80 meters long. To take a picture while on the shaking bridge is not easy at all, as the hand shakes too.

the hanging 'rope bridge' - a  bit of a frightening experience

not the work of DAESH but of my photographic incompetence

Some four kilometers north of Beeri - The ANZAC memorial in commemoration of the australian and new-zeelandish soldiers who fell in battle during first world war. From the top one can see  Gaza Strip which is not far from the kibbutz (there are some eleven settlements near the border with Gaza Strip).

stairs leading to the upper part

upper part of the structure

top of the memorial

view of Gaza strip in the distance

At 1:00 p.m, still near Gaza Strip, we had lunch at a kibbutz, named Yad Mordechai in memory of Mordechai Anielewicz, a leading figure in Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943. 
This kibbutz's honey , jam, and olive products are leading brands on the israeli market. (I'm a fan of their "778" light blueberry jam which I use as a replacement for sweets - a tea spoon of jam has only 12 kalories).

dining hall of Yad Mordechai

lunch time

After lunch we headed towards the climax of our trip - Ashdod Port and its visitor center. The port , dominating the city of Ashdod, is located some 40 kilometers from Tel-Aviv. Here we were not allowed to take pictures except in and around the visitor center. At the visitor's center we were presented with a movie and explanations on the port's history and its impressive technological development.

visitor's center

containers

We then took a guided bus ride within the port  to have a close look at things: offices, warehouses, railroad station, heavy engineering vehicles, transport /ship repair companies etc...

At the end of the ride we were offered as a memento, an envelope bearing the original stamp issued at the port's 50th Anniversary. Nice.

The Post and the Agent

The dramatic rise in  online shopping of the last few years has turned our post offices, especially the smaller ones, into somewhat crowded and frustrating places. 

The Postal Authority has been trying to improve things  in terms  of increased speed of service,  but that doesn't always work as expected. The usual joke is that the mail symbol of a running deer (appears on our stamps since 1950) should be replaced with that of a crawling frog.

On our street there's a cute tiny post office agency which is very convenient for me geographically. We get our written mail in postboxes that cover the back outside walls. The packages and parcels are inside, in the appropriate back room .The agency is run by a hard working person who loves his job.  However, one person is not enough, far from it, and delivery is sometimes delayed.

The place, located at the intersection of two streets, vis-a-vis a tiny commercial center , a synagogue, and a bus stop, is also too small considering the large population it serves; it could and should be a bit expanded, especially as there is adequate space for that. There are days when people are waiting outside as there's no room for them to join the queue inside.

Somehow,over the last years, it has become clear to everyone, that the postal agent likes it that way; He had a helper during the quieter times - before the online flood of parcels -  and got him fired. Enlarging the place could mean more workers, and that might not be his wish.

The postal agent (father of eleven!) is also a town council member, so that's probably how he has his way. People are both fearful and respectful of him, so they will think twice before signing any formal complaint.

I remember telling him once about the need for an additional worker; he ignored my remark with a silent, irritable look. So, I never again repeated it. I'm sure, however, that he hears a similar remark from other customers. I suppose supervisors from the Postal Authority are also aware of the situation... and yet, they let it go on. 

Well, as some will say, there are worse things in life than that. I believe it will somehow get solved, or... not.