Desert Shade Eco Lodge
We have now been working as volunteers at Desert Shade for 10 days. Our host and hostess Ziv and Maya are a few years younger than us and we immediately click well with each other.
Desert Shade Eco-Camp is located on the edge of the Ramon Crater and overlooks the Negev Mountains. Here we experience the silence of the desert, the beauty of nature and the beautiful view of sunrises over Ramon Crater.
Ziv and Maya have been running this place for 34 years and it can accommodate 90 guests. The ecologically built, air-conditioned huts consist of a combination of wood and mud.
As volunteers we work about 3-5 hours every day. Gert Jan works as a handyman and for Sonja the work mainly consists of cleaning and redecorating rooms, washing and folding sheets and chatting with foreign guests.
Sonja works with Rona, a 22-year-old woman from Tel Aviv who has a contract here.
We have a good time together and usually eat together. Rona is impressed by Gert Jan’s cooking🥰.
Because we mainly work in the mornings, there is plenty of time to explore the area and we enjoy the walks in and around the crater.
Desert Shade also makes wine. In ‘Nabato Winery’, wine is produced from grapes from vineyards in the High Desert, 600 meters above sea level.
The wine matures for 18-24 months in oak barrels and remains in bottles in the winery for further maturation. In recent years, local farmers around the Negev have revived the centuries-old craftsmanship of the Nabataeans of growing grapes in the desert. Now with flourishing vineyards in what can be called the Tuscany of the desert.
On Friday evening we are invited to the Shabbat meal. What delicious dishes Maya and her friend Sharon have prepared! Every now and then the Hebrew is translated for us so that we can somewhat follow the conversation 😉. A beautiful evening with beautiful people 🥰.
We have a carefree stay at Desert Shade until the next morning: October 7th 😞.