I often speak of my love for canoe tripping, camping, and being in the outdoors. I also love sitting under the sky to gaze at the stars, if I can stay up late enough! In northern Ontario, the stars don’t really come out until 11:00 pm and well, sometimes its just not that easy to stay awake until then. Believe me, I’ve tried.
Still, I love everything about being one with nature. But my love for sleeping in a tent and cooking over an open fire were truly tested years ago, while living in Israel. It was hot, I was often alone, and I really missed my family.
I decided to travel to Israel while I was attending York University in Toronto, Ontario. My skin was in pretty rough shape and my Psoriasis literally covered me from head to toe. Tamar, my then girl-friend whom I happened to be on a ‘Ross & Rachel’ break with, had also left Canada weeks earlier to stay with family in Israel – and I missed her.
I remember coming home from school one day, in early October, and feeling particularly distraught. My father saw me and reacted as only a father can. He decided it was time for me to go to Israel and experience the benefits of the Dead Sea. For some time, we had heard that it was as close to a miracle as possible for sufferers of Psoriasis.
It turns out that everything we had heard about the Dead Sea was true, but realizing that ‘miracle’ was a lot of hard work.
prepare for landing
If you ask Tamar, me going to Israel was as much about missing her and wanting to be with her, as it was about my Psoriasis. She might be right! But my skin was also pretty bad.
All I knew of Israel was the little I had absorbed in Hebrew school as a kid and in all honesty, I had never really paid much attention to. It is safe to say I knew very little about the country I would soon be calling home for an entire year.
Perhaps it’s no surprise that I went into culture shock on day one.
From eating olives for breakfast, to how and where to treat my Psoriasis, I really didn’t have a plan. And my biggest concern was would I feel comfortable tanning in front of a sea of people? The answer became a resounding YES!
After settling in, I quickly realized that everyone was there for essentially the same reason, to get healthy. There were people from all over the world, with all sorts of ailments: arthritis, eczema, respiratory issues, and of course Psoriasis. Actually, there were hundreds of people suffering from Psoriasis.
The old adage is true; misery does love company.
The only plan I did have, was to stay in the hotel for one month and then play the rest by ear. I knew that if I had asked my parents for more time in the hotel they would have agreed, but I also knew it would have put a strain on them financially, so I just never asked.
I’m also a tripper, right? So I decided to seek out camp grounds for my next stage of lodging. Even at that younger point in my life I had spent many summers in the backcountry of northern Ontario, so I didn’t think sleeping in a tent somewhere else, would be so bad. The only problem was finding one. Remember, this was PSP (pre- smart phones) so I couldn’t google, ‘camp sites at the Dead Sea’. So I did what any foreigner would do…I spoke to the locals.
Luckily, I found the “En Gedi” Camping Ground, and ended up calling it home for one year, and what a year it was.
skal or cheers!
During my first month in Israel, I had already spent 12 hours a day for 30 days, tanning in the HOT Dead Sea sun. Every day, I would float in the sea which was incredibly rich with healing minerals. The combination of tanning and soaking had an incredible affect on my skin, and I quickly saw a huge improvement in my Psoriasis.
After I checked out of the hotel I set up my ‘home’ on the campgrounds I’d found, with the tent and camping gear I had brought with me. A few hours later, I got back to the business of tanning and treating my skin.
About three hours in, I noticed numerous people coming and going from a fenced-in area, which was a few hundred meters from where I was sitting. It looked strange because it was not part of the public tourist beach area. Curious, I went to look around.
Walking into the fenced off area, was like walking into another world; everyone was blonde, everyone had Psoriasis and EVERYONE WAS NAKED! Yes, that’s correct. Every single person was naked.
It turned out that it was a solarium, owned and operated by the “Kibbutz En Gedi”, that specifically catered to Danish people. The Danish government (at the time) was subsidizing trips to Israel for Danish citizens suffering from Psoriasis. For six weeks, Danes could fly to Israel for Psoriasis treatment and stay on the Kibbutz just up the hill from the beach.
There were separate areas for men and women, but also a common area where men and women would congregate, naked, and play backgammon. It was also the area where a certain Canadian boy would play guitar and sing for the patients. I honestly think that’s why they kept me around. They even allowed their token Canadian friend to have a visitor. Tamar would come down from Tel Aviv to the Dead Sea and spend time playing naked backgammon with me and my Danish friends.
I’m so thankful they welcomed this young Canadian Psoriatic with open arms.
The transformation I witnessed of some of the people there was simply amazing. Folks would arrive in wheel-chairs and leave walking. Others would show up completely covered in Psoriasis and leave totally cleared. Each week the rotation would continue; new patients came and the old ones left; healed.
But let me assure you, this transformation was hard work.
My own transformation consisted of tanning from 7 am to 5 or 6 pm every single day; for one whole year. And when I tanned, I would focus on rotating, like a pig on a spit, to ensure that every part of my body received exposure to the sun. But it wasn’t all about me all the time. I also met some amazing people on this journey.
the dead sea
There was Ofir, a Bedouin, who lived in a bus outside of the camping ground. He would invite me to eat whole fish, cooked over an open fire, about once a week. Even today, when I make whole fish, I think of him and his generosity.
Benny on the other hand, was a short, bald, and stocky Israeli who would come to the camping ground on weekends to treat his Psoriasis. He was the person who convinced me to shave my head, affirming that it would be the only way to rid my scalp of Psoriasis. After some encouragement, I did it. I shaved my head and have never looked back. And you know what? Benny was right; I have never really had ‘P” on my head since then (knock on wood).
Everyone at the solarium, from the nurses to the Danish people, treated me with incredible kindness, and that is something I have never forgotten. Israel is a very special place with wonderful people and an amazing culture. I learned a lot there.
I learned the affect sunshine has on my Psoriasis, which also taught me to feel comfortable with my body and to not be ashamed to show my skin, wherever I go. If you want to look, look. I really don’t mind.
I also learned that I really do love eating olives, even for breakfast and that you don’t have to play backgammon naked. It’s true, the game can be played fully clothed.
In good health,
– Chef jw
