1980 – After some time working on a kibbutz, my buddies and I went camping at Nuweiba, a bedouin outpost on the Red Sea, in the Sinai desert. We lived on pita and instant hummus, oranges, dates and chocolate. I had my first real snorkeling experience there – you could rent a mask from the Arabs for 25¢ a day.

There were some reef fish that I called Nixon-fish, with weird noses on furtive, dishonest faces. I was hooked.

It was hot and dry. The other young campers on the shoreline wore little clothing. Across the water we could see the deserts and mountains of Saudi Arabia. We suffered through three terrible sand storms in a week.

Then we headed north to visit the Dead Sea. The lowest place on earth (at −1300 feet), so salty you can’t sink (or really swim), the water slimy and irritating to any open sore, like mercurochrome on a hangnail. A novel experience.

Next to the Dead Sea is Masada, an ancient mountain palace-fortress and important symbol of Israeli nationalism. We climbed up to examine the ruins and the view. I was in crap shape even at 24.

We camped near the base of Masada at the oasis of Ein Gedi, where legend says Eden was located. A lush canyon where wildlife gathers from miles around – we were warned of leopards. You could get a kilo of sweet dates there for 25¢, so we pretty much lived on them for a while.

The bus trip from Nuweiba to the Dead Sea was about eight hours across a burning desert, with no AC. Usually, I’d read on a bus trip, but this bus was oversold, so I had to stand the whole way – it was hellish.  Luckily there were two cute Danish girls sitting nearby, so I started chatting with them to help pass the time. They were headed to the same place, so we invited them to camp near us.

Ultimately, my two buddies (who were best friends) ended up marrying those two Danish girls (also best friends). They moved to Denmark, and stayed. Jobs, families, the whole bit. Here we are, camping at Ein Gedi that first night. Four destinies drastically altered because I couldn’t get a seat.

The two you see in this photo (that’s me in the middle with the permanent-damage tan) have been married 30 years now – the other couple, too. Researchers say Denmark is the happiest, most contented nation on the planet. Like all Americans, I feel like I deserve a happy ending.