Across the Dead Sea is Israel. At first, we thought the Dead Sea would be sort of dreadful, but it is one of those must do attractions. But the area where we entered the Dead Sea, behind a private resort was quiet and not too crowded. The water level here was substantially deeper than what we had seen of those floating in knee-deep water within an arm’s length from a bunch of strangers. We made our way to the far end of the beach and had the area all to ourselves. This made our visit so much more enjoyable.
The shore is unstable, so to get into the Dead Sea you have to drive north to the more solid shores.
They call this pillar “Lot’s Wife” after the story in the Bible.
The Dead Sea is the lowest land-based elevation on Earth at 1,412 feet below sea level. The surface had an oily texture.
The water in the Dead Sea is very interesting. The surface is covered with a shiny film. The salt content is so potent that it is unadvisable to get any of it in your mouth, nose, or eyes. Of course, try as I may, I was not able to adhere to that advice. I was trying to keep the camera from getting wet while staying afloat. My body flipped over, and when I tried to regain control, my arms flailed and splashed salty water into my mouth, nose and eyes! All three areas, of course! It was really painful. I had to quickly get out and get to the shower to wash myself off.
It’s true that at a certain point, even if you tried, you wouldn’t be able to stand straight up in the Dead Sea. We tried. For me, when the water was around my underarms, I was already having to be on tippy-toes to touch the ground. We easily floated with our whole body in a reposed position with no effort exerted. It was so weird lying there on our backs sticking both arms and legs into the air and not sinking. With our arms crossed under our chins, we laid on our bellies and floated as if we were lying on the floor watching television. The weightlessness was definitely a strange but fun feeling.
Floating in the warm desert sun, what a perfect day!
The minerals in the mud are great for your skin, so they have buckets of it on the beach so you can cover yourself and become a mud monster. Funny that people pay a lot of money to ship this stuff all over the world.
Fully covered and baking in the sun. It didn’t take long before the mud hardened and it felt like wearing a layer of armor.
Our experience at the Dead Sea was much more positive and delightful than we had anticipated.