The Dead Sea

There are elevation markers every hundred meters as you descend from the mountains to the Dead Sea at 1,407 ft below sea level, the lowest point of land on earth. When I was here before, I slept under a full moon in a sleeping bag on the shore then hiked to the top of nearby Massada early in the morning. This time I’m staying in a resort that capitalizes on the natural beauty and healing powers of the water. There are mud baths, sulfur pools, and an array of spa treatments available. One is not inherently better than the other. Each has its own beauty and, as in all things in life, I try to appreciate the positive and not focus on the negative.

I’m up at dawn each day to watch the sun rise over Jordan then I spend the day in and around the water.

With salinity of about 34% or more than 8 times higher than the ocean, the buoyancy is quite comical. You float, if you want to or not. You could easily sit in an imaginary lounge chair and read a newspaper–no problem.

Nothing can live in the salty water, thus the name, the Dead Sea. If you have any cuts or abrasions, they sting. The salt sticks to everything. When you walk out of the water there are salt pellets between your toes and your skin is covered in a film of salt.  I was curious to find Sodom and Gomorrah on a map of the holy lands and, sure enough, it is believed to have been just south of the Dead Sea on the East side that is now Jordan. “But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.” Genesis 19:26

The air temperature has been about 100 degrees each day with low 80’s at night. The water temperature is currently 92 degrees. Yes, it’s hot out but, actually, you don’t sunburn as quickly as you would at high elevations like in Colorado.

I took this picture of my feet at the edge of the clear water where the beach is covered in salt. You have to be careful not to splash or you’ll get salt in your eyes. It’s so crazy salty that when water barely touches your lips you need to rinse with clean water quickly.

We left the water for a short hike in Wadi Boqeq about 6:00 PM. All signs throughout the country are written  in three languages–first Hebrew, then Arabic, then English. There was an initiative to add a fourth line of Russian but it was unsuccessful. 

The hike led us down a stream, through gorgeous mountains, to a small pool and waterfall where we happily took off our shoes and everything extra then climbed the slippery rocks to cool off in a natural shower massage. This picture of Perla, Naomi, and me was taken halfway in to the falls.

Nothing against Busch Gardens, but this is my kind of fun.