Day 16 Floating in the Dead Sea

The highlight of Day 16 was definitely the Dead Sea. Our minivan was in the mountain high above when I saw the sign that indicated the point for the sea level. Down below the mountain, the Dead Sea looked light blue and hazy.

The Dead Sea is the lowest point on earth as it is 400 meters below sea level. It contains more than 30 % of salt as compared to the 3 to 4 % of salt in usual sea water. River Jordan flows into the Dead Sea but there is no outflow. When water evaporates, salt remains. Daniel said that because of more water being used for irrigation from River Jordan these years, there was not as much water inflow as in the past so the Dead Sea had started shrinking.

From the hotel pool to the Dead Sea beach

As soon as we got to the beach, we jumped in. It was the strangest feeling. I found it difficult for my feet to touch the ground. I had to really make an effort to stand in the sea. When I relaxed and sat back, I could stay right on top of the water with both my hands and legs raised up to the sky. If I stretched, I could lie flat on the water effortlessly and just let the waves carry me wherever. We all turned over on our stomach and pulled our legs up facing the sky as if we were lying on a lawn outdoor. It was so cool! All the cuts on my knee and foot from the Red Sea felt stings like hundreds of bees just attacked me. We could not stay for more than 20 minutes in the water because of the burns.

Daniel found a rock and put it on his stomach. The rock lay on top of him and he was still floating. I took the newspaper from Laura and flipped the pages while sitting on the water. Dora on the beach was busy taking photos for us. Then I lost my balance and flipped face down. Of course I would not sink but the paper got all wet.

Julee with her injured arm tied up in a blue plastic bag also went in and was doing her balancing act while keeping water away from her eyes. It was the most awful thing if you happen to get the sea water in your eyes. I got it twice. Once with water in both eyes. I felt I was going to go blind. Tears kept running down my cheeks. I could not open neither eye and I could not rub it as a local was yelling 'no hand, no hand'. Hand rubbing with the sea water would only make it ten times worse. I also had some taste of the water. Yuk! It was so salty and nasty, the taste stayed for a long time afterwards. This was such a fun day.

I was about to turn onto my stomach