Our next stop after the Jordan River was the Dead Sea. It wasn’t a great day to visit because it was cool and overcast, but the following day (today) would have been Eid (essentially the Muslim equivalent to Christmas) so Mo couldn’t go with us, and the weather forecast was the same. That’s what happens when our vacation schedule is limited by the school schedule (both Josh’s and the boys’), we have to take our trips at less than optimal times of the year. It probably would have been fine for a normal person, but I like my swimming water to be at bathtub temperatures.
But the weather didn’t dampen anyone’s excitement about visiting the famous floating body of water. Caleb was nervous that it was going to burn and kept asking if he was really, really going to be able to float and eventually I told him he’d just have to try it out for himself.
My understanding is that you can only “visit” the Dead Sea by way of private resort — or maybe that’s the only smart way to do it because you have to shower after leaving the water or you’ll end up with itchy, rashy, burning skin. Unfortunately that means you end up paying stupid amounts of money for admission because they know they can get it. At this beach adults were $25 and the kids were $15. Mo was only $7 because he’s Jordanian. On top of that there was a charge for towels, a charge if you wanted to use the mud, and the showers were cold and half broken. (All the other beach access options were much more expensive — crazy, huh?)
Wait up!
The Dead Sea is really beautiful — the beach is more like sandy dirt.
Please stop trying to eat all the nasty cigarette butts. They aren’t food.
The entry is rough on the feet. Lots of sharp rocks covered with salt crystals. Ouch!
Testing it out . . .
It works! We’re floating!
The water feels strangely slick and slippery. It does burn a little bit at first, but that quickly goes away. The buoyancy is so strong that lying on your stomach causes your back to arch and your feet to be pushed up into the air. Trying to flip from stomach to back isn’t easy either.
Camille liked it, but she kept trying to taste the water, which is a bad idea because it tastes like salty battery acid. Mo brought a bottle of water into the water with us for emergency mouth rinsing and eye flushing. Holding Camille was like holding a grenade because she kept smacking the water and splashing it everywhere and whoever was holding her had to constantly dodge the flying liquid shrapnel.
Caleb and Camille quickly got cold and retreated to the shore where they hunted for salt crystal covered rocks and played in the “sand.”
Salt build up on the fence and on the rocks
Instead of paying for the mud, Mo showed the boys how to easily dig up their own.
Waiting for the mud to dry — Carter showing off each one of his ribs.
Back in the water to wash off the mud.
A fun day (even if it was too chilly for my taste!)
