Salt & Mud

Today our destination was the Dead Sea! Enroute we stopped for a quick glimpse at another HUGE Crusader castle (well, what remained of it) at Karak. Then it was all about the salt! Our first surprise was how big the Dead sea is. We met it at the southern end & drove up to a more northerly part. It was incredible to think we were 400 metres BELOW sea level, the lowest point on earth. GULP! Since we will never go to the highest point on earth...we think one outta two aint bad!! It was fascinating to stop & see the crystalized salt forming at the edge of the water. Our driver picked up a piece for our closer inspection & to our surprise, found it very much like coral, & hollow in the centre. Across the water we could make out kibbutzes in Israel, Jericho & in the far distance, little specks we took to be Jerusalem! We were booked to spend the afternoon in a spa resort...which, believe me, sounds more impressive than it was! It had claim on a small 'bay' of Dead Sea coast line & that was all we needed. I was determined to go in even though there was a cool wind blowing. Although a little cool to start with, it was quite pleasant once in. Bobbing like a cork is quite an amusing pastime...I felt like I had invisible inflatable floaties underneath me. I had no problem rolling over sideways but moving into a sitting position from lying flat required some maneuvering!! There were trays of Dead Sea mud to try, so we slapped as much on as we could before freezing in the wind! I'm not sure how long we should have left it on before rinsing off, but the increasing coolness of the wind encouraged us to return to the water pretty soon after slathering!! Salt water has the ability to highlight scratches & abrasions one never knew one had & it STINGS! This didn't deter from the pleasure of being here & the whole whacky experience!