The Dead Sea is truly one of the more amazing locations on the earth. I had heard about it from others who had been there, but one has to truly experience it to appreciate it. The shore of the Dead Sea is the lowest elevation you can go to on the earth and not be under water. And, it's salty. Really salty. The ocean contains 3% salt; the Dead Sea contains 30% salt. It's so salty, that it feels oily or slimy, because of the mineral content. It's so salty, that nothing can live in it.
We had been given some pointers by Mickey: don't get your face or ears in the water; if you have any cuts or abrasions on your skin they will hurt; and you will float like a cork.
Mari and I took our time walking down to the sea after arriving at our hotel room. By the time we got down there, most of the others in our group were already in the water. So I waded into the water, wearing my sandals, and was told that when I get to about waist-deep, just lean backwards. So I did, and to my amazement and surprise, my feet bobbed to the surface like they were filled with air. I couldn't stop laughing. I swam out to where it was a bit deeper, and tried to get my feet beneath me. I could hardly do it. They wanted to float. I had to struggle to get my feet down underneath me, but once I did, treading water was effortless.
On the way there, the landscape looks desolate.
And there is a very large factory that processes the salts from the Dead Sea into various chemicals.
More information about the Dead Sea can be found in this Wikipedia article, and in other places on the web.
1 comment:
I LOVE the colors in the water! And how cool is that about the floating.
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