Ein Gedi and Dead Sea

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Israels flagPublished: April 11th 2008Middle East » Israel » South District » Ein Gedi
April 2nd 2008
Ben's first tanBen's first tan
Ben's first tan
Ben was able to get his first real tan at the dead sea. We found a chunk of dead sea mud and gave eachother a spa treatment there on the beach. It gets pretty hot, pretty fast with black mud all over your skin on a sunny day.
On to Ein Gedi and the Dead Sea and Desert...

We realized that it'd be much easier to rent a car for 3 days and return it in Eliat than to take a tour to Ein Gedi and taxi to Eliat. A rental car is the way to go in Israel. Flexibility is so nice and the tours are pretty rigid. We drove down to the Dead Sea thinking that we might camp on the beach there because lodging seemed booked. When we got there (it was HOT) we tried once more at the field school and they had many rooms available. The rooms weren't much to speak of but the grounds were great. It is more of a mini nature preserve than a lodging facility. There were Ibex (small dear with long curved, ridged antlers) and beautiful desert plants all over. And we were just 5 minuts from the public beach at the dead sea.

We got settled and hit the beach. It was so neat to swim in water in which you can't sink....you just
" target="_blank"> bob on the top like a cork . I had heard it described but thought it was exagerrated....it wasn't. It's kind
Hether floats like a cork in the Dead SeaHether floats like a cork in the Dead Sea
Hether floats like a cork in the Dead Sea
It is such a fun feeling to bob like a cork in the dead sea where it is impossible to sink.
of hard to flip in the water and you have to work to point your feet down as they keep wanting to bob back to the surface. I got water in my eye once and here's a word of caution should you ever go there....don't do that. I had to swim to the shore with my eyes closed and peaking through slits, make my way to the shower to wash the salt water out of my eyes. The salt content is so high that salt deposits start forming and cover the rocks along the shore so that they look like some limestone formations out of a cave. There was also some mud/mineral deposits that we used to slather ourselves in
" target="_blank"> beautifying mud baths . However I noticed no difference in the before and affter effect...probably because Heather's already more beautiful than I can believe and I'd need more than mud to work some magic on myself. Maybe I should have just left the mud on. It was fun and got quite hot caked in mud beneath the Israeli sun.

Later we took a nice walk at the field school but didn't pay to go into the preserve as
Salt deposits at Dead SeaSalt deposits at Dead Sea
Salt deposits at Dead Sea
The sea is so salty that salt crystals start forming on all the rocks.
we only had 1 hour left till closing, which wasn't worth the entry fee. I would like to have had another day there to hike through the desert oasis that is Ein Gedi. Maybe we'll be back some day.

The next morning we drove to Eliat at the Souther end of Israel. We tried to drive the desert route, which is longer but more scenic. We took that route for a couple hours watching groups of camels wander through the desert. The land is so barren there. It's such a contrast to other areas of Israel. We ended up cutting back to the highway along the dead sea to save time so that we could meet our taxi waiting for us in Jordan. The border crossing was very easy, which was a bit of a surprise. I'm sure it was easier for us than it was for other Israelies crossing into Jordan, and likewise for Jordanians crossing into Israel.

We got there 10 minutes before our taxi, who had shown up a little early and we were off to Petra....

PS: we are catching up on some blogging while in Koh Tao (an island in Thailand) while
Ibex in Ein GediIbex in Ein Gedi
Ibex in Ein Gedi
There were many ibex in Ein Gedi. They were quite cute with their little waggly tails but Heather says not quite as cute as the little Nepalese goats.
the internet is cheap (50 cents per hour) and the only options for nightly entertainment are drinking or catching up on blogging. Its actaully not too bad and we are having great fun with our class mates from the scuba classes. We should have some great scuba pictures by the time we get caught up that far so stay tuned. I also have some good news. I have been accepted into the 2008 Associate Nursing Program at UAA, a huge weight off my shoulders. I'll get started this August! I will still feel better once I am sitting in the class room as there seem to be quite a few hiccups in the qualification, application, and selection process of the program.

Sorry if the links to the youtube videos don't work. I can't seem to get them to show on this computer when I test them but I think it may be this computer or maybe a problem with youtube.
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Following World War II, the British withdrew from their mandate of Palestine, and the UN partitioned the area into Arab and Jewish states, an arrangement rejected by the Arabs. Subsequently, the Israelis defeated the Arabs in a series of wars without...more info
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Elaine
non-member comment
Date: 11th April 2008

Congrats!
Ben, I'm so pleased you've been accepted into nursing school. The nursing shortage makes it even harder to get admitted because there's also a shortage of nursing instructors. The competition is fierce. I'll bet they saw the photo with the mud treatment, heard the Code Brown stories, and said "he's one of us!" I adore your trip and the stories, photos, and videos you send back. Thank you for taking me along with you via this fabulous blog. Love to Heather.

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