Bobbing like a Cork in the Dead Sea


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Middle East » Jordan » West » Dead Sea
October 15th 2013
Published: November 5th 2013
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Dead Sea...Dead Sea...Dead Sea...

...as seen from the public beach...
October 15, 2013



After wandering the ancient streets of Jerash it was on to the other place we were visiting that day, the Dead Sea...truly a mythical place, the lowest point on Earth and somewhere I had always wanted to visit so was really looking forward to it...

After a nice drive through the Jordan Valley we caught our first glimpse of it in the distance...excellent! We opted to hit the public beach, it is significantly cheaper than paying admission to one of the luxury hotels lining the Sea, all for the privilege of using their beach...pfft...think it cost us 15 JD's each, still enough but again not as bad as other places...

Good facilities, had a really nice pool as well but eating options are limited to an expensive buffet at the one restaurant...it was lunch time when we arrived but decided to suck it up and wait until we got back to Amman to eat (more Hashem's hummus of course!)...recommend packing a lunch if you're coming here...

Strolled around the grounds to get the lay of the land and then it was into our swimming gear and heading for the beach...very cool! As
Two corks...Two corks...Two corks...

...way too cool...
you approach the water you can see the salt build up along the shoreline, with small coral-like formations having formed...the salt content is apparently north of 30%, making it about ten times saltier than the ocean...and me being me I had to test this out by dipping my tongue in it, and man it burned like I was dipping it in battery acid! Haha...

So we made our way in and first impressions were it felt thicker than regular water...may have been all in my head but that was my sense...any hidden cut or recently shaved locations are instantly revealed when the water hits them, burns! Doesn't last long though which was fortunate...

Secondly, you don't really go for a swim in the Dead Sea, it's more of a bob...the buoyancy is crazy; you can literally just lie down in the water and float without any motion at all...in fact it can be a little tricky to get out of the lying position as the buoyancy wants to hold you there...what an experience, we played around in the water for an hour or so and then decided we'd had enough...rinsed off in one of the freshwater showers dotting the beach to get all the salt off, skin sure felt smooth after though! Haha...

One of the coolest experiences of my life, do not miss this if you're in the area...


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Salt Deposits...Salt Deposits...
Salt Deposits...

...very cool, kinda like coral...
'Nuf said...'Nuf said...
'Nuf said...

...haha...


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