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Published: January 24th 2015
This is day 9 of our amazing Pilgrimage. We start out visiting the Israel Museum. We viewed the 2
ndModel of Old Jerusalem which covers nearly 1 acre. Our guide pointed out the Wailing Wall and Calvary. It was awesome. I thought it was going to be inside the museum on a much smaller scale, but it was outside so I could take pictures as photos were strictly forbidden inside. Security would not just tell you to stop taking them, they would take all your pictures. That is what our guide told us anyway.
We then went inside to view the (Dead Sea Scrolls) exhibit. We didn’t have nearly enough time, but it was very interesting.
Next, we drove to the neighborhood of Ain Karem, birthplace of St. John the Baptist. John was excited to see where his patron saint was born. This was a lovely area in the surrounding hills of Jerusalem.
Mass was celebrated at the Church of the Visitation. This is the site of Elizabeth and Zachariah’s summer home, the parents of John the Baptist. When we were finished with Mass we started walking down and on the way there
was a gift shop run by the Rosary Sisters so we stopped to buy some gifts for the classrooms of Transfiguration back in St. Paul.
Our last stop for the day was the Dead Sea. We stopped for lunch along the way and then arrived. We were given instructions on how to get into the water and to not lean forward because the last thing you wanted to do was go in face first which could happen. John and I had no idea what to expect. We changed into our suits and walked down to the beach. I wanted to take pictures so John went in first. The minute he stepped in, I got worried because he was bent over at the waist and struggling to keep his balance. I was really afraid he would be the one who would go in face first. Luckily he got his balance and someone helped him out a little further until he was floating. Now, it was my turn. After seeing all the slipping and sliding I was a little nervous, but I took my first few steps until I started doing the splits and then someone told me to
just sit down and scoot, which is what I did. It is an odd sensation and the bottom is full of mud and sometimes you can navigate, and other times you sink in and it is really hard to keep your balance. So, I began to scoot out a little bit until I could raise myself in a sitting position and then leaned back and I was floating. It isn’t a relaxing float like if you were in a pool and you would do a back float to rest. You definitely can’t swim in the Dead Sea. It eventually was time to get out and there was a shower on the beach to wash off all the mud before going to take a shower and dry off in the dressing rooms.
The Dead Sea is landlocked and in the lowest valley on earth. All the minerals of the surrounding countryside get washed into one pool, which in turn gets baked by the sun. This concentrates the salt so much that the Dead Sea is 10 times as salty as the ocean. The concentrated saline is said to be a cure for a number of health conditions.
After an eventful day, it was time to drive back to the hotel. We were a little tired so took a little nap and were late for dinner. After listening to the announcement about activities for the next day, we went to our room.
Tomorrow promises to be the busiest day so far.
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Sharyn Heisick
non-member comment
Dead Sea
Hi George and John I love the pictures floating in the Dead Sea. I only walked in it as I am not a water person. You definitely are seeing all of the highlights. It looks like it was a nice sunny day. Stay Safe. Sharyn