The Lowest Place on Earth!

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This morning we set of for the lowest place on the planet not covered by water. We stopped at an elevation of 422 metres BELOW sea level on the East Bank of the Dead Sea overlooking Israel. With eagerness we grabbed our cameras and books and ran into the dead sea to discover what all the fuss is about. It turns out that the dead sea is very salty. Life jackets are not required, as drowning isn't really an option. They have life guards on duty on the beach, but I'm not convinced they can swim - actually it is very difficult to swim in the dead sea. It is so salty that everything floats incredibly well and it is actually hard to swim when you are floating so high up in the water. We decided the most effective stroke was ... The doggy paddle. Finally I (Mike) wasn't at a swimming disadvantage!  Everyone in the group took turns with our Lonely Planet: Jordan book in front of the camera showing how they could read while floating. Lakia hadn't actually tried floating before her turn came along... And as it turns out she wasn't a natural (in get defense though, it is a bit tricky and you need to get your balance). Anyways, when Lakia tried, she ended up rolling over like a capsized boat and our book went with her. So it also got to go swimming in the dead sea!  We think it adds character!

After a while in the water we began to realize that the high salt concentration has some side effects... Besides tasting absolutely dreadful the water burns after a while. If you get it in your eyes you are in for some serious pain, but even if you don't, you are sure to feel a burning sensation in just the place you don't want to. This is a family oriented blog so I won't say it here but, in Dave's words the water gives you an "O-ring of fire"... We didn't read about that in Lonely Planet - maybe they should add a chapter!

After swimming for a while, we decided it was time to get dirty. Every morning before the tourists flock to the shores, some workers wade out into the Dead Sea and scoop up a bunch of the mud from the bottom with buckets. Then, they charge the tourists 3JD (Jordanian Dinars - about 4 bucks) to rub the mud on themselves. Of course we took the opportunity to waste a few bucks and turn ourselves into the darkest skinned people in the land!  The mud is our black and word has it that it actually contains Bitumen. In case you don't know, Bitumen is the stuff they mine in Fort McMurray to make oil!  Anyways, we proceeded to wipe this stuff on us. Before long water dripped down from my (Mike's) hair and got into my eyes. To stop the stinging, I had to close my eyes because I now had my hands full of mud. The effect was that I was blind until I was able to shower off with some fresh water. It made for a pretty funny scene because I had to be led around and lined up in the photo when we got a group shot done. I was wearing my sunglasses so you can't see that my eyes are closed, but if you look you will notice that I am not looking in the Same direction as the rest of the group, because I had no clue where the camera was. After the group photo Stu and Jas wanted a photo with the two of them. The rest of the group moved out of the way, but because I couldn't see and didn't know where to go I didn't move... Apparently they were standing right next to me and very nearly ended up in their picture. 

I wasn't the only one who had trouble with the mud. As soon as Elysia started putting the mud on her face, it began to sting her skin... By the time we finished with the photos it was burning really badly, so she had to run off to the fresh water outdoor shower at the top of the bank to rinse the mud from her face. Of course when she did this unwashed left stranded at the bottom of the bank, lost and blind unaware of where everyone was at!  Eventually Julie came to my rescue and led me up to the shower as well. 

After we all scrubbed the gooey black mud from ourselves, we walked back up towards the little resort. (There is a small resort on the shore of the dead sea, where they have pools, a restaurant, change rooms and drink stands. We ordered a couple of ice cold Fantas and jumped into the pool on the lower level. (There were two pools on two levels and the upper pool overflowed it's wall into the lower pool forming a nice waterfall.) Wading in under this waterfall was a good way to get any last remnants of mud out of your hair. 

Before we knew it, it was time to get changed and head of to yet another mediocre-at-best buffet lunch, before boarding the bus and driving off to Amman. 

Once we arrived in Jordan's capital city, we went straight up to the Citadel, which is on a very high hill right next to the downtown area. Mostly ruins now, the Citadel was once a stronghold for the city and contained many old stone structures. Still standing today is really just a mosque, because it went through an extensive set of renovations. The rest of the Citadel was basically a set of decaying stone ruins. 

After our short visit to the citadel, we headed to the base of the mountain and visited the Roman Amphitheater, which is still in excellent shape. After a quick visit to an adjacent museum on traditional Jordanian clothing and a group photo in the Amphitheater we headed to the hotel to get our rooms. 

At first glance, the Arena Hotel didn't seem too bad. Since the tour was scheduled to end the next day and we weren't flying out of Amman until Monday, we purchased a couple extra nights in the hotel. Of course after we paid,  they moved us out of our nice room into a smaller room that was infested with bedbugs. It would  be nearly a week until we would stop scratching! 

That night we enjoyed a very nice meal with all of the tour group - our last meal together before we all go our separate ways. Good luck to you all on your future travels!

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