The Dead Sea

Floating in the Dead Sea is one of the more surreal experiences of my life. I had heard the stories; it is the lowest point on earth (which at one stage allowed a plane to fly further below sea level than a submarine had been up until that point! - WW I, I think) and is something like 7 times more salty than the Atlantic Ocean, but I doubted that I would 'bob around on the surface like a cork.' Well, I doubt no more!

It's hard to describe the degree of buoyancy you feel. It is almost impossible to walk in even chest deep water, as you feet just want to keep floating to the surface. Swimming, in the true sense of the word, is not really the done thing and almost certainly highly inadvisable. Until I watched a young English boy, I thought that getting the water in your eyes would be something you would do only once. Unfortunately, he chose to share his experiences with everyone at the beach!

With nobody else at the hotel interested in the tour on offer, I compromised and commissioned a taxi driver (employed by the hotel) to drive me to Amman Beach. The set up (only in operation since 2005) is quite impressive. You pay about $15 for entry; but for that you get full use of the pool complex, beach and all (fully patrolled) facilities. It was unseasonably hot today, nudging 40 I'd guess, so I was happy to split my time between floating in the Dead Sea, lounging on the beach (and in the shade), taking a dip in the pool and delighting in the air conditioned comfort that came with a fantastic lunch buffet. After a few short hours of this, with my driver waiting patiently, it was time to head back to Amman, grab a couple of beers (my first alcohol in about two and a half weeks!) and reflect on a relaxing and enjoyable day.

Tomorrow I will set sail south for Petra. If there is enough people from the hotel who are interested (we need at least 4), I will combine this with a tour of some of the sights on offer along the Kings Highway. If not I will find myself a bus heading in that direction and climb aboard.