A Day at the Dead Sea

After a 20 minute van ride on a windy highway through the
desert we made it to the Dead Sea. I had heard so much about it and I could not
wait to actually float in it myself. I have never really seen anything quite so
calm and tranquil; the water is like clear glass reflecting the sandy mountains
towering over it. We were all so excited to get in that we quickly dropped our
stuff and headed straight for the salty water, cameras in hand. We had been
warned repeatedly about the high salt content and how badly it would hurt to get
water in your eyes and mouth; so cautiously we entered the cold water, gingerly
stepping on the sharp salt covered rocks. I watched everyone else lean back
into the water and laugh as their legs began to rise to the surface. Slowly I lowered
myself deeper into the sea allowing my body to be swallowed up by the water.
Without even meaning to, my legs and arms floated to the top as I tried to keep
the salt water away from my face. I felt like I was balancing on a raft, and no
matter which way I turned my body just floated right back to the surface. It didn’t
take long before we were all giggling and swimming around, fascinated at how
easily we stayed afloat. We took lots of pictures, I got water in my eye, and
we all got cut up on the salt covered sea floor. We covered ourselves in
mineral mud, laughed at each other, and shared pita and peanut butter
sandwiches.