experiences
A Dip in the Dead Sea
I never thought I’d actually be in the Dead Sea. I’d hoped at some point I’d get to visit Israel, but never got more detailed than that. Last Friday, that all changed. 🙂
I survived the 12 hour flight in US Airways economy, largely thanks to a new neck pillow and bulkhead seat, and arrived midday in Tel Aviv. My friend picked me up and we promptly headed out to the Dead Sea, roughly 2 hours away. After dropping our stuff off at the hotel, we headed to a local outdoor spa in the hopes I could not only go for a dip, but also experience the joys of a mud bath.
I was first warned though that the Ein Gedi Spa was not a high end spa, as my friend put it — the changing rooms are what you’d expect at a high school. But it offered the advantage of applying the mud myself, vs having a spa attendant do it.
I didn’t care as much about the locker rooms, I was interested in the mud. “Is it high end mud? I don’t want the cheap stuff” And thus ensued hilarious conversations a la Prarie Home Companion for the rest of the trip about only wanting “clean, fresh mud”, etc, not “dirty mud.”
Sadly we’d arrived as it was closing, so I wasn’t able to romp around in the mud bathing area but we did hike down to the water (which has receded dramatically in the last 30 years) so I could go in.
But I did, and it was amazing.
I naturally float in almost any water, but I was not prepared for this. Hearing it was ~31% salt didn’t mean much to me, but I had barely lifted my feet off the ground in waist-deep water before half my body was floating on top. Now I see how easy it is to take those pictures of people reading newspapers while floating (or in my case, catching up on Inside Flyer).
The water was slightly cool, and it was incredibly relaxing to lay there looking at the gorgeous mountains and hills surrounding the sea. I’m already excited to go back.
Note: If you do have any cuts or abrasions, it will burn tremendously. And, for lack of a better word, you will actually feel oily once you get out. And chalky. Somehow it is possible to feel both oily and chalky. But its worth it. And I did notice the few cuts I had seemed to heal a little quicker.
Stay tuned for upcoming reports on what I managed to cram in my remaining 48 hours in Israel!
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