Along the side of the road, en route to the Dead Sea, there is sign that shows travellers when they have reached sea level. We got out and took a few pictures in front of the sign. (This is a very touristy thing to do!) Then, we climbed back into the car and continued our decent to 1,300 below sea level. Due to the change in atmospheric pressure, our ears were popping all the way down.

The Dead Sea is more than 6 times saltier than ocean water, but not even that knowledge could have prepared me for what awaited. The water was so salty that my entire mouth puckered up when I tasted it. Not only was it salty, but is was also oily and tasted awful. I guess I was lucky, though. Ben managed to get some in his eye, and spent the next 15 minutes in pain.

The coolest part about being in the Dead Sea was the floating. Because of the high salinity of the water, swimmers are more buoyant. I bobbed and floated like never before. It is impossible for swimmers to sink in these waters -- what an awesome sensation!

Another popular Dead Sea activity is covering yourself in mud. This may sound strange, but Dead Sea mud is very rich in minerals which are believed to be good for your skin. For example, the mineral bromine is believed to have a relaxing effect and magnesium is supposed to be good for skin allergies. I don’t know if any of us felt any of the effects, but it was certainly fun to play in the mud.

After we rinsed off, we watched the sunset. It was a cool way to end a salty day exploring and our adventures in Jordan.

Did you miss something? Go back to Amman and start from the beginning.

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