Floating the Dead Sea

The Dead Sea: Notorious worldwide for being both the lowest point on earth and the saltiest lake on earth (nope, not a Sea) it is without a doubt one of the most amazing places on earth.  Dropping down to more than 420m below sea level (1,312 ft) the water that flows down into the Dead Sea from the River Jordan has no outlet and becomes landlocked with no place to go.  Thus, the water evaporates leaving behind a rich cocktail of salt and minerals.* But those aren't the only interesting facts about the Dead Sea...here are a few you might not have known:

1. It is known as the Dead Sea because nothing can survive in its hypersalinated waters which are 34.7% saline vs. the oceans 3.5%.

2.  The Dead Sea burps up asphalt. It regularly spits up pebbles and asphalt stones but occasionally it also gives us figurines and skulls from the Neolithic period.  The Egyptians used the asphalt in the mummification process.

3.  It was the World's first Health Resort.  Herod the Great and King David both came here for the healing benefits of the Sea.  It is now a health research and treatment center for many diseases.

4.  It's almost always dry and sunny here.  With less than two inches of rain per year, you can almost always count on the weather being just right for a dip.  And, since the UVB rays are very weak here, you can almost forget the sunscreen while still soaking up your vitamin D.

5.  It's deep - 377 meters (1,236 feet) at its deepest point - making it the deepest hypersaline lake in the world.

6.  The Dead Sea Scrolls were found hidden in a cave here.  It has been cited as the greatest archeological find of the 20th century.

7.  We had a ridiculously great time here!  Photo proof below...

The view from our hotel balcony! (Still super hazy from that sandstorm)

Getting in and floating without splashing around and getting it in your eyes is not as easy as it looks.  But once you are in everything is super easy, except getting your feet back under you.

You would think it would just taste like table salt.  You would be wrong.  It is SO MUCH SALTIER!

The shoreline is salt, the cliffs are salt, underneath your feet is...wait for it...salt.

After about 10 minutes of floating, we headed back to shore for our "spa" treatment of slathering mud from the bottom of the lake all over our bodies.

 

Once we were covered we had to wait for the mud to dry - some of us more patiently than others...

Faces cracking?  Time to rinse off.

Stinkerbell preferred to shower it off as the salt was bothering some old cuts on her legs.  The rest of us headed back in to float and wash off.  And even find huge chunks of salt at our feet.

Spa treatment done and our skin feeling as smooth as a baby's bottom we headed back to the resort and a dip in the pool as we watched the sun set over the lake.

Like I said - a ridiculously great time!

*Sadly, the water has been evaporating at a pace faster then it can be refilled by its tributary and the surface area is receding at a rate of about 1-meter per year.  Thankfully, it will probably never dry up completely because as its water level drops its density and salinity rise and, as it finds a new equilibrium, it will stop evaporating so quickly.  But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't be alarmed.