The lowest point on Earth

1400 feet Below sea level

After a long day hiking around Petra, a little R/R was in order.  I took the morning bus from Wadi Musa to Amman the next day and spent the day walking around the city.  That evening the rest of the crew that I've been traveling with showed up and the next day we rented a car.  There are many tours to the Dead Sea but being 5 of us it was great to split the cost of a car and well worth having our freedom to do what we want.  There are also many resorts and paid beaches along the Dead Sea which all are quite expensive.  With our car, we found a quiet spot on the side of the road and simply walked down the hill to our own, free beach.  

When visiting the Dead Sea:

RULE # 1:  Never EVER dive head first into the Dead Sea!

RULE # 2:  Never EVER...EVER ignore rule # 1!!!

Here is the resulting photo of me ignoring Rule # 1

I can't even begin to explain the pain in my eyes from the salt water.  Lucky we bought several bottles of water because it took some serious flushing to reverse the breaking of Rule # 1.  It also took a long time for my friends to stop laughing at me too.  Happy to have entertained you guys.

The Dead Sea has a salinity of 33% salt.  Normal ocean water is around 3.5%  It was a strange feeling to be so naturally buoyant.  I was actually able to put my feet straight down, as if standing, and still float.

Then it was spa time.

The mud along the shores of the Dead Sea are very rich in minerals and nutrients. The common thing to do is give yourself a little mud mask and scrub but scrub lightly because when you wash it off in the water, you'll be made aware of every single scrape, scratch or cut.

After a good bake in the sun and a rinse in the water your skin really does feel amazing.