Dead Sea

We spent the last 24 hours at the Dead Sea, the pics start here. Seriously, we did it the way everybody should. We could have taken a bus down, hung out there for day with a tour & come back. Instead, for the same price, we stayed a night at a 5 star resort called Movenpick where we had access to pools, restaurants, bars, and the Dead Sea with a beach area set up in front of it. It was awesome & breakfast was even included. I highly suggest staying there if you ever go.

The Dead Sea was incredible and insufferably HOT. Due to the heat and therefore, high rate of evaporation & the fact that it doesn't go anywhere, so any minerals and such stay there as the water evaporates, it's got a really high concentration of salt and other minerals. You are so Buoyant in the Dead Sea, you literally couldn't sink enough to drown unless you purposefully layed face down. Check it out, it's crazy. we'd stand in the water with our feet straight down without kicking and arms out of the water and we'd be floating at chest level. Try getting into a normal pool after hanging out in there for a while, it make swimming seem suddenly difficult. You can stay in the Dead Sea for too long because it will actually dehydrate you.

When you're in it, any cuts or scrapes start to sting because you're soaking them in a high concentration of salt and minerals. It's very healing though, so we found that even after one day, our tiny scrapes and cuts were healing faster. Swimming in the Dead sea is also a great way to find cuts and scrapes you didn't know you had. :) The next day though, they had healed enough that there was a considerable difference and allot less stinging going in the Dead Sea again.

The mud from the dead see is also supposed to be fantastic for your skin. So, as you're supposed to, we covered ourselves in it and attempted to let it dry. At about 110 degrees though, the drying part didn't really happen. :)

After the Dead Sea, we hung out at one of the bars with an infinity pool and had shared a cheese plate, took a little nap, swam, and watched the sun set beyond the Palestinian horizon--seriously, how often do we get to do that? We also tried a little Shisha (the English name is kind of dumb, it's Hubbley Bubbley), which is basically a flavored tobacco, but the thing you smoke it out of looks essentially like a bong. It's pretty funny. We chose Double apple.

Just before we headed back to our room, the waiter was talking to us about their culture and his specifically as a Muslim. That was pretty interesting for sure, but made me very happy I have the rights I do as a woman in the US. He also told us that the guy refilling the Shisha thought that I was middle eastern, so he was speaking to me in Arabic and thought my English was poor. hehe (guess I'm screwed, cause it's the only language I know fluently) :)

Driving in Jordan--I'm pretty sure I should never drive here because I wouldn't survive it. The rules of the road are practically non-existent. Lanes? what lanes? Break lights? just a suggestion.

We've been having a great time so far though, the people are extremely nice & although I find myself expecting it from other travel experiences, they don't seem to try to screw you over at every opportunity or charge you for absolutely everything. For instance, we got complementary water at the hotel and they didn't charge extra for a second person or for more lotion. We asked for more crackers (than the two it came with) with the cheese plate & they gave us a few extra crackers without charging us. We've heard that there are places where they will though, like taking regular taxi's & at the market and such, so you definitely want to negotiate and get info ahead of time. We've been using a taxi service that Jacoub uses, so they've been awesome. Instead of paying 25-45 JD (about 38-68 dollars) for a taxi to the Dead Sea and back, we paid 13 JD with a good tip (about 20 dollars).

Our hosts and their friends and family are wonderful. It's amazing how hospitable and friendly everybody is.