My Tryst with The Dead Sea at Jordan

 

They say, it would be a travesty to come to Jordan and miss the Dead Sea. So, I headed up there (or should I say,"down there"?) as the last leg of my trip to Jordan. At 400m below the sea level, when I set my eyes on this extraordinary body of intense blue water, all I could see was numerous human heads bobbing out of the water.

I was reminded in my head, of all the facts I read about this place - that the extreme salinity makes for an intolerable environment for almost all life forms and also difficult to swim. One can only float effortlessly and still can't drown. I looked at the buoyant tourists and was tempted to float but the fear of water won't let me do that. 

All I could do was either stand in the water or simply soak my legs in and sit by the side. I told myself I am not leaving this place without managing to float and it took me one full day to conquer the fear and finally come to terms with this floating business....and did I forget to mention about the therapeutic black mud out here??!!! 

Well, by the end of my trip, I am horribly tanned and burnt. Not sure if the mud, highly enriched with minerals and salt, did any good to me but I am glad that at some point, I could just let myself go, relax and not think about drowning (they claim that nobody can drown here, but phew...) or losing myself in the vast Dead Sea....

....and then it was super fun meeting some lovely and crazy peeps there, who made the whole experience worth reliving. The whole day long floating business followed by dinner outings and night long conversations wouldn't have been possible had i not met some equally crazy and fun people from various corners of the world. I had a lovely time with them discussing diverse cultures, varied perspective and lot more. People - another integral part of my travels, without which none of my travels are complete.