![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.coldspaghetti.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/DeadSea1.jpg\" "\\"DeadSea1\\"")
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Another resort plus: shoes. \u00c2\u00a0Because the shoreline is rocky and you want to protect your feet as you climb up for mud and down to wash and float.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n The shoreline is not just rocky with rocks. \u00c2\u00a0There are actual rocks of salt.<\/p>\n The Dead Sea is roughly 8-10 times the salinity of the Oceans. \u00c2\u00a0This is because of high levels of evaporation, which leaves behind a very salty dead-end waterway.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The salt clings to rocks in very cool formations all along the shoreline.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The air is also 8% more oxygenated than at sea level. \u00c2\u00a0The water itself is oily: full of not only salt, but other minerals. \u00c2\u00a0Your skin really DOES feel amazingly smooth and rich after a dip and a mud bath. \u00c2\u00a0The air has a haze that blocks harmful UV rays, so you’re much more protected from sunburn than in other places. \u00c2\u00a0One of our guide books said that German health insurance covers periodic trips to the Dead Sea to treat types of skin disorders, because the water and mud is that good for skin!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The swim itself is truly bizarre — a unique experience to be sure. \u00c2\u00a0The water is warm, even in December when the air has a hint of 65-degree chill. \u00c2\u00a0It was windy on the day we went down for our dip in the water, with actual waves coming ashore. \u00c2\u00a0We used a protected inlet along the shoreline by the resort to get into the water.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Without question, you FLOAT on this sea. \u00c2\u00a0It can actually be a little scary, as people drown in high numbers on the Dead Sea<\/a> each year. \u00c2\u00a0Since we normally swim face down in fresh and sea water, it’s natural to turn your body that way in the water… only doing in the Dead Sea so pushes your heavier end (legs and bottom of your torso) out of the water and forces your head down. \u00c2\u00a0A few drops of that salty water in your eyes is\u00c2\u00a0excruciating\u00c2\u00a0— and a few swallows will poison your system. \u00c2\u00a0Without the ability to get your head out of the water and all the trauma going on while your head is down there… best to play it safe and stay on your back.<\/p>\n Kate floated with me in the shallows. \u00c2\u00a0Because I was holding her with my arms, and not paddling them under the water to stay in place, the wind pushed us a little to one side of the inlet. \u00c2\u00a0It was only a few feet. \u00c2\u00a0But when I went to stand up to get back to shore, I found that my feet didn’t touch the bottom. \u00c2\u00a0Thankfully, I kept myself from completely freaking out… held her upright, and paddled my legs under us until we were back the few feet to where I could put her down and climb back to where we could stand. \u00c2\u00a0In an instant, I knew exactly how easy it could be to drown… if I had tried to swim her in (which I would have done in a pool) my body would have flipped in an instant! \u00c2\u00a0Also, a note: the shoreline drops quickly and without warning! \u00c2\u00a0Be careful of the depth.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n After the deep(er) water experience with Kate, we made sure we stayed in water where our arms could still touch the bottom while floating. \u00c2\u00a0You float so high on the water that there isn’t any need to go more than a foot or so deep.<\/p>\n Also, the water tastes TERRIBLE. \u00c2\u00a0I described it as like licking a barnacle-covered salt block that has been at the bottom of the ocean for a hundred years.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n It’s a really cool experience, and the sea itself is strangely beautiful and calming. \u00c2\u00a0Seeing the mountains of Israel from the Jordanian side just adds to the mystery and beauty of the area.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n After your dip, you shower off to rinse the salt off your skin (you’ll want it off soon after you get out). \u00c2\u00a0The wind was chilly, so we kept Kate wrapped up.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Then you go get mud! \u00c2\u00a0The mud is very warm (dark color retains heat from the sun!) and it feels great. \u00c2\u00a0The mud itself is thick and lumpy, full of ocean debris — the kind of mud you dream of using as a kid to make mud pies. \u00c2\u00a0It was VERY fun to put it on! \u00c2\u00a0Kids aren’t recommended to be fully covered, so we invited them to cover us. \u00c2\u00a0We did use mud on the back of one of Kate’s legs, where she has lingering rashes and some scaring from\u00c2\u00a0molluscum contagiosum<\/a> (our pediatrician calls this “the new chickenpox”). \u00c2\u00a0We noticed the next morning that it looked much better — the mud and water DID make a difference, just from our short morning in the Sea!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Evidence of our playing in the mud…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n After you’re muddy, you go back to the Sea to wash off. \u00c2\u00a0Fresh water would take FOREVER to wash off… you need the mineral content of the Dead Sea to get the Mud removed.<\/p>\n Mud removal on my face was how I experienced having water-in-eyes and water-in-mouth (actually, I just tasted some that was on my lips, that was enough). \u00c2\u00a0The eyes and mouth and water combination was not pleasant, though I loved the way my face felt after!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Once we were washed off, we took another dip in the fresh water and were done!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n