Our next group outing was to Ein Gedi Nature Reserve and the Dead Sea! We did a really short hike at Ein Gedi; I'd like to go back for a longer hike in the future (maybe not in the summer though). We saw some hyraxes (like a giant guinea pig) and ibexes (related to a goat but they look like African antelope), which is always exciting!
These ibexes are settlers of the Negev Desert.
In the desert, we'll take any water we can get! About 30 people crammed into this small pool to cool off!
Jeremy took a picture of a dragonfly. Gross!
The Dead Sea and the mountains of Jordan beyond! So cool!
The Dead Sea is the lowest elevation of land area on earth; 1,388 ft. below sea level! That means it's also the lowest lake in the world. The surrounding desert has very little flora, though some plants can live for up to 50 years on centimeters of water, which normally comes as a flash flood every several years. It's incredible that very nearby there's a natural spring waterfall with flora and fauna!
Our next stop was the Dead Sea! Like I said, the elevation is over 1300 ft. below sea level. To put this into perspective, our guide told us to imagine you're standing at the bottom of the ocean looking up at the surface 1300 ft above you, that's how low the Dead Sea is! Jeremy thinks it makes more sense to say - imagine standing on the shore of the Dead Sea while 50 miles away, the surface of the Mediterranean sea is 1300 ft. above your head! It's amazing! Due to the low elevation, it's much hotter than sea level cities in Israel. It was about 100 degrees the day we went in June, but there was almost no humidity, so it didn't feel that bad at all. Also, the atmosphere is so thick here, its almost impossible to get a sunburn. The sea is 8.6 times saltier than the ocean and because of this, nothing can really live in the sea, except one kind of single-celled algae. The area has been used for thousands of years for its unique health properties. Also, the salinity allows us to be incredibly buoyant in the water!
This is an incredible natural wonder and one of the coolest things I've ever done in my life! It's so relaxing to float on the surface of the water without any effort. However, the salinity causes any cuts to really burn and just generally makes things sting, so most people don't stay in for too long. You definitely wouldn't want to dunk your head, because the salt would kill your eyes. It tastes terrible, kind of sulfury mixed with intense saltiness. Let's start with the videos, since it shows how buoyant we are in the water.
Left to right: Catherine, Lisa, Sylvia, Me, and Jeremy
We're so buoyant, I can put a lot of bodyweight on Jeremy and he won't sink!
Just relaxing in the Dead Sea!
Time to put on the famous Dead Sea mud, which makes your skin silky smooth! Can you see the message on Jeremy's belly?!
Left to right: Jeremy, Me, Sylvia, and Catherine
Sylvia and I are muddy buddies!
Um, I think Jeremy is attempting to eat the mud package. Not yummy!
After an awesome day of seeing new sites and making new memories, we relaxed in the heat with some cold beer and delicious hummus!
Of course, lunch was Shakshouka! The best!
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