Day 421: The Sea of Death

Amman – Wadi Mujib – Dead Sea – Amman, Jordan

Lifeguard at the Dead Sea… seriously? Unless the person had just eaten 10-kilo worth of stones, it’s impossible to really submerge into the water.

Or…. maybe one could just decide to off himself by laying face down in the water? Then again, the saltiness stings and burns the eyes so much that it’ll be instinctive to emerge the head as soon as possible. Chris experienced this first hand.

Chris (Canadian from CS) and I rented a taxi and a driver today to drive us around to Wadi Mujib then to the Dead Sea. Magali (also Canadian), a girl I met at the hostel, tagged along.

Wadi Mujib is the lowest national reserve on earth. I’ve learnt about some trekking and canyoning trails there. The three of us went for the easiest trail which involved quite difficult path. Most of the time, we were submerged waist-height in the flowing stream. There were a few climbs over huge rocks and the waterfalls that had seemed impossible at first but we all managed to go through with a some scratches and bruises.

The hard work paid off when we reached the end of the trail with a giant waterfall. Apart from swimming around and behind the falls, the three of us just laid in the stream, looking up at the high and narrow gorges and watching birds flying by. The weather was perfect: sun was high but we’re cool and comfy in the shades and by the water breeze. For a moment, nothing else mattered.

Our next destination after Wadi Mujib was the Dead Sea. People told me the Dead Sea wasn’t at all impressive but it’s a must-do regardless. Dead Sea after Wadi Mujib’s canyonying = bad idea. The cuts stung like hell in the concentrated salt water. Five minutes in the Dead Sea, the cuts started to swell up and redden. Apart from Chris poking his head into the water and burned his eyes, I also tried to lick the sea water from my fingertip. The water tasted foul and left an awful aftertaste in my mouth. It isn’t just pure salt in it, that’s for sure. I would compare the texture of the Dead Sea water to olive oil. It’s rather annoying coming out of the Dead Sea all sticky then being bombarded by the flies around. I guess that’s why most paid a JOD18 to be in the resort area, as so to be able to jump into the nice swimming pools after soaking in Dead Sea.