Friday, October 15, 2004

Dead Sea, Part II

So we went to the Dead Sea again today (Friday is our "weekend"). It's also the first day of Ramadaan, incidentally.

Each time I've been to the Dead Sea, I've been stuck by the viscosity of the water. It's just _thicker_ than "regular" water. They recommend that you float on your back, but it's also fun to try to float on your tummy. It's imperative though that you keep the water from your nose, mouth, and eyes. After I'd mudded myself this time (which just seems wrong for some reason), I tried to splash to get it off of my neck...and ended up with like two drops in each eye...the worst thing to do would be to try to wipe my eyes with my muddy and very salty hands, so I just had to sit there, while I continued de-mudding with excruciating pain in my eyes. Eventually I blinked the pain away, but it hurt for a while.

Anyway, you can definitely tell where the fat is in your body as you float on the Dead Sea. Either your legs pop up, or your bottom (at least on me). It's _really_ hard to get your feet under you when you want to stand up. And then when you do, the bottom is an incredibly random mixture of rock, soft sand, and mud (into which you sink deeper than your ankles), which makes you stumble around foolishly. :) The oddest thing by far though is the clarity of the water. Far after you can touch bottom, you can still _see_ the bottom. And it's _really_ shallow for a long way from the shore, then drops off suddenly.

One of the cool things though is that there's absolutely no fear of drowning. You just _can't_ sink. There's too much salt.

And even though I mudded myself the last time, I just had to do it again. It seems wrong when you do it...I mean, I liked playing in the mud as much as the next tomboy, but it's just weird to wipe mud all over your body on purpose.

But when you get home, you're nicely exfoliated. :)

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