Floating in the Dead Sea

The Dead Sea is actually two lakes separated by a short canal. The Jordan River fills the lakes but there is no river flowing out, only evaporation, so the salts concentrate. At 418m below sea level, it's the lowest point on the earth that you can reach by land.


Because the salts are so concentrated, you float very easily, in fact it's hard to get down to touch the bottom when you go out a little way. You can't put your head under because the salts would sting your eyes terribly -- in fact you should always have a bottle of fresh water nearby in case of an accidental splash. Because of the different salts (not just common table salt -- sodium chloride), the water has a very bitter taste -- even just licking your wet finger tastes terrible. The water is also quite oily and so your skin feels somewhat slimy. But the floating sensation is great and very relaxing.


There are many medical centres by the Dead Sea, and people come from all over the world for healing treatments. There are sulfur springs nearby and even this mud is supposedly therapeutic (although not my reason for enjoying it).


There is a lot of industry based around the Dead Sea and a huge conveyor belt carries extracted salts up out of the valley where it is processed further and railed across the country to the ports at the coast.