So we were trudging along in the university's bus towards the Dead Sea, our final destination. It was hot and I was listening to Train, I think. I was looking out of the window at the scenery and all of the sudden we came around a bend and we could see for kilometers and kilometers. We had arrived at Mount Nebo, the mountain that Moses stood on just before he died and where God revealed to him the Holy Land. The place itself had a monastery and a half-constructed church on it. It was very difficult for me to truly imagine Moses, flanked by the whole nation of Israel standing on top of the summit looking at their new home. The view was breathtaking:
We loaded back up, went to Jesus's baptismal sight (I did a blog entry on it already, but I really don't have much to say about it, it's kind of one of those things you just have to go to) and then continued from there to the Dead Sea. First, we stopped at Jordan's first established fast food restaurant to eat lunch. Chili Ways is not aptly named. The chili tastes terrible but the burgers are delicious. We pulled up to one of the many "resorts" on the Dead Sea, parked and walked to the entrance. 10 JD to get in, not terrible. The guards stood by the entrance very seriously and a small group of covered women huddled in the dark interior. The automatic doors opened, light flooded my eyes and when they had adjusted, the first thing I saw was a short Arab man wearing a gray striped knit shirt, matching gray striped socks, black dress shoes and a black speedo. Nothing else. He pushed pass us and I quickly realized that I was not in Irbid anymore. Drink and ice cream vendors everywhere. Many of the overweight men wore speedos and the young fit ones wore long shorts. The venue looked like it was taken directly off of the top of a Carnival cruise ship and placed in front of the Dead Sea. Women mostly swan in their "burkinis", while a few more liberal ones stuck to jeans and t-shirts. First thing we did after changing into bathing suits was head to the Dead Sea. Walking into the sea I slipped on salt deposits that coated the bottom. When I got waste deep, I let my feet up and I eased back. I am unable to describe the feeling. If you placed a thin raft under your body and lay on it floating, that is as close as I can get. You cannot sink, I tried. You can sit upright, indian style. Just don't get the water in your eyes, it kills. For that matter, don't get it on your lips, cuts or in your mouth. In fact don't give the water any opportunity to enter any orifices i.e. farting or urinating underwater is a no-no. We got out and swam a bit in the pool, had some cold soda, and got back on the bus after a few hours.
Not so bad...
We loaded back up, went to Jesus's baptismal sight (I did a blog entry on it already, but I really don't have much to say about it, it's kind of one of those things you just have to go to) and then continued from there to the Dead Sea. First, we stopped at Jordan's first established fast food restaurant to eat lunch. Chili Ways is not aptly named. The chili tastes terrible but the burgers are delicious. We pulled up to one of the many "resorts" on the Dead Sea, parked and walked to the entrance. 10 JD to get in, not terrible. The guards stood by the entrance very seriously and a small group of covered women huddled in the dark interior. The automatic doors opened, light flooded my eyes and when they had adjusted, the first thing I saw was a short Arab man wearing a gray striped knit shirt, matching gray striped socks, black dress shoes and a black speedo. Nothing else. He pushed pass us and I quickly realized that I was not in Irbid anymore. Drink and ice cream vendors everywhere. Many of the overweight men wore speedos and the young fit ones wore long shorts. The venue looked like it was taken directly off of the top of a Carnival cruise ship and placed in front of the Dead Sea. Women mostly swan in their "burkinis", while a few more liberal ones stuck to jeans and t-shirts. First thing we did after changing into bathing suits was head to the Dead Sea. Walking into the sea I slipped on salt deposits that coated the bottom. When I got waste deep, I let my feet up and I eased back. I am unable to describe the feeling. If you placed a thin raft under your body and lay on it floating, that is as close as I can get. You cannot sink, I tried. You can sit upright, indian style. Just don't get the water in your eyes, it kills. For that matter, don't get it on your lips, cuts or in your mouth. In fact don't give the water any opportunity to enter any orifices i.e. farting or urinating underwater is a no-no. We got out and swam a bit in the pool, had some cold soda, and got back on the bus after a few hours.
the beach
Dead Sea
Relaxation pose
Superman, it is 3 feet deep here
notice the "burkinis"?
Then our bus broke down for about an hour... here:
Not so bad...
No comments:
Post a Comment