Floating

I got up early last Sunday so I could float in the Dead Sea before starting my drive to Petra.  It was a short walk down past all the pools to the beach.  Once there I walked down the coast a little before the hotel security showed up and asked me to come back to the area in front of the hotel.  There was a lot of beach sand, i assume imported from the desert side of Jordan.

Once I was near the shore the ground became much less stable, but really cool looking.  You could easily see the layers of sediment in the mud.  Considering every day people take mud baths then wash it off, it's understandable the mud would settle down each night making such a cool pattern.

 It was a little tricky walking in the water since there were spots where the mud was very thin and you would sink in.  In this shot my knee was under water.  Later, as I was leaving to head back up to my room to shower and leave, I hit a very soft spot and my foot slipped until part of my thigh was in mud.  I stepped forward with my other foot hoping to find solid ground and step out, but that food also sunk in and I found myself in 1 ft deep water, but also had the water up to my waist.

 Floating in the water was pretty fun, I could easily see myself swimming long distances in this water.

 Of course the mud from the Dead Sea is what has made this location so popular for thousands of years.  Apparently it's beautifying properties have been known and used for a very long time.  Unfortunately, they haven't helped me much.  While just about every picture I took on the trip involved me holding the camera or using the tripod, there happened to be a girl walking by around this time who took a few pictures of me.  She also asked to take a picture of me with her camera and I assume its because of my ruggedly good looks, and not the hat/beard combo. 

 After cleaning up and packing, I hit the road again heading to Petra.  I drove south for about 30 miles before cutting east past Karak towards the Desert Highway which I took south to Petra. I only got a little lost in Al Karak which I again blame on the lack of road signs.  The drive south along the Dead Sea was beautiful, lots more mountains.

 

You can see the Karak Castle in the upper right corner.