Saturday – October 14, 2017
We got an early start for our “Judean Desert off-road Adventure.” The jeeps were waiting for us and we hopped on and took off down the highway.
We were quickly off-road and our caravan bumped along the rocky road through no-man’s-land.
Driving through the Judean Desert was so much fun! The only things missing were camels coming over the horizon. The scenery was spectacular!!!
We bumped along on a well worn trail following the jeep ahead of us. Much of the land looked like pictures on the surface of the moon. It was unbelievable!
The jeeps stopped to give us a break and the leader explained the geography of the region and how the hills and mountains were formed.
After a while, the jeeps climbed to the top of a hill and parked. We looked out over the desert and across the Dead Sea salt and mineral collection areas, to Jordan on the other side. Incredible views!!
At about mid-day, the jeeps drove the group to a nature preserve and the leader spoke about conservation. We had an outdoor picnic in the preserve.
After we returned to the hotel, we met Rafi and walked down to the shore of the Dead Sea. Rafi brought packets of Dead Sea mud and explained to us neophytes how to schmear mud on ourselves. (Ugh! Is all I could say!) There are supposed to be health benefits and healing properties.
Then we went into the very salty water to “wash off” the mud. It didn’t come off that easily. The most surprising aspect of the Dead Sea water was that it felt slimy. The added floating ability made getting upright more difficult because my feet wanted to float. It just took a little practice. I think I’ll stick with pools and the ocean.
It was strange to see people walking around with their bodies covered with brown mud. Fortunately, there were warm showers on the beach and then we joined the bathrobe brigade to walk back to the hotel. It was a unique and fun experience!
The sun set behind the mountains and cast an incredible red glow on the Dead Sea and the Jordanian mountains. What a day!!!
