I took a bus for one dollar to a crossroads near the Dead Sea and then hired a taxi to take me to the water, wait for me while I swam, and then take me all the way back to Amman for only $20 USD. The Dead Sea is so incredibly full of dissolved minerals that you do not exactly have to swim. Bob around like a piece of balsa wood is more like it. Staying vertical, I floated so high in the water that it was at my nipples, making me look like I was standing on something. On my back, it was like sitting in a floating lounge chair and was very easy to keep my head dry. Bizarre! It was hard to swim on my stomach though because it felt like there was a beach ball under my stomach and I had to work to not flip over. I accidentally got a few drops of the water in my mouth…..uhggg….it was like taking a mouth full of salt and minerals. It was oppressively hot that afternoon and a little hard to breath there. On top of that, the sea water was warm and not refreshing. I tried letting the sea water dry for about ten minutes on my skin, but it didn’t. Even with the heat and wind, it was like a layer of mineral oil that would not dry. I lucked out and there was a trickle of fresh water running into the sea and so I could wash off. It was an interesting experience. It is not a place I would want to vacation though.
The taxi driver was nuts on the way back to Amman. We drove at 100 mph (160 kph) for much of the way and he was not a good driver. I was thankful to get out safely. I immediately jumped into a three hour taxi to Wadi Musa, the town next to Petra.
