WhereRtheWilliams?: "Weightlessness" by Ramesh

A couple of days ago we visited the Dead Sea! It had been freezing cold when we left Petra that morning so we were worried that we'd be too cold to swim in it. It got worse as we climbed up to higher places on the drive there - the wind was blowing hard, it drizzled sometimes and it was sooooo cold that we didn't hardly want to get out of the car when it stopped at the castles on the way.

But the Dead Sea is actually BELOW sea level!! So it got warmer and warmer as we went down and down the mountains. And the water itself was like hopping into a cool bath.

The Dead Sea is 30% salt!! it is so salty, that if a drop of water touches your tongue, it feels like battery acid! Not that I've tasted battery acid but i reckon that's what it would taste like! :)

On the way into the water, instead of walking on rocks or sand, you actually walk on salt rocks - created by years of salt collecting near the edges and the water evaporating.

I was the first one in (of course!) and it was one of the freakiest things that had ever happened to me! When you lay on your back, you float nearly out of the water! If the water is too deep to stand up in, the water will still only go upto your chest! it's so funny! It's as if you don't weigh anything!!

Mum thought it was hilarious until she couldn't get up when she was on her stomach because the density of the water pulled her feet and legs up! She splashed around like crazy and got drops of water in her eye and into her mouth. She was nearly crying from the pain in her eye. Dad's got a really funny video of her splasing around and when she watched it last night she laughed so hard she was nearly sick!!

I dived under (even tho' the sign says to keep your head out of the water!) and my nose stung so bad on the inside! My eyes and mouth also stung.

Mum was not impressed because there were a few tables of local ladies and men and they all kept staring at us so she felt really self concious about taking her clothes off (she had boardies and a double top on underneath!). Us boys didn't care and hopped in straightaway. Finally mum saw how much fun we were having and just didn't care anymore! We were the only people in the water... it was like we had the whole Dead Sea to ourselves. And it was so pretty to look at too.

It was so salty that the salt stung on my burns (dry skin from sunburn and the dry heat) so I couldn't stay in for too long.

We really enjoyed it and it was worth going!