The Dead Sea is gross. Gross in the most incredible way, but gross.
If I were more prepared, I would have brought the following:
- a bottle of sunscreen
- a large chicken
Sunscreen because I couldn’t tell if my skin was burning thanks to the sun or the salt water (correct answer: both), and a very large chicken because the Dead Sea is the perfect temperature and salinity for chicken soup. Since the Dead Sea is 15 kilometers wide and 50 long, it would take a very large chicken. We swam at a beach on the southern, man-made side, where the lifeguard warned me of three things:
- getting salt in your wounds
- getting salt in your eyes
- going in too quickly
But having hiked the whole fiery day over the steep, smooth slopes of Ein Avdat, I forgot these warnings and plunged underwater headfirst, just off shore.
Ow.
My lips shriveled like raisins, eyes stung like they’d been poked with hot peppers, and the dozens of tiny cuts I wasn’t aware of announced their existence like a highway billboard reading “FUCK YOU” in neon letters. I staggered out with my eyes forced shut, felt my way to the showers, and let them run over my eyes for two minutes. Then I went back.
The Dead Sea should not be approached like any other body of water. Enter slowly, gradually, and ideally covered in mud. Keep your open wounds to a minimum (if possible), keep your lips sealed, and keep your fucking eyes out of the water. You’ll emerge feeling like you’ve been granted a new skin.
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