Dead Sea and Karak

While we were in Jordan we went to the Dead Sea. Even though it was December the water was still warm enough to swim so we took the opportunity to do just that. We found a place that had little chalets on the beach where we could pay a daily fee and use the showers. It was a little more than just paying to go on the public beach but we wanted to make sure we could shower off all the salt water afterwards. We were told the salt can really do some havoc to your skin if you left it on.
We had to walk down a little hill to get to the beach below. It was very rocky and with the waves and currents we had to be extra careful not to cut our feet or hands on the rocks in the water which were covered with very sharp salt crystals. We also were told to make sure to keep our mouths shut and not splash water into our eyes.
The rocks on the shore and under the water were covered with these sharp salt crystals.
Gavin, Rachel, and Jonny were the first to brave the conditions. The water was warmer than the air so it actually wasn't too bad. The hard part was walking out into the water and not falling on the rocks when the waves came in.
It was very strange once you got into the water. We jumped expecting to have to swim and paddle to keep afloat but that wasn't necessary at all, in fact, it was difficult to try not to float.

After a few minutes in the water, Nicole started complaining about her eyes stinging because water accidentally splashed in her eyes. We were giving her a hard time and telling her to stop being a baby about because it was just a little salt water. She had a hard time getting out because she couldn't open her eyes. A few minutes later water splashed in my eye and I felt bad for getting mad at Nicole because it really hurt BAD!!!! It was like someone literally poured a teaspoon of salt in my eye and there was nothing you could do about it but let it wear off. Not a pleasant feeling. Jonny, Nicole, and Gavin all got little scratches from the rocks.

After spending a few minutes in the water we showered and were off to see the crusaders castle in Karak.
We didn't spend too much time here because it is nothing compared to Jerash or Petra.

They even had double sinks back in 1400 AD.
Our tour guide helped us take some cool pictures with the different lighting coming into the castle.



Vika's hand is glowing!!!!! WOW!