I'm grateful for: ushpezim (guests); a good attitude; seeing some ways my life experiences can be useful to others.

I've been fretting myself, wanting to write a really good travel piece kind of thing about my trip to the Dead Sea. So I give up, I'm just going to write the way I always do. My life just doesn't allow for time to thoughtfully craft a piece of writing, and for today I need to accept that. *sigh*

So, going back a couple of days here...

We were actually able to get out the door within shouting distance of 7am. Maybe 7:05 or 7:10. We were pretty well crushed in the car, with all the stuff we brought for the beach, and eight people in our impossible vehicle. I don't think I've described the car here. It is a Fiat Scudo. They don't have them in the U.S. (I don't know about the U.K.).

It's technically a nine-seat van or 'multi-passenger vehicle.' The front passenger seat is a nightmare. It is maybe the size of 1-3/4 full size seats, but designed as if it was one large seat - you know, with the raised bit of padding going all 'round. So if you sit to one side of it or the other (as you must, it is divided into 'two' seats each with it's own seatbelt) you end up with one hip higher than the other. Also, because it is not *quite* wide enough, I always end up sitting on the seatbelt buckle. Which is quite painful as that is also the 'low' side of the seat. Discomfort doesn't begin to describe it.

The rest of the seats are almost as bad, although the problems with each one are a bit different. Suffice it to say this is not a vehicle one wants to sit in for a multi-hour drive.

Added to that is all the stuff, tucked into every spare bit of space. Folding chairs, towels, food, sunscreen, toys, Michal's overnight bag, my camera bag, books (we never go anywhere without books), and so on and so forth. We did manage to get everyone and everything in, and other than the general discomfort of sitting in this car, everything was well.

We drove first to Tzvia's house, in Ma'ale Adumim. Tzvia is Michal's mother. At Tzvia's we dropped off Simcha and Michal (who rode in Tzvia's car), and picked up Avraham (who rode with Eliyahu in our car). We were a teensy little bit less squished, because Avraham came with one of those enormous booster seats. That's a good reason right there not to have another baby. I couldn't tolerate those things. But that's another story.

From Ma'ale Adumim it was a relatively short drive (less than an hour, anyway) to the sea. In Hebrew it is HaYam HaMelach. The Salt Sea. But on the signs the English is always the Dead Sea. I had wanted to get a photo of one of the signs but it didn't happen. Maybe another time.

We drove to the first beach at the north end of the sea, signs on the highway indicating a beach here and all. We pulled up and it turned out they wanted 25 shekel per person to get on the beach. Not willing to pay that much (and we hadn't brought that much, either), we went on to the next beach which was - 30 shekel per person. I mean, really.

There were some army guys patrolling there, so John drove up and asked one of them if there was a free beach and where it might be. We knew there was one, as Havva had been to it, but other than that we had no clue.

He directed us about twenty minutes down the road, and away we went, driving south on highway 90 which runs along the sea. I got some pretty good photos of the cliffs and some date palm plantations. I couldn't really get a good photo of a cave, though. These are the kinds of cliffs that the Dead Sea scrolls were found in, though, and it's kind of interesting to think about. It is easy to see how someone might never wander into a particular cave, or not even know that one was there for centuries or millenia.

We did find the turn to the left, and it turned out to be a national park. Fine, I have a national parks membership, which makes getting in for free, but their beach was closed. Havva hypothesized after the fact that it being a national park, they probably had to have a lifeguard on duty, and it being the end of a holiday, he had probably taken the day off. I can see that.

So we continued on down the highway, looking for someplace we would be able to get to the sea (you can't just drive up to it, in many places it is inaccessible, and there are places where there is such subsidance that it isn't safe to walk or drive off the highway. Sink holes the size of a full-size van, and larger even. We did eventually come to another beach, a very nice one we've been told, but they wanted 40 shekels for adults and 25 for children. I was even willing to pay at this point, but that was way out of line.

We drove further south. More cliffs. More photos. At last we came to Ein Gedi (only 'at last' because it was the place where we stopped). I have to say I am really, really glad to have gotten to Ein Gedi, and I want to go back and see more of the place another time. At Ein Gedi, there was camping and a public beach. Free to park. Free to go down to the sea. You have to pay a shekel to use the toilets and 8 shekel for the showers. Oh, break my heart! :-)

The beach itself is really nice. At the very top there is a kiosk which sells snacks and drinks and Dead Sea mud in bags and tickets for the 'services' (toilet and shower). In Hebrew, the word for bathroom is Sherutim, which literally means 'services.' So if you are visiting, or at a gas station, or the beach, and you need them you say Ayfo HaSherutim 'where are the services.' Can be confusing as some taxis are called Sherut 'service.' But anyway...

There is a concrete path which slopes slightly down and you can walk it to the end or get off and head across the sand to the area for laying out your towels or beach blanket or beach chairs. There are a fair number (maybe a dozen?) sets of 'umbrellas' set up. These are large frameworks, each divided into three different areas, that provide circles of shade for people to sit and lie in.

At the low elevation of the sea it is said to be safe to sunbathe there, but we wanted the shade as much for a break from the heat as anything else. We are not really a family of sunbathers (lily-white, non-tanning skin on all but Havva and John). The sand is mostly white and quite rocky. And there are two frameworks that instead of supporting shade umbrellas, have showers that you can rinse off (some of) the salt when you come out of the sea. Or the mud, if you put it on.

There is a life guard station, two or three stories tall, from which we could hear the lifeguard shouting at people in the water "Giveret, giveret, at ..." Lady, lady you... We didn't know 'til we went down to the beach he was telling different people, over and over (must be a heck of a boring job) not to try to swim in the sea, only to backfloat. You *really* don't want your face getting into the water.

From the area with the umbrellas there is a steep dirt slope down to a bit of a ramp, concrete I think, which is also steep, down to the last bit of beach and the shore. The slope is in some places as much as 35 degrees. Seriously. And at the bottom there is a bit of sand but mostly rocks. Not smooth, water rounded rocks, although there are some of those, but also plenty of sharp, jagged rocks. I don't know enough about the rocks, but they aren't sandstone, might be shale, though? That just break off and leave jagged edges.

It's a bit of a choice, to wear sandals into the sea or go barefoot. I opted for barefoot, which made walking in a bit more difficult, but meant an easier time afterward.

Being in the sea is not easy to describe. At first, walking in, it's just like wading into any other body of water that is warm, and salt. And then you try to float, or you walk out too far. The buoyancy is just incredible. I laid back and before I had gotten halfway to what I would normally in order to float, my feet had been just picked up and I was floating away. You don't have to lie back, and in fact you want to keep your head up (so your face doesn't get in the sea).

Some simple rules for people going into the sea. Once your hands are wet, do not touch your face. Not for anything. Only float on your back, do not try to tread water, do not try to swim. If you have a little kid with you, keep the child at least half out of the water (it's not hard). The waves aren't high, but you really don't want to risk them getting the child's face.

From the shore, or anywhere on the beach, you can see the cliffs on the Jordanian side through the haze. As far as I am aware, there is always haze (unless it is raining). The cliffs look like they are exactly like the ones on the Israeli side. The sea itself is very blue. The water looks more grey, or black in toward the shore, to me, but John says it is just a lighter shade of blue - somehow deeper than an ocean blue. But I am really lousy at describing colours. The tops of the waves, when there were white crests, were very white, more white than I've ever seen before. You could almost imagine that the waves were crested with little bits of salt. That is also John's description.

There is a regular current which if you just let yourself float will either fetch you up on shore or will take you away rather quickly. I doubt I could drown in the sea even if I tried, but I wouldn't want to get too far out and not be close to shore if/when I got some of the water in my mouth or eyes. Yuck.

Both Eliyahu and Avraham ended up with their faces in the water. Eliyahu was overwhelmed by a wave, and Avraham tripped. They were rinsed off, and rinsed off again, and rinsed off again, and they spent the rest of the day playing together in the sand or, mostly, up by the parking and camping areas using the picnic tables there for props.

Michal hadn't brought her swimsuit and wouldn't have gone in if she had, I think. Simcha went in and had a great time, but then opted to spend the rest of the time playing with Michal. All of the guys (between us we have four teenage boys) went in at various times. Neil spent some time just kind of fussing around the chairs - I didn't know if he was going to go in or what, but I was a little sick of what I've come to call 'Ghost Neil.' He flits in and out, never talking to anyone, mostly completely silent, I always seem to be catching him out of the corner of my eye.

But when I wasn't looking (of course) he vanished, and apparently spent the entire time - until we left - just floating around in the sea. I'm glad he had a good time.

I went down after everyone who wanted to had had at least one chance. The steep slope and rocks and all are not easy for someone with balance problems. John helped me down, and into the water. There I floated for a little while. The water stings in a number of places - bug bites, any cuts you might have, and for some of us females it stings a bit in the private places. That was actually what drove me out of the water. I didn't know it was normal, and worried when I started feeling that stinging that maybe it was a sign of something wrong. I certainly wasn't going to talk to John about it (he wouldn't have known any more than I, and would *not* have been helpful) so I just opted to get out of the water for the moment.

There were a couple of showers set up at the shore, just a couple of pipes going up to two shower heads at either side of the beach, and a pull chain. I had been very good in the water, hadn't touched my face, and as far as I was aware hadn't gotten my face in the water. When I started to hose off, though, I realized that just the little bit that splashed up from the waves had covered my face and hair with salt. I tasted it as soon as the water hit my face (yuck), and it made me feel kind of oily, slippery. My sandals were definitely slippery on my feet, and my hair felt, well, weird is the best I can describe it.

Getting back up to the umbrellas was quite a chore. The steep slope, the slippery sandals, and of course I was more tired having gotten down, and into the water and out of the water, and so on. John had to literally haul me up at some point, pulling on my arm while my feet and legs just tried to keep up. I made it, and went to rest in one of the chairs. Rough going, and it meant I couldn't go back down for another go in the water that day. Which was a pity.

Tzvia announced they had to leave not much after that. I had been trying to get photos of the birds which were flying around, different types of birds, some of them playing in the winds, one 'V' of migrating birds overhead, little crow-like birds on the lifeguard's station. I didn't have much luck, and actually had put the camera away as a bad job just a minute before the 'V' passed overhead. *sigh*

When Tzvia started to pack up I figured it was probably a good idea for us to start going as well. We were doing fine and probably could have stayed a while longer and enjoyed ourselves, but I think it was for the best. It took a while to get ourselves together and to go, and we got to go home not quite completely exhausted. I bought a bunch of the mud packs at the kiosk, to send to people in the states. It's really amazing how cheap they are there, okay not amazing so much as that the price makes one amazed that they actually sell this stuff for as much as $50 or $75 in the states. Ridiculous. It is just mud, after all.

We got to see a lot of people who had covered themselves with the mud at the sea. The ones who had completely covered themselves had white circles around their eyes and looked somewhat raccoon-ish. Some didn't rinse it off before leaving the shore, so there were several people wandering around or driving off covered in mud. I trust they live or work nearby. :-S

Simcha had collected a bunch of rocks she liked, and wants to make jewelry out of them. But other than that the trip home was less crowded than any of the other drives. There is a strip of shops, tourist traps really, along highway 1 on the way to/from the sea, where some people have camels that you can pay to ride. We didn't, but I did get some photos of one of the camels. I swear, he posed for me. He was looking right at me, and when I raised the camera he turned to give me a profile shot of his face raised in disdain. I wish I could have gotten more camels, but I pretty well used up all of my cards, and my film. I took 427 digital photos, and I won't know the film count until I get them developed. I did have fun.

So many things I didn't manage to photograph. I want to go back. I want to do a book. I want to do it properly. I wonder... Maybe this is a project Hashem will smile on? That's something I won't know today. *sigh*

***

We got home at a reasonable hour, before supper time, and I just collapsed. Don't look for me. So tired. I can't even remember the evening. I know I tried to get to bed early, and made it as far as it was around midnight, instead of what I've been managing the rest of this week.

John and I got up at the crack of dawn on Friday also. We wanted to get to the shuk, and do some shopping, and Havva's friend was due to arrive and we didn't know when, so we had to get it over with. Hans couldn't get out of bed, so we picked out some jeans for him in the right size, hoping they will be okay.

Simcha came with us, and we found for her a sweater of a type she loves for 40 shekel. They were three for a hundred, and I would have gladly bought her two more only we are severely short this month. Maybe they will still be there in November? The sweater is a ribbed knit, with a button placket and a hood, in purple rayon. Oh, happy Simcha!

We also picked up some more pajamas for Eliyahu, as we are going into winter, and he just can't keep the covers on. :-)

Other than that there was fruit, and veg, and some fried chicken for breakfast. Simcha's stomach got a little bit upset. No one is surprized, right? We went to Yad Yitzchak for bread and milk and eggs and all that good stuff. Going so early in the morning was wonderful. So much less crowded (still crowded, of course), and in and out in much less time.

We made it home around 10am. And I spent the rest of the day zoning out in front of the computer, except when I was up in my room trying to nap. I was quite a vegetable.

Havva's friend Havva (oy) phoned in the early afternoon, she was at the bus stop in Qarnei. So John and Havva jumped into the car and got her. The rest of the day and evening was spent chatting with Havva and Havva. And we watched a movie Ushpizin, which I would love to send copies of to people in the states if I could get them. A very good movie even if one has to read the subtitles.

I literally fell into bed and was asleep before I knew it, so here I am, at almost 11am on Saturday, still in bed with my door closed so I can actually write something and hear myself think while I do it.

I am going to stop now, and open my door. I'm missing my kids. And so my day rolls on. Not enough hours in the day, but I truly am enjoying the ones I've got. Be well, all, and Gd bless.

I forgot to mention up above that there are photos from the sea on my fotolog, link above. If you're interested

I'm listening to birds, lots of birds, more than I could ever describe, all singing, chirping, warbling and peeping out my windows.

:: Yesterdays : Tomorrows ::

~~~Last Five Entries~~~
Hi and goodbye - 2010-10-15
I'll be moving on - 2010-10-10
Gold membership and stuff - 2010-10-10
Decisions, decisions - 2010-10-07
Days to go - 2010-10-06