Dead Sea - take 2 (5 years later)

After trekking up Masada, our next main stop for the day: covering ourselves with the mineral mud of the Dead Sea and floating in its waters. The weather wasn't the greatest, but the water wasn't freezing cold. It's comfortable enough to get in.

Some tips/reminders, don't shave the day before, any cuts will sting. If you have recent cuts, they will likely sting. Don't swallow the water. Duh. Put the mud on first, otherwise it won't be able to properly dry if your skin is wet.

We didn't spend too much time the water, just enough to get our floating pictures and rinse off the mud. I must say though, the Israeli side of the Dead Sea is much nicer than Jordan's. I even floated better here, but it may be the experience and the clearer instructions posted here. I kid you not, you need to wade out slowly, then crouch and lean back once you get far out enough. I liked to keep my hands on the bottom to anchor myself and "walk".

After we settled into our Jerusalem hotel, we headed out to Pergamon Restaurant for dinner. It's located towards West Jerusalem, just before Jaffa St. One of the girls had found it on Trip Advisor and it was vegetarian. 8 of us headed out and shared probably what might be the 1st communal I've had in all my travels (aside from the Chinese dinner in Brazil). We ordered every mezze on the list, divided into 8 portions and then a few more. We even divided the gnocchi down to 2 pieces each! Of course, there was the odd extra piece here and there, but we also took care of them fairly. Pergamon also has Happy Hour ;)Read more