You may remember that I visited the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea earlier this year, and absolutely loved it.

I was excited to see it for the second time–I mean who wouldn’t want to go to the lowest place on earth twice in one year–but perhaps not as impatient as the first time around.

I was thrilled to be there, but knew what to expect.

To my surprise, it was a completely different experience.

For starters–I was now visiting the South Basin, which is quite different from the North Basin.

The North Basin is much larger, deeper and saltier, while the South Basin is made up of smaller less salty salt evaporation pans that have the water pumped into them from the North Basin.

They are separated at what used to be the Lisan Peninsula because of the fall in level of the Dead Sea. If the water was not pumped in, it would not exist.

The South Basin has both positives and negatives; it’s great because the pain is lessened from the lack of salt, but the water is also a little less buoyant.

However, I took this as two positives.

I could barely handle the salt sting of the north Basin for more than five minutes and felt like a cat in a bathtub flipping around while trying to gain some sort of balance in the weird weightless state.

I’m graceful like that.

The South Basin actually allowed me to sit up right in the water as I would normally swim, while still floating effortlessly.

And yes, you are still able to float like you’re laying on a lounge chair.

This part of the Dead Sea also seemed to have a lot more salt crystal formations building up along the sides and it was really quite incredible to look at.

A medley of minerals results in intricate geological formations shaped by nature into stunning unique works of crystalline art.

It made for some pretty otherworldly shapes.

I had woken up well before sunrise and headed down to the beach from my room at the Isrotel Hotel with my camera in the dim morning light.

This meant that I was able to witness the eerie haze of morning light before the first beams of sun stretched across the smooth glassy surface.

My eyes widened at the exact moment that the first lick of light escaped the peaks of the Jordanian mountains, shooting toward me like a flaming arrow.

After that moment I put the camera down and simply took it all in while I waited for my travel buddies to arrive.

And then we had some fun…

DEAD SEA FASHION TIP:

If you happen to forget a hair tie, I highly recommend improvising with a hotel bathrobe belt ;]

 

—

This trip was made possible by the Israel Ministry of Tourism.
All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Have you ever swam in the Dead Sea?