It's 2am in the morning and the plane makes its gentle descent into Amman Jordan, we see a fairly extensive splattering of lights but it's dark, we are not sure to expect, but we are here! The long awaited trip to Jordan is happening.

We didn't have the all too regular scrum as taxi drivers (and non taxi drivers) fight over you. It's all pretty organised, there is an official taxi booth and a set price of 31 Jordanian dinar to take us to our first stop, the Dead Sea!!

We set off in the pitch black for the 40 min journey and we wind down the roads, down, down, down! We pass the sign for King Hussein crossing to Palestine and Israel, there has just been a lot of trouble and violence with 30 Palestinians killed and 9 Israelis. the crossing has been closed. We stop at several roadblocks with heavily armed guards patrolling. Movement has been heavily restricted but after some inquisitive looks they wave us past.

Onwards we travel, down, down, down, past signs for the Dead Sea sky dive drop zone. The signs says 'greatest high to the lowest point on earth' and whilst we will not be throwing ourselves out of a plane, that is where we are heading.....the lowest point on earth, 1,312 feet (400 metres) below sea level to the Dead Sea!

Another sign, this time to 'The Baptism site' The River of Jordan, a tributary of the Dead Sea is where Jesus is said to have been baptised by John the Baptsist.

Still we head on, the landscape is starting to flatten out now and then suddenly we arrive at our hotel, on the banks of the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is 38 miles long and 11 miles wide (at its widest point ) of landlocked water with its tributaries pouring 6.5 million tons in a day. Then it's trapped until it evaporates, which happens fast as its hot, damn hot!!

Its 8.6%saltier than the worlds saltiest seas and it contains 35 different minerals. Quite simply it's too salty for anything but microorganisms to survive, hence its name Dead Sea.

But enough of the facts, it's our first full day......and we're off for a swim in the Dead Sea! There is a little beach and pots of Dead Sea mud. The mix of high oxygen levels, low allergens and pollutants and the high mineral contents in the water and mud are believed to have healing qualities for a range of skin, breathing and rheumatoid conditions so in we go!

We cover ourselves in mud and then let it bake on a bit and then into the sea! It really is true, due to the high saline levels you float! What a strange sensation to be floating around in the Dead Sea, at the lowest point of earth. It's harder than you think to float around though with the waves lapping and such salty water getting in your eyes. It's hard to lie on your front as you legs float up behind you so easier to float on your back and Ian floats about with the 'reading a book' pose!

Every half an hour a low flying army helicopter flies overhead. It's soooo loud and flying so low we can feel the wind from the blades. We are so near to Palestine and Israel. It's shocking that this holy land is now the scene of such horrendous apartheid. The land grab wall is over twice as high and four times longer than the Berlin Wall and has made life unbearable for the people living within its grasp. We hope for peace and justice for the Palestinian people.

It's 2am in the morning and the plane makes its gentle descent into Amman Jordan, an extensive splattering of lights but no particularly high buildings at all, no skyscrapers, we are not sure what we were expecting, but we are here! The long awaited trip to Jordan is happening.

We didn't have the all too regular

Scrum as taxi drivers (and non taxi drivers)fight over you. There is an official taxi booth and a set price of 31 Jordanian dinar to take us your first stop, the Dead Sea!!

We set off in the pitch black for the 40 min journey and we wind down the roads, down, down, down! We pass the sign for King Hussein crossing to Palestine and Israel, there has just been a lot of trouble and violence with30 Palestinians killed and 9 Israelis. the crossing has been closed. We stop at several roadblocks with heavily armed guards patrolling. Movement has been heavily restricted but after some inquisitive looks they wave us past.

Onwards we travel, down, down, down, past signs for the Dead Sea sky dive drop zone, the signs says 'greatest high to the lowest point on earth' and whilst we will not be throwing ourselves out of a plane, that is where we are heading.....the lowest point on earth, 1,312 feet (400 metres) below sea level to the Dead Sea!

Another sign, this time to The Baptism site as the River of Jordan, a tributary of the Dead Sea is where Jesus is said to have been baptised by John the Baptsist.

But again we head on, starting to flatten out now and then we arrive! Our hotel, on the banks of the Dead Sea. It's 250 square metres of landlocked water with its tributaries pouring 6.5 million tons in a day. Then it's trapped until it evaporates, which happens fast as its hot, damn hot!!

The worlds saltiest seas contain 3 to 6 percent saline, but the Dead Sea contains28 to 33 percent! There are 35 different minerals. Quite simply it's too salty for anything but microorganisms to survive, hence its name Dead Sea.

But enough of the facts, it's our first full day......and we're off for a swim in the Dead Sea! There is a little beach and pots of Dead Sea mud. The mix of high oxygen levels, low allergens and pollutants and the high mineral contents in the water and mud are believed to have healing qualities for a range of skin, breathing and rheumatoid conditions so in we go!

We cover ourselves in mud and then let it bake on a bit and then into the sea! It really is true, due to the high saline levels you float! What a strange sensation to be floating around in the Dead Sea, at the lowest point of earth.

Every half an hour a low flying army helicopter flies overhead. It's soooo loud and flying so low we can feel the wind from the blades. We are so near to Palestine and Israel. It's shocking that this holy land is now the scene of such atrocities and we hope for peace and justice for the Palestinian people.

So we end our short trip to the Dead Sea, we are off to Madaba to meet our guide, Nader and the rest of our group for our 6 day trek through the desert to Wadi Rum and the jewels, climbing a couple of peaks and on to and our final destination, the lost city of Petra to arrive on my birthday! Woooo!