The Dead Sea is 1401 feet below sea level so it is much warmer than its surroundings. For that we were very thankful today! The day started slow relaxing and then breakfast of fruit and cheeses on our small balcony overlooking the pool. Keely wore long sleeves and pants and was chilled. I wore shorts and a t-shirt because WE'RE IN THE DESERT! I refuse to give up hope that the desert is hot!

We then headed down to the pool to lay out and read our books. Our plan was to hang out by the pool until mid-afternoon when it warmed up enough to head down to the Dead Sea. After a quick swim in the pool to cool off, we noticed dark clouds coming in. It was now or never to float in the sea so we walked down to the beach.

The hotel provides water shoes as the floor of the sea is very rocky. We were cold but ventured into the water. Scared at first, Keely dared me to float so I leaned back and was shocked when my feet just popped up and I was floating without even trying! We laid on our backs, flipped over and rolled around never once concerned about sinking. It was crazy! Even when we made ourselves into a cannonball, we just stayed floating. Our favorite was when we stood straight up. We were in deep enough water that we couldn't touch the ground and yet we floated just perfectly, like a buoy, shoulders just barely out of the water! What fun! After unsuccessfully trying to sink, we gave up and headed to shore. We had booked spa treatments so we ate some leftover pizza poolside and warmed up.

Next on our day's strenuous agenda were our spa treatments - Dead Sea salt scrub and mud wraps! As you may know, spa treatments complete the checklist for any Keely planned vacation (after taking me to a place far, far away, a cooking class and a day at the beach). We arrived at the spa and received slippers, a robe and some very goofy disposable underwear to put on. We met our therapists and were taken to our treatment rooms. The first portion was the salt scrub. Salt mined from the sea is mixed with olive oil and then rubbed all over to help remove dead skin. Then they had us rinse the salt off quickly but not dry off. The table was then covered in a big plastic sheet.

This is when things started to get really crazy. Mud gathered from the bottom of the sea had been warming and was ready to be applied. Once my back was covered, I laid back down onto the plastic covered table. As the therapist finished each section, the plastic was wrapped around us and a towel was added to keep it in place. I felt like a mummy! After I was completely covered in the mud and wrapped up in the plastic, warm towels and a warm blanket were also wrapped around me to make sure the mud stayed warm for the next 20 minutes while the therapist did a head and face message. Then it was time to rinse off! Our skin felt incredible afterwards! It was fantastic.

We stayed by the indoor pool in the spa area reading, napping and relaxing. There was also a small pool filled with water from the Dead Sea so we floated one more time in there and then finished up in the hot tub. What a relaxing day!

Our flight is at 1 in the morning so our driver, Zaid, will be picking us up at 9:30 tonight. We're going to grab another quick pizza and then we head to the airport. It's been a great trip and we're excited to be on our way home!

Kevin