Day 42, 15 August 2012. Aqaba Port to the Dead Sea, views from Mount Nebo - from where Moses first saw the promised land after 40 years in the wilderness, overnight in mosaic filled Madaba - After an early arrival into Aqaba, we did the dance of the dozen ATMs and eventually secured some Jordanian Dinar... so it was 6 Egyptian Pounds to US$1. Now it's 0.7 Dinar to US$1 (or 70 piastres to US$1). Our group has reduced to just 5 travellers along with our Jordanian guide Jurmelah and our driver and the wheels are now a people-mover. Having secured our local cash, we headed to a resort for the opportunity to swim in the Dead Sea. On the way there, the sea was temptingly just to the left of the car and a brilliant cerulean blue. At the water's edge, the lowest point on earth, the salt encrusted the shoreline like crystalline coral. Or very large cauliflower hearts. We were 400 metres below sea level and the expanse of the "sea" is staggering measuring 10 km across to the Israel side and 75 km long (and 300m deep). Though that is changing - the sea shrinks one metre a year due to evaporation. Strictly speaking of course, it is no more a sea than a large bath tub is because it is connected to nothing at all - no rivers, springs or wells add water - only the rain. At 33% salt, we were soon floating in the most buoyant water on earth. It is impossible to sink. We ended up swimming for about 30 minutes - more than enough in the heat of the day - and we both slathered ourselves in the rich, dark Dead Sea mud. We were literally floating on top of the water and now know exactly what pool toys feel like. We enjoyed the best food in two months for our lunch at the Dead Sea Spa Resort Restaurant. It was a great start to our time in Jordan. Our next stop was Mt Nebo. Just think, if Moses had been female he would have asked for directions and probably only taken 3 months to get to the promised land...But seriously folks, we're in the land of mosaics now and there were some intact from the 6th century which were spine tingling - particularly the one in St George's Church depicting the Holy Land - from the Dead Sea to the Nile and showing Jerusalem and Bethlehem. When this mosaic was discovered there were sites it showed that were well known and also some sites that were yet to be found - when they went to the places shown on the map there discovered these ancient sites. A graphic rosetta stone of antiquity in many ways. Tonight we plan to explore locally on foot. Tomorrow brings the Rose City of Petra.