The holy land

The first sunshine in weeks! After a lot of rain in Munich and a bit of rain and grey sky in Vancouver, the sun in Israel was beautiful and promised a hot day.
I successfully managed to change my work trip from Teheran into Tel Aviv and was really looking forward to getting back to places that I had visited with my friends Carsten and James ages ago. After having contacted Lufthansa security about the local safety situation in Israel and also talking to Miki, a hangglider pilot and also police man in Israel, I knew that I would be safe along the way that I had planned to drive, just straight from Tel Aviv to the Dead Sea.
People at the check points always waved us through with a friendly smile, it was an enjoyable drive without much traffic and with incredible scenery coming down the hills behind Jerusalem towards the Jordan plains. As it is more than 400 m below msl, the air is clean and full of oxygen and mineral salts, great for your health. The air feels kind of "thick" and I think landing there is really easy and enjoyable! When the first cu´s started popping up around 3pm, I thought of Miki and Ilan who were probably flying at Mt Tabor today...
Instead, I floated on the Dead Sea, soaking in the hot water - about 35 degrees celsius! - rubbing the black mineral mud on my skin, feeling like I was on a cure in a spa. It is difficult to get under water, as it is so saturated with salt. Swimming is slow, more like paddling along on top of the water. I was so lucky that I had the perfect bathing shoes with me - my Lizard Five Fingers had a good grip on the slippery yet sometimes sharp salt cristals in the sea. They saved me from getting cuts, and you definitely dont want to have any wounds in that salty water...The water is so saturated that the rocks are covered in salt even under water!
Despite a very crowded flight back home in the middle of the night, I felt very energized and healthy after this natural bath tub experience.