Day Six: feeling free floating on the Dead Sea

A wave of calm at the dead sea

We said goodbye to the desert and our lovely beduin tent and continued on our journey. While we left it behind I knew it would remain in my soul forever. The experience of the desert was one thing, the profound effect it had on me was to last a lifetime. We moved forward and for me it was forward in more ways than I could imagine; changed completely by the desert.

Down and down we went to below sea level to the stunning dead sea. Along the way the views were fantastic; the bluest sea like nothing you have ever seen before to our right and to our left the Negev desert stretched on for miles. We were surrounded by God’s beauty and very much humbled by it. The bus journey gave some quiet time for reflection about my what next, the centre of my thoughts of this trip. At this stage all I knew was the what next would have to be different; whatever it may be.

On we went to Masada; a fantastic hilltop fortress where a tribe fought off the Romans. In defeat, they killed themselves rather than become slaves to the Romans. The Romans then conquered the fortress and built a small village with a castle for King Herod. We had some time here overlooking miles of the most stunning scenery and listening to the heroic tales. I loved the story of Masada and must make time to watch the six hour movie!

From here we went to a place you only hear about in stories; the Dead Sea. This was really exciting as it was such a unique, once in a lifetime experience. So many hear about it but so few really get to travel here. We changed into our swim gear and down we went to the lowest point in the world. The Dead Sea beach was thronged and buzzing, like a holiday destination with sunbathers and swimmers; or floaters in this case.

As the beach dipped down it was difficult to navigate, we had to climb to get to the water. Getting into the water was another endeavour; wading in and attempting to lie on our backs without turning over on our front. It’s difficult to float as mostly you’re trying to not turn on your face but when you float it is fun. The sun scorched down which was glorious, floating as light as a feather feeling so completely warm and still, however it made it difficult to float for too long.

The Dead Sea mud was the most fun as we covered ourselves from head to toe. It felt so cool on our skin and when we wasted it off with the Dead Sea salts it was like being reborn with silky smooth skin, soft hair and feeling completely fresh. This feeling lasted for days. Before heading off we enjoyed a sneaky beer. It was here at the lowest point in the world I felt at my greatest surrounded by family and friends.

The journey must go on and we had to keep moving. We went to the little community village where we were staying called a ‘Kibbutz’ which means ‘to settle’. This community run accommodation had fab little apartments, a food hall and we were so lucky it had a pool. I went straight to the pool which was covered by palm trees, so relaxing. I swam for awhile, feeling so peaceful gliding through the water.

Such serenity and such a calm feeling surrounded me today; the calm from the desert remained with me. It was an overwhelming calm which filled me from the top of my head to the tip of my toes. Everything felt relaxed and my thoughts remained still and in the moment. I had started to become better at controlling the noise. I hoped so much this was something to last, a feeling which I would bring home.

Lessons from today

Bring calm with you wherever you go.

Don’t be afraid to float.

You mean a lot to a lot of people.

Know your worth.

Be strong.

You are great to be as good as you are.

Catch up on the introduction to this journey, Day one: reaching Jerusalem, Day two: Building the Temple, Day three: the mount of Olives, Day Four: The birth and death place of Jesus, Day Five: finding my Angels in the Desert.

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