The Dead Sea and the Jordan River

The Dead Sea was incredibly beautiful and you can seriously FLOAT in it! I loved it so much. It was so salty, it burned. It was a crazy feeling being able to float without any effort, I couldn't get over it. 

It is tradition to rub the mud from the beach all over you then float in the water while it washes off. I LOVED the mud.

Thanks to our good friends, the Howell's, and a friens and family discount, we stayed at the nicest hotel I'e ever been to one night (which was welcome after sleeping in a tent the night before!). It was right on the Dead Sea and such a blast.

Nanny and I woke up early the next morning for one last mud bath and float.

 Double nappy hair over looking the Jordan River

 The site that is thought to be where Christ was baptized

 The above picture pretty much sums up what Otis thought of the Jordan River. The trail to the river was long and hot and Otis was not having it. So needless to say, it wasn't the most spiritual experience for me there. But soon after our trip, we attended a baptism, and while singing the primary song, "Baptism", I got really emotional singing about Jesus coming to John the Baptist in the River Jordan...I feel really blessed for having been to the area where that sacred event happend.

 He didn't hesitate to play in the Holy Water (which was allowed)

 stepping in the Jordan River

 Because the Jordan River is the border between Jordan and Israel, we couldn't drive to the baptism site. We had to take a bus the walk a trail. In the last picture, Jericho can be seen in the distance. The kids were all hot and starving.