Action-Man, 29 June, the Dead Sea, Jordan

Today we descended through desert wadis and dunes to the Dead Sea. My ears popped as we dropped from the heights of Mt. Nebo, where Moses looked out over the Promised Land before his death. Deuteronomy says the Lord showed him, among other things, "Judah…to the western sea." That's a miracle. The Mediterranean lies at least a hundred miles to the west. From our vantage point, we could barely see Israel in the haze. But I pictured the sky clearing before Moses, his eyes being given super-human sight for those last few moments, piercing through the land even to the Great Sea. What a bittersweet moment! Having seen the Promised Land, he was not allowed in. His tomb lies in the valley of Moab, but to this day it remains hidden.

The salt sea lies at the foot of Mt. Nebo. Even from a distance it looked still, stagnant. Reaching the shore, we waded through shallow water, thick like mercury. We were thankful to have no fresh cuts, knowing the salt would burn, burn. As the shallow shelf dropped off, we bobbed to the surface of the water, effortlessly. We floated about, tasting the thick salt on our lips if we happened to kick up some water. When we finally got out, a white glaze of salt was caked on our skin. You could have eaten us with a fork.

Drew