At last, it has finally happened, I have been lower than ever before and have floated in the buoyant waters of the Dead Sea. It is true, I have visited the Dead Sea before, and I have driven or been driven past it more times than I can count, but for one reason or another, I had yet to actually enter the famous salted waters.

This all happened in the beginning of July when Bracha, Amir and I went for two nights at the Leonardo Club hotel on the banks of the Dead Sea. We hadn’t been on a proper vacation since before Amir was born back in September 2022, and so plans were made, this time incorporating our little toddler. We booked a suite and drove down on the chosen Sunday morning, crossing the tedious urban-patched centre of the country before entering the desert and beginning the descent just past Arad. The windy mountain road took us into the Dead Sea basin, passing through craggy desert cliffs and open expanses of desolate terrain. At last, we could see glimpses of the rich blue-green water down below, awaiting our arrival.

We reached the hotel and parked the car, eager to check in and have lunch. Due to the time of year, this is peak season at resort hotels and the place was packed. We jostled with the crowd of excited vacationers until we comfortably sat down for a tasty meal which included kubbeh, meatballs, roasted vegetables and grilled pita arayes. Suddenly, there was a great roaring sound and several fighter jets (F-15s, from the looks of it) blasted by at a relatively low altitude. Considering that the Dead Sea is currently about 439 metres (or 1440 ft) below sea level, I wonder how their instrument panel reports their flight altitude… At any rate, these intense flybys continued over the next two days, a constant reminder of the terrible war which we had temporarily escaped.

After lunch we checked out our suite on the fourth floor and were overjoyed to see that there was a jacuzzi on the balcony, and a sweet view of the hotel pool, beach and sea below. After a short rest peppered with the notable whistling of the Tristram’s starling, we went down to explore the amenities. Amir found the children’s room where endless hours of toys and games were to be enjoyed, if he had his way. We diverted him to the pool, where the crowd was thickest, and attempted to have a family experience. But, with the loud music and general over-stimulation, the pool idea didn’t pan out as intended. We made our way back inside and then, after a trip or two to the open bar, headed back up to wrap up in fuzzy hotel robes.

Dinner was even more delicious than lunch, featuring chicken shawarma, steaks and a colourful variety of desserts. We explored some more after dinner, and headed back up for Amir to have an early bedtime (having largely missed his afternoon nap due to the drive). Bracha and I relaxed and, for reasons unknown, whipped out Ratatouille on my laptop. After a restorative night’s sleep, we headed down for breakfast and some more explorations of the hotel’s amenities. We checked out the solarium on the tenth floor, which was just a blinding maze of white walls and floor tiles, and then went back down to our suite to get ready for the pool. Amir marvelled at the views from the hallway windows, looking down at the bus stops, roads and Dead Sea fault escarpment which wraps jaggedly around the sunken basin.

The pool was largely the same as the day before, but this time the waterslides were open. Bracha is a lover of slides, watery or dry, and she dashed up the tower to plunge down the slippery trough with a shrill cry of excitement. As I waited to photograph her speedy descent, a flight of four F-16 fighter jets screamed by, never giving me enough warning for a proper photo (well, I had also forgotten my camera at home – quite uncharacteristic of me).

From the waterslides we migrated to the hotel’s private Dead Sea beach which was thankfully quite empty. Bracha and Amir settled down in beach chairs as I took my first-ever plunge, or, more accurately, bob, into the silky, salty water. My feet sank deeply into the bright white salt that crystallises plentifully below the water’s surface, and I felt the warm embrace of the intensely salinated liquid. About ten paces in, I sat down and naturally bobbed back up, tilting on to my back. For those who have visited before, this may sound unremarkable, but for me the experience was akin to weightlessness.

I marvelled at the buoyancy and went back ashore to get my phone to properly document the experience (I even took a video, which can be seen HERE). The bright green-tinted water and copious amount of crystallised salt captivated me, taking me into a world of fantasy. I felt confused by my acquaintance with medieval reports of the Dead Sea, which generally portrayed the natural wonder in the most unhappy way. For reference, Ludolph von Suchem toured the Holy Land in 1350 and described the Dead Sea as such: “it has a most unbearable and evil stench, wherefore when the wind blows it poisons all the country round about.”

Sure, there are no longer chunks of jet black bitumen floating about and the water has become a bit processed, if saltier with recent evaporations, but the description also seems like a personal attack. I certainly had quite the opposite impression of the fascinating salt lake. With these thoughts in mind, I bobbed about some more and then paddled my way to shore to rejoin my patient family. We made our way back to the suite and changed for lunch, a feast of grilled chicken, french fries, meatballs and more.

Amir had a short nap while Bracha and I resumed our watching of Ratatouille, and then we changed once again and went down to the amenities. I had a quick visit to the hotel’s spa where I sampled the jacuzzi, “Dead Sea pool” and dry sauna – building up the need to go back into the cooling pool. This time, with the crowds thinned, Amir was more agreeable and we all enjoyed the pool together. We visited the open bar and had some of the cake set out daily, and before long we were headed back to our suite for some rest and a change for dinner.

Dinner was exciting, partly due to the spread of carved meat, corn empanadas, burgers and more, and partly due to the hushed rumours of a small mouse having been spotted near the desserts. No doubt this mouse was the little chef masterminding all of the delicious food that we had been enjoying, nothing else fits the Pixar-influenced narrative. By dinner’s end, the sun was already beginning its descent, painting the sea and arid cliffs beautiful pastel shades of pink. We gathered again in the suite for a calming and unwinding family soak in the balcony jacuzzi, with a fighter jet-peppered sunset. Amir got a wee bit scared of the jets, the ones inside the big tub, but overall it was a nice experience. Bedtime came and we finished Ratatouille in due time, cozying up for our last night at the resort hotel.

The next morning, after coffee and a spot of breakfast, we gathered up our belongings and made the transition to check-out. We packed up our car and began the drive to the nearby Zohar fortress, a medieval fort built on an island outcropping within a seasonal streambed. The drive became a bit too off-road and perilous for some, so I mentally bookmarked the site to be revisited at a later date. For now, a view from above would suffice. Thankfully, two lookouts have been properly designated along the cliff road that exits the Dead Sea basin, and so we were able to get nice views of the fortress below and the general surrounding area.

For being just two hours away by car, this vacation felt, in a sense, like we were transported to another world. It was enjoyable for what it was and felt like a perfect boost in our busy lives, even busier shortly thereafter with our recent move to the small town of Elkana at the western edge of the Shomron.