All told, it was a twenty three hour travel day getting here. That includes a one hour flight, a nine hour flight, and a three hour flight. We spent just under an hour at security checkpoints. The rest was walking or waiting.

As for the travel itself, I cannot say it had any adverse effects on me. I did not experience any pseudo-exacerbations. My spastic muscles were tight as usual. My fatigue wasn’t worsened by jet lag or lack of sleep. My body is tired, but not in a way I can blame my multiple sclerosis for. I would like to think this experience means this is the norm for me and I will never have issues from my MS due to traveling, but I have been doing this long enough to know one good or bad day does not set the standard. When you have MS it is almost better to take life one hour at a time.

We are staying at a resort on the Dead Sea. We arrived early in the evening. We stowed our bags away in the room and went out to explore. We were told the best time to be at the beach was sunset. We had little time to spare. We set off for the beach which meant going down steps, a lot of them. We would go down one set of steps and then another and then another. For me, I have fewer issues climbing steps. Going down is difficult and treacherous. My balance is off and I am always swaying from side to side. I can manage the technicalities of going up better, but it tires me out so much more quickly.

We finally made it to the bottom only to discover high waves and a lifeguard telling us to go back. Misty, my travel companion, was not accepting that I had staggered all that way for nothing and got his permission to let me walk out into the water enough to say I had been in the Dead Sea. So that is what we did. We were not sure if we were going to be able to make it back to actually swim since the trip getting there had been so hard on me. We soon discovered on our way back up the steps to the hotel that they have a shuttle service and will transport you from the resort to the beach in a golf cart. We immediately made plans to go back. That first trip was not a complete loss because we did have some amazing views of the sunset.

Bethany

Today we took a bus to Bethany. UNESCO has declared it a World Heritage Site due to its religious and historical significance. You do not have to be a Christian to enjoy the site. There is plenty of history and archeology to soak in.

We made our way to the site where it has been proclaimed that John baptized Jesus. We continued our hike to the Jordan River. A few feet across the river in Israel, people were lining up to be baptized. On our side, people were dipping their feet in the “holy waters”. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.

It was just over a mile round trip. The sun was beating down and the temperature was pushing one hundred Fahrenheit. Amazingly, my issues were limited. Only slight foot drag on the uphill back to the start. I took this as a good sign that my body was going to tolerate the heat.

Dead Sea

After our return from Bethany, we decided to give the Dead Sea another go. We flagged down a golf cart and were at the beach in no time. On the beach, there are containers of mud from the sea floor. You scoop this mud up with your hands and smear it over your skin. You then stand in the sun and bake. After the mud has dried, you venture out into the water. That is when my MS got really angry at me.

I was fine. My symptoms had been minimal most of the day. I stood on the beach and slathered myself from head to toe in gray mud. I then made my way along the rocks and into the water. Still no issues. I started easing myself down as I got into water deep enough to float in. It is a surreal feeling. The sea feels as if it grabs onto you and wants to push you back out. You cannot let yourself sink. That is when the entire right side of my body gave out.

I have never had anything send my MS into overdrive the way the Dead Sea did. As soon as I started to float, the entire right side of my body stopped working. My right arm completely contracted and became useless. I was not afraid of drowning. As I said, there is no possible way to sink in that water. But, I was in real danger of not being able to get myself back to the shore.

Unable to stretch my arm out, my body became off-centered in the water. I began barrel rolling to the right. My arm was contracted by my side, so all I had to stop myself was my elbow against the rocks on the bottom. That is also how I pulled myself back to shore. Luckily, my symptoms kicked in so quickly I had not made it far into the water. It sounds like a scary story, but the only thing that made the situation more difficult was how hard I was laughing.

I am very happy for the experience. I loved coating myself in mud and going into the water with my friend. We had lots of laughs, mostly at my expense. And, that’s okay. But, I am never, ever going back into the Dead Sea again.

There are plenty of more adventures to come. I look forward to updating everyone on how it is going. Tomorrow I tackle the hike into, and hopefully back out of, Petra.