Jordan Double Desert Marathon Challenge - Day 0, the Dead Sea

So, we have a new challenge, not biking, not running, but walking. Two back to back marathons in Wadi Rum, Jordan. With the same organisation with which Christopher and I climbed Mt Elbrus (almost to the top) in 2019, Action Challenge. But this time, I have Mrs and daughter #2 +1, to keep me company during the crazy stuff. Madness runs in the family!

Our flight arrived late night in Amman, and then a taxi ride to our hotel by the Dead Sea. Waking up to the sunrise was nice with a view over the Dead Sea... to the West Bank! Hard to believe it's that place we see in the news all the time - in the distance it seems so peaceful...

A short hike down to the beach to see the sea up close - the salty deposits and unusual colouring in the rocks are a standout feature.  

I notice that my smartphone's GNSS shows my location as Cairo; we are being spoofed by the Israeli military, a justified precaution to prevent GNSS guided weapons being used against them. 

After breakfast we venture into the sea and you can really feel the extra buoyancy so that you can't imagine going under the water and it feels impossible to sink. But whatever you do, don't get the water into your eyes, it stings like acid and also tastes foul. 

Then a mud bath, so we look like extras from an old black and white minstrels show - am I allowed to say that these days? 

The mud is difficult to remove so that entails another dip in the sea. The temperature is getting warmer, so a dip is refreshing. 

Lunch, then what turns out to be a long six hour coach drive, not four, to the Wadi Rum area. We transfer to the open back of a jeep (the luggage is treated to the seats) and bounce our way through the desert in what is now the dark of night, illuminated only by the jeep headlights that seem to be tilted a little too skywards. I realise that's why the luggage gets to ride up front, we can hang on for dear life, the luggage can't, if it was in the open back we would have lost it.

Arrival at the camp and introduced to our individually numbered tents. Dinner, briefing, then bed, a bit too late for my liking, given that we have 42km in the heat ahead of us.