Floating in the Dead Sea and a spa day

The sun is bright this morning, and there is no wind ! This winter day is looking great and that is perfect for our plans.

We stay in bed a little late and get to breakfast around 9am. It’s a nice breakfast with a lot of Arabic options but I did indulge in a little French pastry too.

At 10am, we make our way to the beach, so that we can try the Dead sea and take these stereotyped photos of ourselves floating.

The beach at the Kempinski is nicely arranged, with comfortable chairs, showers and big container of mud and salt. On the way down, we are greeted by a very friendly cat and I spend a good 10min petting her.

The entire process is as follow: float in the sea, shower, cover yourself in mud, let it dry, rinse it in the sea, scrub salt and then shower.

The Dead sea is quite warm for a winter day, it’s about 26 degree Celsius inside and it is very pleasant to float in it. While you know what to expect, it’s something else to experience it. I could even float upright ! 

Because there is no wind, the sea is totally flat and with a clear day such as today, we have a fantastic view.  We are also the only ones enjoying the Dead sea this morning. The wave of “people” ( there is probably 30 guests total at the hotel ) comes as we make our way up.

Once we have rinsed properly, our skin is very soft. It was a very nice experience !

The hotel famous infinity pool is inviting as we get back to the facilities and the view stunning from this higher vantage point. The pool boy tell us that the pool is heated, and that we should enjoy it. He is right, It’s exceptionally pleasant.

The water is just warm and when under the sun, you are not cold at all. We spend some time enjoying the view at the very edge of the pool. When going out however, it gets chilly, and we have to dry quite fast.

Without realizing it, it’s past 11 am and we decide to get back to the room to relax. Yesterday’s diner and lunch were so big, plus this morning breakfast that we decide to skip today’s lunch. We snack on some leftover room amenities and what is in the free minibar.

Time to explore the spa. It’s why I booked the hotel in the first place after all. They boast on their website one of the largest pool complex in the levant. 

It’s a very nice place. There are pools with jets, hammam, sauna, heated marble stones to sleep on and various temperature pools. The nice one is the dead sea pool: a salted pool at body temperature that has the same density as the Dead Sea. We can float it in just the same and it’s deliciously warm.

The overall place is very calm, few people come and go or sleep on the lounge chairs. We stay there for a good two relaxing hours before the treatment that I booked. 

After the (excellent) facial treatment, I take another nap on the heated marble beds before an exceptionally long hot shower.
Alexis had already gone back to the room, and we decide to get a drink outside by the pool. The day is still bright and sunny, we are not getting much more vitamin D when we reach France tomorrow. 

It’s during this time, that we both sight. Yes, tomorrow is the end of this one year sabbatical. While we were a little travelled out at time, now that you face the reality of the last day, I am very sad. I really enjoyed this year, the amount of experience gained is phenomenal. I has opened my eyes to so many new ways of travelling. We met inspiring people along the way.

I just have to remember, that these memories have also been so exceptional because we had worked hard for all these savings. And I think, it was even sweeter that we could travel consciously but not on a budget. Going back to work is a necessity: work hard, play harder as we say.

I am happy we chose this excellent stay for our very last 2 days of travels. We truly had a great time at the Kempinski, and to enjoy these moment of luxury was a perfect way to end this chapter of our life.

As the sun sets, and the cold comes back – we get back into our room to enjoy it more before a last delicious diner at the hotel Lebanese restaurant.

Packing the bag is quite difficult, we have been a little more flexible on our “not buying souvenirs” policy. I have a few trinkets for which I have issues finding a spot.  When we will go back home, adding all the things that we offloaded at my parents in October is going to be fun.