Jordan Day 4 – Dead Sea to Madaba – 60km

This morning we have the opportunity to relax, enjoy the Dead Sea's special buoyancy experience and get prepared for today’s challenging climb. The Dead Sea is 75 kilometres long and between 6 to 16 kilometres wide. It is fed by the Jordan River, but it has no outlet. As its name suggests, the Dead Sea is entirely devoid of plant and animal life, due to an extremely high content of salt and other minerals (350 grams of salt per kilogram of water, as compared to about 40 grams in the world's oceans). This concentration is caused by a rapid rate of evaporation. These natural elements give the waters of the Dead Sea certain curative properties, recognized since the days of Herod the Great over 2000 years ago. After a refreshing dip, we are reunited with our bikes and ride along the shore of the Dead Sea for around 7 kilometres. Turning inland it’s a truly a unique feeling as we start to climb from the heady heights of around 400 metres below sea level! En route we have a short visit to the Dead Sea Exhibition at the Panorama Complex and can admire the superb views to the Dead Sea and across to the Western Plateau on the other side. Over the next 20 kilometres we continue our climb to the top of the plateau at 850 metres, where we reach the holy site of Mount Nebo, reputedly the place from which Moses viewed the 'promised land'. On a clear day, it is even possible to see the spires of the holy city ofJerusalem, some 45 kilometres away. We will explore the site and its ancient mosaics before riding east to our hotel in Madaba. Ride Distance: 60 km (38 miles) with 1560 metres of ascent and 400 metres of descent. - KE Adventure Trip Notes

Having attempted to ride out of the Dead Sea on the Israeli side, I was not fooled by the day’s distance of 60km knowing full well most of it would be uphill! I managed 27km for the day and did not even attempt the major climbs.

After an early breakfast, we had a few hours to go down to the beach and the Group had a lot of fun in the mud and the sea. I made a few calls to Israel on my Cellcom which worked perfectly and rode the first 7km out of the hotel along the shore until the route turned left and up!

 

 

I rode the bus to Dead Sea Exhibition at the Panorama Complex and resumed cycling when the the climb finished 20km later. We then visited Mount Nebo,  from where Moses viewed the Promised Land, and toured the site and the museum, and then another museum and mosaic workshop about 1km away.

I bused in to the Mariam Hotel at Madaba and, after showering, we walked to Haret Jdoudna Restaurant for the best meal of the tour to date. 

Six of the seven Poms in the group are very strong riders and look like doing the tour EFI! I have occasional company in the bus from the seventh. Have to admire their effort today.