Man Rides Camel

Before this trip, all I knew about camels I learned from the San Diego Zoo. I think some spit at me for no apparent reason during a zoo visit when I was a kid and, from this, I deduce that camels are a nasty species. How right I was.

In addition to the wanton and malicious spitting, camels also stink and fart (and hence stink even worse), have fleas, and sometimes act like they are going to bite. Look at the camel in the bottom picture, above. Does that look like a nice camel? I think not. It really resented having a bit in its mouth and having to follow anyone anywhere. The camel acted out by trying to overtake my camel, to which it was tied behind, which meant that the nasty camel's mouth was dangerously close - biting distance, really - to my ankle almost the whole time.

My camel had mange, although this didn't stop Charlie from concluding that my camel was the best looking one of the bunch - which speaks volumes about the general unattractiveness of camels.

I am not sure how long Charlie, Jee, Sacha and I spent riding our camels through a rocky desert, but the whole time we were led by a little, white-robed Bedoin man who walked in front holding the reins of the camels. After I rode about 5 minutes on my camel - while the nasty camel behind me grunted and made spitty "Harumph!" noises and Charlie's camel in front of me emitted noxious gases from his behind - I came to the conclusion that I would really be more comfortable walking, too. But I stuck it out.

Charlie did, too, but he isn't cut out for being a full-time Bedoin traversing the Sahara either, for a different reason. He has a very sensitive behind. We last discovered this when we both rode a horse on the beach in Mexico and Charlie's dream of being a cowboy in the Australian outback was dashed. Charlie gets saddle sores from riding horses and, apparently, camels. He shall proudly wear the scars from both experiences (you think I am joking...) for a long time.