Learning the art of riding a camel

After the president had left, we followed Aïssa to the part of the camel camp where her family was staying, where we met a lot of riders with their beloved creatures! Did you know that camels are very affectionate animals? They truly bond with their owners, and even though Arwen appreciates me very much, I doubt sincerely she would do what some of these beast would do for their owners...

Be aware of their "gudu" though! Though they're fast once they're up in speed, they have a less developed break system than my horses... Or my bit is more efficient than the little nose ring these ones have...

Life at camp... Now would that be an interesting (stress-free) option perhaps? You'd get to see life from a totally different perspective!

Aïssa and I behind her brother's camel. "Now how was it that you rode a camel again...? What were the movements...?"

"Oh dear, can't believe I'm actually doing this again. Here we go! Expect to be thrown forward, then backward and then forward again. Follow his movements!" (I fell off the camel last time I tried (in 1999)... The saddle swung around its belly...)

"Lol, that was close, but I made it! I'm up! Just hope this fellow doesn't move..."

5 minutes later... "Oh well, now this wasn't so bad! How come I haven't done this more? Camel riding is fun! It's safe! (as long as the owner is around...) And the view is terrific! Hey why didn't I bring my camera, huh? Ah, always so blond, huh..."

Now my sister in law got good company... And I got to take pictures of her coming off the camel! Not very easy that either, in fact, you have to do more (press your toes around the camels neck) and at the same time, keep your balance while you're thrown forward, then backwards and then forward again...

"Easy, camel, easy!"

"Mmm, good camel!"

So in the end, we had a wonderful morning, took lots of pictures, got loads of sunshine - and the best of all was that we still had half the day left! We used it well: resting on the veranda...

Ishtar