Desert Adventures - Part 2

As the camel and rider approached us, one of the kids with us ran out to offer him a Coke.  He accepted and came over by us so we could see the camel up close and personal.  He did not speak any English, but luckily one of the teachers with us has learned a little Arabic.  It turned out he was from Sudan, and has a small camel herd not too far away.  All the camels we had seen in the distance belonged to his herd.

I of course asked (through motions and our translator) if I could ride his camel.  I had promised our neighbor Triniti that if the opportunity arose, I would ride a camel with her.  She had ridden one before and cried the whole time, so she wanted to redeem herself.  The wooden saddle is on the camel's hump (Side note: all camels in Saudi Arabia have one hump) and has a post in front and in back. Getting on was a little tricky because the camel is tall even when lying down.  The man motioned that we need to hold on tight to the front post.

It turns out he was right!  As you can see from this photo, a camel stands up and lays down in a very strange way, which puts the rider at a 45 degree angle!

Then Grandpa took a turn.  He had promised everyone in Brantwood that he would ride a camel and here was his opportunity!

Then it was Rob's turn to ride. I don't know why that camel had its mouth open like that the whole time.  It was weird.

 Jack loved the camel, as he loves every animal.  But he and Grandma decided to stick to being spectators.  Here is our best family photo of 2010.

But wait...the desert adventure wasn't over yet....stay tuned for part 3!