Camel rides and Desert Gypsies.

Camel rides and Desert gypsies. 

We’d all been looking forward to the day we would ride camels and camp under the stars in the desert. 

Our journey started with an epic Jeep ride into the Thar desert. Our driver is a kind faced man who keeps a kite tucked into the head space of his Jeep. Kids, and apparently Jeep drivers, fly kites all over. The sky is dotted everywhere with square kites made of super lightweight bamboo frames and paper or plastic. They travel what seems to be miles in the air. 

We stoped at a fort, we’ve seen probably too many at this point but it allowed us a view of a deserted village below. We get to our destination and find several  camels sitting in the sun, their colorful saddles hiding their iconic humps. We are paired up with our camel mates and with a brief instruction that amounted to “lean back” the beasts would rise one step at a time. Camels are tall was my first impression. Second was the realization there’s no yoga pose that involves your inner thigh like this and there was no way I wasn’t going to feel this 90 minute ride tomorrow. We rolled along towards the setting sun. Listening to the constant chatter of the girls talking. I made a mental note to tomorrow not have their camels walk near each other. We stopped once to watch our clever guides gather firewood from a dead tree by throwing a rope with a bottle full of sand tied to it over dead branches and then when that failed they sent up the smallest guy to untangle it. Soon the rolling sand dunes appeared and I was grateful after the 90 minutes in the non yoga position we didn’t have to go up and down too many of them. 

Our camp was set up with a small shelter on 3 sides made of sticks and branches. After some snacks they built a fire and the sun set. A group of 4 local Desert Gypsies showed up and played music and danced. Eventually getting everyone except all my boys to dance too. Dinner was good and everyone was tired so we piled into the bed and decided it wasn’t enough covers for the cold desert so we got closer and doubled up covers. The moon was so bright it was almost too bright. As it arched it’s way across the starry night you could make out planes and satellites crossing the sky. 

The silent sunrise beckoned everyone out but the chill of the air meant we’d wait for it to actually reach us before we left the warmth of our desert bed. Sand was everywhere. I learned camels fart a lot, I have daughters who HAVE to have toilet paper, and I cannot pee if a camel is watching. 

The friendly camel guys made breakfast and everyone gathered their things for the camel ride back.  

It was a fun strange glimpse into the word of the desert and those who can call it home.